Charity

Call for long-term cancer strategy as 9,000 wait too long for treatment

Published

2 months ago

March 29, 2025

CANCER charities joined forces to call for a longer-term national strategy to improve services after 9,000 people waited too long for treatment last year.

Mark Isherwood raised an Audit Wales report which found cancer services have consistently failed to hit a 75% target for patients to start treatment within 62 days.

Mr Isherwood, who chairs the Senedd’s public accounts committee, asked witnesses for their reflections on the issues identified by the auditor general for Wales.

Lowri Griffiths, chair of the Wales Cancer Alliance, a coalition of charities established nearly 20 years ago, said she was saddened and disappointed by the findings.

The director of policy at Tenovus told the committee: “We’ve long held the view that some of the governance arrangements around cancer services, especially since the development of the quality statement, have not been fit for purpose.”

Hannah Buckingham, of Macmillan Cancer Support, a vice-chair of the alliance, said performance against the 62-day target shows the system cannot keep up with demand.

“It isn’t working for far too many people across Wales,” she told the committee, describing the impact of delays in diagnosis as devastating for cancer patients and their families. “Not just on their physical health but their mental and emotional health as well.”

Ms Buckingham said: “In 2024, we saw, for example, 9,000 people across Wales wait too long to start treatment on that 62-day pathway which is just not good enough quite frankly.”

She added that it is distressing for staff not being able to deliver timely care for patients, calling for a strategic approach to tackling workforce shortages.

Ms Buckingham warned of a lack of robust governance mechanisms to enforce, track and evaluate actions in the three-year NHS cancer improvement plan.

Simon Scheeres, a fellow vice-chair of the alliance representing Cancer Research UK, said the report underlined the need for a longer-term, more cohesive strategy, raising concerns about a confusing plethora of quality statements, improvement plans and other initiatives.

Mr Scheeres pointed to Denmark as an example of best practice, with evidence showing countries with long-term cancer plans have seen greater improvements in outcomes.

Warning deprivation has a profound impact in Wales, he told Senedd members that death rates are 50% higher in the most deprived groups compared with the least.

Mr Scheeres said lung cancer is by far the biggest cancer killer in Wales as he raised a life-saving pilot of targeted lung health checks in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board.

Ms Griffiths voiced concerns about the Welsh Government’s response to the Audit Wales recommendation of a national lung screening programme which took “an age”.

She said: “It talks about a decision to deliver – so [the] Welsh Government is not committing to deliver, it’s committed to making a decision to whether or not to deliver.”

Lauren Marks, of Young Lives vs Cancer, described the cancer improvement plan as lacking detail on the specific needs of children and young people.

“Systematically, children and young people are being overlooked in the detail,” she said.

Ms Marks warned the 62-day target, which measures the time between first being suspected of having cancer and starting treatment, does not capture young people’s experiences.

She said the delay that young people experience is between thinking something is wrong and getting their diagnosis, with most attending their GP more times than adults do.

Ms Marks added that children and young people get different types of cancer to adults that are not routinely addressed by screening programmes.

She highlighted travelling to treatment as a big issue for children and young people in Wales who travel longer distances than anywhere else in the UK to access care and support.

Ms Marks put the average cost of travel at £280 a month, with one in ten reporting missing or delaying treatment due to unaffordable transport.

Mr Isherwood, the committee chair who has long campaigned on disability rights, put on record his thanks for the work the charities do during the meeting on March 26.

“Two of my children when they were younger received diagnoses,” he said. “The first one, there wasn’t a referral to yourselves, now you’re in most hospitals…. with the second, it was Young Lives vs Cancer or CLIC Sargent that got my other daughter through, so thank you.”

Charity

Milford Haven Inner Wheel donates £700 to Megan’s Starr Foundation

Published

3 hours ago

May 23, 2025

Tom Sinclair

MEMBERS of the Inner Wheel Club of Milford Haven have donated £700 to the Megan’s Starr Foundation following a successful charity fashion show.

The fundraising event, held at Image by Vanessa, raised funds in support of the foundation’s ongoing work promoting youth wellbeing, suicide prevention, and mental health support in the local area.

