Cancer treatment waiting times deteriorate in Gwent and Wales as a whole

A minimum 95 per cent of patients in Wales who are newly diagnosed through what is known as the urgent suspected cancer pathway should, if the disease is subsequently confirmed, begin their treatment within 62 days of the initial referral.

This target however, has long proved difficult to achieve for health boards across Wales, particularly on a consistent basis.

At no point in the year to April did all-Wales performance top 88 per cent, and the 95 per cent 62-day treatment target was achieved during just one month by only one health board (in Hywel Dda, last May).

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board's best performance against the target was 91.4 per cent, in February, but in the following two months, performance dipped noticeably.

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In April 85.8 per cent of patients in Gwent on the 62-day pathway began their treatment within that timescale (97 out of 113 cases).

This however, was slightly better than the all-Wales average performance for that month (85 per cent), and worryingly, three other health boards recorded lower percentages for April.

One key factor in the deterioration since February for Gwent patients, highlighted in a health board report last month, is that fewer patients on the 62-day pathway were treated during February and March, and this created a small backlog that has nevertheless affected performance since then.

Difficulties in performance against the 62-day target - in Gwent and Wales as a whole - are going on too against a backdrop of increased referrals for suspected cancer. These are currently running at more than 2,000 a month in Gwent.

The other cancer target in Wales is that a minimum 98 per cent of patients whose diagnosis does not come as a result of a referral on the basis of suspected cancer - for instance as a result of tests or treatment for another problem - should begin their cancer treatment inside 31 days.

Performance against this target is better in Gwent and Wales as a whole, though that target is not consistently met.

The 98 per cent 31-day treatment target was reached by Gwent's health board in five months of the year to April, one of the better performances in Wales.