Statement concerning the Cancer Improvement Plan for Wales

31st January 2023

This is welcome news, as the Wales Cancer Alliance has been calling for a detailed plan for cancer services since the Cancer Delivery Plan for Wales came to an end in 2020. The Cancer Improvement Plan for Wales outlines the steps NHS Wales needs to take to improve cancer outcomes, and enhance the experience of people with cancer, over the next three years.

The COVID19 pandemic derailed our NHS in its efforts to deliver a great deal of Wales’ cancer service improvements and the impact that the pandemic has had on our collective ambitions has been significant.

The Wales Cancer Alliance represents 28 cancer charities working alongside and with NHS Wales, helping to meet the needs of people affected by cancer. We are pleased that as an Alliance we were invited to contribute to the plan – and more importantly – that we were able to engage with over 160 people who have been directly affected by cancer, and feed that into the latter stages of the plan’s development. It is critical that services are developed to meet their needs.

“We now shift our focus to the implementation of the plan.”

We now shift our focus to the implementation of the plan. We look forward to working alongside and with the Wales Cancer Network, local health boards and other partners to make the plan a reality and be part of a system delivering the best possible outcomes for people in Wales affected by cancer.

Lowri Griffiths, Chair, Wales Cancer Alliance