Almost three quarters of haematology consultants in Wales will near retirement age in the next decade, with a critical shortfall of replacements, a charity has warned.

Blood Cancer UK (BCUK) launched an action plan in Cardiff on 24 September.

Ceri Bygrave, a consultant haematologist at the University Hospital of Wales, Heath, Cardiff, was part of the charity’s task force which produced the recommendations.

Dr Bygrave said: “The haematology workforce is 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 per cent 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.”