Stats Wales has today published cancer waiting times for December 2024, completing the full picture for 2024.
While the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care is pleased to see positive progress in overall cancer waiting times, Claire’s Campaign is deeply concerned by the stark contrast in progress for patients with gynaecological cancer.
Overall cancer performance against the 62-day target was 61.9% in December 2024, the highest since August 2021, but for gynaecological cancers, it remained below the 50% mark at 38.4%. For comparison, the highest it has ever been is 48.3%, and this was in December 2020.
The statistics for 2024 (pictured below) show no progress for gynae cancer waiting times, with the average percentage of patients meeting the Welsh Government’s target at around 36%. This means that over half of patients are waiting longer than two months to begin their cancer treatment.
For the Welsh Government to meet its target for 75% of cancer patients to begin treatment within 62 days of suspicion, there is a long way to go. The significant variation across health boards also highlights the disparities for patients across Wales.
Gynaecological cancer patients deserve better care, including more timely diagnoses and for their voices and concerns to be listened to at their first presentation in primary care.
