Commenting on the report from Cancer Research UK that the Welsh response to cancer care during the Covid-19 pandemic has been “slow” in comparison to England, the Shadow Health Minister – Angela Burns AM – said:
“There has been disruption to cancer care services during this pandemic, especially as some staff or wards will have been redeployed to treat people with the virus.
“However, what concerns me is that, according to statements from Wales' clinical cancer care director, Professor Tom Crosby, only about a quarter of urgent referrals are being dealt with.”
Mrs Burns also referred to a survey from the British Medical Association (BMA). Of the 835 doctors in Wales who responded, some 40 percent (335) reported that care for patients not affected by the virus has significantly worsened, with a further quarter claiming it has worsened slightly.
“Clearly, patients need the reassurance that services will be safe and the Minister for Health must consider a range of options to treat cancer patients in a safe and accessible environment.
“All options must be looked into, including designating hospitals - so called 'cancer hubs' - to treat these patients completely separately from Covid-19 patients in Coronavirus-free settings.
“Primary care services must be maintained. We cannot let the treatment of one set of patients suffer while we tackle the illness of another group, however unprecedented the circumstances.”