To ask the Minister of Health to detail the measures in place, and planned, to (i) remove the cancer treatment backlog; and (ii) ensure patients have timely access to cancer diagnosis and treatment.

In June 2021, I published the Cancer Recovery Plan and Elective Care Framework in order to tackle cancer treatment backlogs. However, services remain under considerable and sustained pressure since the publication of the plans.

Access to the cancer diagnosis and treatment service continues to remain under considerable strain. Repeated COVID surges combined with unprecedented unscheduled care pressures have led to staff redeployment, a shortage of both inpatient and critical care beds and limited access to theatres.

Despite these pressures we do our utmost to ensure that patients have timely access to cancer diagnosis and treatment through the following means:

Additional investment in imaging to include 10 additional CT sessions per week and additional radiographer contingency.

£5m additional investment to support enhanced staffing levels and skills mix within oncology and haematology services.

Recruitment of 13 additional cancer trackers to help ensure effective tracking and safety netting of patients.

Investment in qFIT testing to enable early detection of colorectal cancer.

Investment in cancer information and support services within Trusts.

Investment in pathology services to include: funding to establish a Single Integrated Haematological reporting service and the roll out of digital pathology to optimise reporting capacity.

Investment to in additional screening sessions to address backlogs in cancer screening programmes.

The cancer plan did not cover outpatients or surgery, which were included within the Elective Care Framework. The HSC has been allocated £90m non-recurrent funding for elective waiting lists in 2021/22, a significant proportion of which is being utilised to address backlogs within cancer. This funding is being utilised to secure additional HSC capacity and, where necessary, independent sector capacity to assess and treat patients.

Funding is being targeted initially at those patients with the highest clinical priority including cancer and other time critical conditions. In addition to securing capacity to see and treat patients in independent sector facilities both within Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland, a number of private healthcare providers are providing in-sourcing services whereby privately recruited teams of clinicians are providing services for HSC patients using available HSC infrastructure.

In-sourcing is currently being used for a range of services including endoscopy and urology cystoscopy procedures and plans are in place to expand this to other procedures. A regional endoscopy pilot is about to get underway in Lagan Valley Hospital, South Eastern Trust. The pilot will offer an additional 20 endoscopy lists per week with the potential to increase up to 30 subject to additional funding and staffing which would substantially reduce the demand / capacity gap for endoscopy. Other similar projects aimed at increasing day case capacity on non-acute sites are currently under exploration.

Finally, in addition to this the DOH invested £10m through a cancer charities fund. This investment, which will cover a 3 year period, is supporting charities to deliver projects that align to the aims of the recovery plan and has led to significant investment in areas such as public awareness of signs and symptoms, prehabilitation and palliative care.