Thank you very much for contacting me about Leukaemia Care’s campaign Left to WatchWaitWorry.
I am concerned to read that many chronic lymphocytic leukaemia patients are not receiving communication about their appointments, and that their appointments have been cancelled. I would therefore agree with the Health and Social Care Committee’s recommendation to the Welsh Government to ensure that its plan for the recovery of planned care includes clarity about how health services should be communicating with people who are waiting, including potential communication approaches. My colleague, Russell George MS, the Shadow Minister for Health, will continue to press the Minister for Health and Social Care on these important areas.
My colleagues and I in the Welsh Conservatives are also deeply disappointed with the Labour Welsh Government’s Cancer Quality Statement, published last year, which had little detail on how cancer services could recover from COVID-19, and how workforce gaps could be filled. I assure you that we have continued to raise these concerns in the Welsh Parliament and are working with cancer charities to ensure that a proper cancer delivery plan is produced for Wales.
Welsh Conservatives also firmly believe that a network of cancer Rapid Diagnostic Centres (RDCs) across Wales will provide all GPs with a new referral pathway for patients with non-specific but concerning symptoms and included this pledge in our 2021 election Manifesto. A national rollout of these Centres will enable more people to access key cancer treatment earlier, and Swansea Bay Local Health Board’s RDC has been proven to cut diagnosis waiting times from 84 days to less than a week before the pandemic.
It is also clear that stem cell transplants are a vital treatment for blood cancers, with over 2,000 people a year across the UK requiring a bone marrow or stem cell transplant. As such, I am pleased that a unified UK stem cell registry has been established - the Anthony Nolan and NHS Stem Cell Registry - streamlining the provision of stem cells for transplant. This has helped increase the number of registered blood stem cell donors from 770,000 in 2010 to over two million as of 2021.
My colleagues and I in the Welsh Conservatives also consider that continued investment into ways of diagnosing blood cancers earlier, as well as increasing the pool of available stem cell donors, will help to drive up survival rates of leukaemia. Finally, Welsh Conservatives believe that those undergoing cancer treatment should be afforded dignity as they receive treatment, which is why we pledged to provide cancer patients with free dental care.
Thank you again for taking the time to write to me.
Yours sincerely
Mark
