, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with the National Endoscopy Programme and Wales Cancer Network
And I guess, given that, a few minutes ago, you said, 'We had the plans,' I guess those plans would be based on that kind of data.
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with the National Endoscopy Programme and Wales Cancer Network
Does the data suggest a way forward on how, then, to improve capacity further, to increase productivity and so on?
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with the National Endoscopy Programme and Wales Cancer Network
To a high degree of accuracy, yes, because there are productivity tools that the British Society of Gastroenterology and JAG have developed, and we use all those. It's fair to say that our productivity isn't optimal and it could be improved, but it's also…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with the National Endoscopy Programme and Wales Cancer Network
I was going to ask a question around whether we have the data and the know-how about how productive our endoscopy units currently are. But, given the scale of insourcing and outsourcing, are we able to measure meaningfully the capacity and the productivity of…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with the National Endoscopy Programme and Wales Cancer Network
Yes, and 'resilience' and 'sustainability' are words that have come up here. Back to you, Professor Dolwani. Specifically on the issue of insourcing and outsourcing that you mentioned, those are measures that have been brought in as crisis measures…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with the National Endoscopy Programme and Wales Cancer Network
That's a very comprehensive and useful answer. I don't know if, Professor Crosby, you have some comments to make on that. It doesn't feel as if it's cash—although I'm sure more cash would be welcome—but it's a systems problem that's blocking the expansion of…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with the National Endoscopy Programme and Wales Cancer Network
It certainly is very, very helpful. That is key, I think, for the new NHS executive, and I'm certainly pleased to hear that being said so clearly today. Let's just look at capacity. First of all, do we know how much demand there will be in addition to current…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
Okay. Diolch.
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
Dr Hillier, do you share the optimism?
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
Providing more screening lists is quite easy to say and it's there headed in your evidence paper to us. Is that achievable? Is it sustainable to build in that kind of ambition for an increase in capacity in that way?
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
Are moves afoot to make this a reality? Because I’m sure it’s clear in your mind the things that need to be done, but the question is: are the strategies in place to actually deliver on some of that change that you want to see?
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
Thank you very much. I just want to look at the capacity of colonoscopy. We’ve touched on this already, but I’ve gone through the Public Health Wales paper and there is a list of different areas that you think need to be tackled, everything from the changing…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
Yes.
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
That's useful. Diolch, Gadeirydd.
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
Forgive me. Do you have a target that you are pushed to try to reach on uptake?
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
Maybe, as well, you could comment on whether that would be a worthwhile exercise, because it strikes me as being useful data, if only for hammering the message home. You obviously want to push up the uptake rates; what are the plans, what have you got planned…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
Are you able to compare or drill into the data of people who present late with bowel cancer? How many of those were not screened, did not take up the opportunity to be screened, and so on? I'm thinking of how to strengthen the message around the importance of…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
But similar.
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
How are the uptake figures for Wales compared to other countries?
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
It's probably easier if you just maybe keep them on one ear, rather than take them off and on—perhaps that would be easier.
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
Is the uptake in Wales—?
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with Public Health Wales
It doesn't want to unmute. There we go; I am unmuted. It's a system that's been very well explained there by you in terms of the work that you're doing, reaching out to people with this screening programme. What's the public's response to this in general? Are…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with cancer organisations
You both have offered a number of actions that need to be taken, so this is the last question from me. There's a very ambitious target of trying to ensure diagnostic tests within eight weeks by spring 2024. Are we moving quickly enough with the workforce? Are…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with cancer organisations
Thank you very much for that comprehensive answer. You referred to the workforce. Gerard, I don't know if you've had the opportunity yet to look at the workforce plan that was published yesterday or the day before—the day before, Tuesday afternoon. Do you see…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Endoscopy services: evidence session with cancer organisations
I wanted to say at the outset that it's going to be inevitable that we repeat some things as we touch on capacity. But could you take us through the kind of interventions that we need to put in place in order to increase capacity, and I'm thinking of things…
