A MULTI-million pound scheme to speed up access for Welsh patients to the newest potentially life-improving and life-prolonging medicines, is going from "strength to strength", two years since it was introduced, said health minister Vaughan Gething.

The New Treatment Fund, introduced by the Welsh Government early in 2017, quickens access to medicines recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG).

Under its rules, the timeframe in which new medicines must be made available has been cut from from 90 days to 60 - but in reality, the average time taken to make medicines available has fallen to an average of 17 days.

Annual funding of £16m is being made available to health boards and cancer treatment provider Velindre NHS over the five years of the current Welsh Government for the New Treatment Fund.

Among the drugs made available through the fund is Palbociclib, which blocks the growth and spread of breast cancer, recommended by NICE for routine use in November 2017. The latest figures indicate that 73 women in Wales are receiving Palbociclib and the number is expected to grow.

Mr Gething said Palbociclib is considered a "game changer" in treatment and management of metastatic breast cancer, and it prompt availability is a prime example of the fund's worth.

“Due to the success of the fund, the average time taken to make medicines available has fallen considerably. We have reached and far exceeded our 60-day target, which is a great achievement and is making a very real difference to people’s lives," he said.

“We are seeing our patients get faster access to the full range of new medicines. This includes new medicines to treat arthritis, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, asthma and breast cancer to name just a few."