Covid: 3,500 'missing' from cancer services in Wales

About 3,500 cancer patients are "missing" from treatment services since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a charity.

Macmillan said stronger messaging was needed to tell the public the NHS was open to get symptoms checked.

Another charity, Tenovus, said it had faced "push back" from ministers over a recovery plan for cancer services.

The Welsh Government says a "national meeting" will be held in the coming weeks to discuss them.

Cancer screening services were paused from the start of the pandemic until the end of June 2020 to ensure the safety of staff and patients and so resources could be redeployed to tackle the virus.

Opposition parties called on the Welsh Government to come up with a plan to tackle the problem.

The national cancer clinical director for Wales, Tom Crosby, said the number of suspected cancer patients fell by about 75% at the start of the pandemic.

He said they have since picked up, but not returned to their previous level.

He told BBC Radio Wales's Eye on Wales programme: "I think it's fair to say there was some thousands of patients with a cancer diagnosis that we would have expected to present last year and haven't."

Macmillan's calculations, based on how many people have been diagnosed during the pandemic compared to previous years, estimate around 3,500 people could have missed a cancer diagnosis between March and November 2020.

Richard Pugh, from Macmillan in Wales, said: "We also know that since that date, Wales has entered a national lockdown and that our health services have had to cope with the highest levels of coronavirus infection Wales has seen since the pandemic began.

"The worry is that the current situation could be even worse than suggested.

"We've had a very successful public health campaign: 'Stay home, stay safe, protect the NHS.'

"Unfortunately, there are people sitting at home with symptoms at the moment who have got cancer.

"What we desperately need to see now is a renewed confidence in people's local health care services. Whether it is a cough, a lump or unexplained bleeding, please contact your GP if you have any new, or persistent changes to your health. They are still there to help you."

Prof Crosby said cancer services post-Covid would need to run at "120% to 130%" of their previous capacity for a couple of years to deal with an increased number of patients, some with cancer in a later stage than it would have been had they sought medical advice earlier.

Cancer charities say a national plan is needed to co-ordinate health boards' response to tackling the backlog of cancer cases, once the pressure on NHS resources from coronavirus begins to ease.

Mr Pugh said: "You cannot furlough cancer and it feels like we're being furloughed at the moment. We are parking a risk that's going to come back.

"Because an election is due, it shouldn't stop us planning a way out of this and sadly I think that is the case at the moment."

Judi Rhys, chief executive of Tenovus Cancer Care, said: "There's definitely a push-back from Welsh Government to this collective plea to get a cancer strategy in place."

A Welsh Government spokesman said: "As the vaccine is rolled out and as the public health situation improves, we will be focusing on the recovery of NHS services.

"A national meeting will be held in the coming weeks to discuss cancer services."

Angela Burns, health spokeswoman for the Welsh Conservatives, called for an action plan to tackle the backlog.

"The people of Wales need the reassurance from Labour that this potential hidden pandemic will be tackled now and as a priority - not 'in a few weeks'," she said.

Rhun ap Iorwerth of Plaid Cymru said it was not the time for the Welsh Government to be without a cancer delivery plan.

He said: "Wales already has one of the worst cancer outcomes in Europe, and the impact of the pandemic has and will continue to exacerbate this."

Eye on Wales is available online and on the BBC Sounds app and is broadcast at 18:30 GMT on Wednesday 3 February 2021 on BBC Radio Wales