Cancer waiting times performance in Wales drops to worst July level in four years, with 2024 currently on track to be the worst year on record

“Despite the best efforts of hardworking healthcare professionals, NHS figures released today show that 2024 is on track to be the worst year on record for cancer waiting times in Wales. Yet again, the data shows there are still too many people agonisingly waiting too long for cancer diagnoses and the essential treatment they need. This is simply not good enough and requires urgent action.

“The First Minister has been clear that her first priority is to cut NHS waiting times, so we sincerely hope the new Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Miles, will work to tackle these completely unacceptable delays in cancer care.

“In the Senedd this week the First Minister promised to give us a list of who will be delivering what and when. Top of this list must be delivering on the commitments made over eighteen months ago to improve cancer care in the Wales Cancer Improvement Plan.

“Only then will Wales’s cancer services ensure everyone affected by cancer, no matter who they are or where they live, will be able to access support that meets their needs.”

“If you or someone you love is affected by cancer, we’re here, whatever you need to ask. Call Macmillan’s free support line on 0808 808 00 00, open every day 8am to 8pm or visit our website at www.macmillan.org.uk. “

• Macmillan’s analysis of today’s official NHS data shows that performance against the national cancer waiting times target in Wales fell to its worst level for the month of July for four years, with 2024 currently on track to be the worst year on record[i]
• The charity’s analysis also shows that January and July 2024, over 5,500 people with cancer in Wales waited more than two months to start treatment following an urgent referral[ii]
• In July alone, more than 900 people with cancer in Wales waited more than 62 days to start treatment from first being suspected of having cancer — this was approaching half (45%) of all those who started treatment in that month[iii]
• Performance in July was worse than the previous month and the worst performance in July since 2019 showing that NHS cancer services in Wales are still struggling under intense pressure[iv]
• Other recent data from Macmillan shows that concerns about long waits and delays have hit new highs among people with cancer in the UK. Two in three people currently having cancer treatment in the UK (66%) are worried about general pressures on the NHS affecting their chances of survival[v], the highest level since Macmillan started tracking this issue in November 2022, and an increase from 59% in January this year during peak winter pressures for the NHS[vi]
• The national cancer waiting times target in Wales has never been met since first being introduced, and an interim recovery target set by the Welsh Government has also been missed[vii]
• For some cancer types, performance remains particularly concerning. For example, in July 2024 only one in three people with lower gastrointestinal cancer (34%) started their treatment on time, with a similar figure for urological cancer (36%)[viii]
• Recent Macmillan analysis shows that survival rates for at least two common types of cancer in Wales (colon and rectal cancer in women) are only just now reaching the levels that Sweden and Norway were already achieving in the early 2000s[ix]
  Macmillan’s other new figures also show 70% of people with cancer in the UK are calling for the NHS to reduce long waiting times as a priority — the highest figure since Macmillan started tracking this in March last year[x]

[i] Figures based on Suspected Cancer Pathways data from StatsWales, accessed 19th September 2024. In July 2024, 55% of people with cancer in Wales (1,126 out of 2,047) started their first definitive treatment within 62 days of first being suspected of cancer. This was around 1.7 percentage points lower than the previous month and means 921 people in Wales were left waiting too long in July 2024. In total from January to July 2024, 5,660 people waited more than 62 days to start treatment

[ii] As per ref 1

[iii] As per ref 1

[iv] As per ref 1. Equivalent figures for comparison are: June 2024: 56.7%; July 2023: 58.2%; July 2022: 55.7%; July 2021: 63.4%; July 2020: 71.1%

[v] Macmillan Cancer Support/YouGov survey of 2,078 adults in the UK who have had a cancer diagnosis, including 215 people going through treatment. Fieldwork was undertaken between 11th and 30th June 2024. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of people living with cancer in the UK (aged 18+). Survey question was as follows: How worried, if at all, are you about the following? ‘General pressures on the NHS affecting my chances of survival’

[vi] Macmillan Cancer Support/YouGov survey of 2,099 adults in the UK who have had a cancer diagnosis, including 213 people going through treatment. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2nd and 22nd January 2024. All other details as per ref 1

[vii] At least 75% of patients should start treatment within 62 days (without suspensions) of first being suspected of cancer. Data published for time periods before December 2020 are not subject to the target. The Welsh Government’s planned care recovery plan established a new target of 80%, to be reached by 2026. Those targets have never been met, and an interim recovery target that cancer diagnosis and treatment would be undertaken within 62 days for 70% of people by March 2023 was also missed

[viii]As per ref 1

[ix] See this press release for full analysis and sources: Macmillan Cancer Support. UK cancer care ‘stuck in the noughties’. June 2024 (accessed June 2024)

[x] As per ref 2. Question wording was as follows: After early diagnosis and access to treatment… What areas do you think should be prioritised by the NHS in the next year to ensure cancer services meet the needs of patients? (Please select a maximum of three). 70% of all respondents selected ‘Reduce long waiting times for cancer care (e.g. referral to specialist, diagnosis, treatment)’ compared with 61% in a previous Macmillan/YouGov survey carried out in March 2023