NDM7911 - Opposition Debate
Tabled on 02/02/2022 | For debate on 09/02/2022To propose that the Senedd:
1. Notes the Welsh NHS COVID-19 recovery plan published at the end of the last parliamentary term.
2. Expresses concern:
a) that waiting lists numbers in Wales continue to rise, with nearly one in three patients waiting more than a year for treatment;
b) that Wales will soon be the only country in the United Kingdom without a cancer strategy.
3. Notes further concern at reports from the National Cancer Clinical Director for Wales that services will have to work at 120 to 130 per cent of previous capacity to deal with increased numbers of cancer patients.
4. Expresses disappointment that the 2021 quality statement on cancer lacks detail and only sets minimum standards for cancer services.
5. Urges the Welsh Government to:
a) urgently publish a workforce recruitment and retention plan for cancer specialists;
b) publish a full cancer strategy which will set out how Wales will tackle cancer over the next five years; and
c) support cancer patients through their treatment by, for example, introducing free dental care during radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Tabled By
Amendments
Delete all after sub-point 2(a) and replace with new point:
Notes:
a) the approach set out in A Healthier Wales, which includes the introduction of quality statements for the development of clinical services;
b) the Welsh Government’s approach to improving cancer outcomes was published on 22 March 2021 in the form of a quality statement;
c) the Welsh Government’s ‘Health and Social Care in Wales - COVID-19: Looking Forward’, which included cancer, was published on 22 March 2021;
d) nearly £250 million in year is being invested in the recovery of NHS services, including cancer;
e) the most recent official cancer statistics show the number of patients newly diagnosed with cancer who started their first definitive treatment increased to the highest level since comparable data was first collected in June 2019;
f) the expansion of NHS training places includes an additional four higher training posts for clinical oncology and an additional three higher training posts for medical oncology each year for five years;
g) health boards will be focusing on recovery of cancer services in their Integrated Medium Term Plans.
Tabled By
Add as new sub-point at end of point 5:
'complete the roll-out of multidisciplinary diagnostic centres across Wales as a matter of priority'
