REFERRALS of suspected cancer patients in Gwent for tests and consultations remained lower than pre-coronavirus levels during late summer and early autumn, new figures reveal.

The situation is the same throughout much of the rest of Wales - and a leading cancer charity fears the number of people not sent for cancer tests since the start of pandemic in Wales is now above 27,000.

The number of referrals into Wales' Single Cancer Pathway - the Welsh Government’s cancer waiting times target, under which patients should be tested and begin treatment within 62 days of cancer being suspected - slumped when coronavirus arrived in Wales last March.

And despite improvements during the summer as the first wave of the virus subsided, figures for September and October - the latest available - show referrals have not returned to the levels for corresponding months in 2019.

Across Wales in September this year, 11,981 patients were referred over suspected cancer, 8.7 per cent fewer than in September 2019 - and in October this year the 11,940 referrals was 14.3 per cent down on October 2019.

Referrals in Gwent last September totalled 2,241, down 10.4 per cent on 12 months earlier, while in October 2,403 patients were referred, 15.2 per cent down on October 2019.

READ MORE:

The latest figures from the Welsh Government pre-date the resurgent in coronavirus after the firebreak lockdown of late October-early November, and the tough choices health boards across Wales have recently had to begin making again, regarding the provision of certain services.

Judi Rhys, chief executive of the charity Tenovus Cancer Care, called the recovery in cancer referrals in Wales "sluggish", with numbers "consistently failing to reach pre-pandemic levels".

“We estimate that the number of people not sent for cancer tests since the start of the pandemic is now above 27,000 and has risen by over 1,200 since last month," she said.

"Unless we see cancer referrals increase above pre-pandemic levels, this enormous backlog won’t start to shift.

"Even if referrals were 10 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, it could take over 20 months to clear yet, much like last month, today’s figures are 10 per cent down on the average.

“Early diagnosis is key to long term prospects, with cancer scans resulting in cancer being diagnosed and treated.

"Compared with what we would have expected to see, there are more than 1,600 people that have not started treatments since April, and this is hugely concerning.”