Representatives from the Inner Wheel were warmly welcomed to The Dizzy Bear on Thursday evening (May 23), where they presented the donation and spent time learning more about the foundation’s projects.

A spokesperson for Megan’s Starr Foundation said: “It was so lovely to host the ladies of the Inner Wheel Club at The Dizzy Bear last night. Their support means the world to us and helps us continue making a real difference in our community.”

The Megan’s Starr Foundation, based in Pembrokeshire, was established in memory of Megan Davies-Starr, who tragically died by suicide at the age of 17. The charity works to ensure young people feel heard, supported, and empowered.

Photo caption:

Grateful thanks: Members of the Inner Wheel Club with Megan’s Starr Foundation team at The Dizzy Bear (Pic: Megan’s Starr Foundation)

Charity

Wales sees surge in food bank use as celebrities urge UK Government to act

Published

16 hours ago

May 22, 2025

Tom Sinclair

171,673 emergency parcels distributed across Wales last year

A GROWING number of Welsh families are relying on food banks, with new figures showing that nearly 172,000 emergency food parcels were distributed across Wales between April 2024 and March 2025.

The data, released today (Friday, May 23) by anti-poverty charity The Trussell Trust, shows the scale of food poverty in the UK – with 2.9 million parcels handed out nationally. Over one million of those were for children.

In Wales, food parcel distribution has increased by 26% since 2019/20, a sign that for many communities, hunger is becoming normalised.

The figures have sparked renewed calls for government action, with well-known faces including Dame Julie Walters and Lesley Manville urging ministers to address what they describe as a national emergency.

Dame Julie said: “Emergency food distribution is being normalised in the UK. These stats highlight the need for us to come together and play our part in saying this isn’t right.”

In Pembrokeshire and across rural Wales, campaigners warn that the situation is worsened by isolation, limited services, and higher energy bills – all pushing vulnerable people to crisis point.

Actor Lesley Manville, who recently won an Olivier Award, said: “I’m shocked at the extremely high levels of emergency food parcels being distributed by food banks, especially the sharp rise in children under five needing support. This has to be a wake-up call for the UK government.”

In Wales, more than 187,000 parcels were distributed the previous year – a drop in 2024/25, but still far above pre-pandemic levels. Trussell Trust chief executive Emma Revie said this cannot be seen as a success: “Thousands of families, disabled people, and working households had to access food banks. This should be a massive wake-up call.”

Comedian Rosie Jones said that proposed UK Government cuts to disability benefits could make matters worse: “Slashing the income of someone already struggling to cover life’s essentials is cruel and counterproductive.”

In Pembrokeshire, food banks such as PATCH in Milford Haven and the Trussell-linked outlets in Haverfordwest and Fishguard have seen sustained high demand. Volunteers warn that without local donations and support, they would struggle to meet needs.

TV presenter and Trussell ambassador AJ Odudu added: “Right now, someone needs an emergency food parcel every 11 seconds. It’s never been more vital that we all play our part.”

The charity is calling for an urgent re-think on proposed welfare cuts and for the UK Government to take decisive action to reduce hunger and hardship.

Campaigners are also urging the public to donate food or money to their local food bank. A postcode search tool showing how many parcels were distributed in each area is available at: campaign.trussell.org.uk/parcels-by-postcode

Charity

St Davids RNLI duck race returns this bank holiday

Published

2 days ago

May 21, 2025

Tom Sinclair

700 ducks to race the River Alun in fun-filled fundraiser

ST DAVIDS RNLI is preparing to welcome crowds once again for its much-loved duck race, which takes place on bank holiday Monday, 26 May, on the River Alun outside St Davids Cathedral.

Building on the success of last year’s event, this year’s race will see 700 plastic ducks released into the river, all competing for cash prizes. The race begins at 1:00pm, with festivities kicking off from 11:00am.

Visitors can enjoy a pop-up shop, home-made cakes, and the chance to name a duck for just £2 – with all proceeds supporting the vital, lifesaving work of the RNLI in St Davids.

“The duck race is always a fantastic day out for all ages and a brilliant way to support the lifeboat station,” said Simone Eade, RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer. “Every duck sold helps us continue our mission of saving lives at sea.”