A BLOOD cancer doctor working in Wales has said the Welsh NHS is far behind England in terms of treatment and technology.

This disparity has affected local families first hand, for example in the tragic death of Emily Clarke, who passed away aged 18 after a two year fight against non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of blood cancer.

Emily died after she could not access the treatment available in Bristol, which was a 45 minute drive away, because she fell too unwell to travel.

  • READ MORE ABOUT "INSPIRATIONAL TEEN" EMILY, HERE.

Dr Ceri Bygrave said: “The haematology workforce are overstretched and understaffed, with critical staff shortages and increasingly complex treatments leaving people delivering NHS blood cancer care under major pressure.

“This is a particular challenge in Wales where by 2032, 74% of permanent haematology consultants will reach the age of 60 with a shortfall in trainees to replace them.

“The crumbling NHS infrastructure that exists in Wales and a woeful IT infrastructure that lags a long way behind other centres in England are all things that compromise blood cancer patient care on a daily basis.

“To improve blood cancer survival, future NHS workforce plans must include an increase in the number of and support for blood cancer clinical nurse specialists, as well as action to turn around the drop in the number of clinicians doing blood cancer research.”

Other doctors working specifically on haematology wards said they leave their wards at the end of their shifts "wondering if things will be alright overnight."

They also expressed concern at the fact they are working on wards with the same staffing levels as 10 to 15 years ago.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “A record number of staff are working in the NHS and we have continued to invest in the haematology workforce over the past decade.

“This includes a 20% increase in consultant and a 56% increase in specialty and associate specialist doctors.

“We are investing heavily in cancer services, both in terms of new equipment and facilities.

“We have also made cancer one of the NHS’s top planning priorities and have launched a national programme to support recovery in cancer waiting times which is supported by £2m a year for three years.”