Debate contribution: Cancer Services and Outcomes

Debate contribution by Mr Alan Chambers on 18 November 2025.

MLA: Mr Alan Chambers
Party at the time: Ulster Unionist Party
Date: 18 November 2025
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Cancer Services and Outcomes
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5244894

Text

Few issues that are brought before the House carry the same priority or urgency as cancer care. Cancer is a disease that can thrive in a vacuum. That is why every possible step should be taken to stamp down on avoidable delays in diagnosis. As has been said, every postponed treatment represents not just a statistic but a person, so it is for them that we must approach this discussion with the seriousness and focus that it deserves. I acknowledge the work that is under way not just in the Department but across the senior clinical leadership on not just sustaining but improving cancer services. The cancer strategy is something that every Member should get behind. No matter where patients may live in Northern Ireland, they should have equitable and timely access to world-class cancer referral, diagnosis, treatment and person-centred care. That is not an aspiration; it is a necessity. As has so often been discussed in the Chamber, however, we must also be honest with ourselves. The gap between the strategy's ambition and the available resources is significant. The strategy anticipated recurring funding approaching £55 million by year 4 and rising further over the decade. Today, the Minister is working with just over £10 million. It is a credit to our healthcare staff that good progress has been made in such trying circumstances. Cancer waiting times in particular must be addressed with a renewed sense of urgency. The Minister has often acknowledged, and will likely and rightly do so again today, that too many people are waiting beyond the targets and far beyond what any of us would be willing to tolerate. Whilst that is undoubtedly the case, it is important that we look at the broader data. Thankfully, our outcomes suggest that, on the whole, patients still receive the high quality of care and treatments that they require. That is important for us to emphasise, because patients and their families deserve encouragement and hope. Of course, every delay is one too many, not least because early treatment saves lives, as does early diagnosis. Removing avoidable delays can literally save lives. I very much welcome the elective care framework and the implementation plan that has directed substantial funding of £85 million into red-flag and time-critical care. That is evidence of a system that is trying within its constraints to do what is right. The targeted investments in endoscopy, diagnostics, systemic anti-cancer therapy and cancer nursing capacity are all steps in the right direction. As the most recent published reports show, those focused investments are beginning to have a real impact. Waiting lists for endoscopy have been reduced dramatically. Rapid diagnostic centres (RDCs) are streamlining care for patients whose symptoms do not point clearly to one cancer type but whose need for swift assessment is no less urgent. The expansion of CT and MRI capacity, not just at the RDCs but at other acute sites, is also helping to reduce some of the longest waits on record. There was a decision earlier this year to move to a regional breast assessment list. Whilst it was never going to be easy, it was still the right thing to do. Waiting times for breast assessment, which rightly concerned us at the end of the summer, are now beginning to show significant improvement. Importantly, the new approach has ended the wholly intolerable postcode lottery for patients, including for my constituents in the South Eastern Trust area, who had previously faced some of the longest waits. The motion understandably references the cancer research strategy. The idea was to publish it earlier this year, but, as the Minister has rightly said, he wanted much more than a plan for a plan's sake, so it was the right thing to do to take time to get it right and, importantly, to gain support from the wider research community. This is an important debate on an important issue. Progress is being made, but we can all see that there is still much to do. I place on record our appreciation and thanks to all the medical staff who provide care and comfort to people who are suffering from this insidious disease.

694 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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