Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that women under the age of 25 with a history of cervical cancer can request a smear test.
Answered by Jo Churchill
A cervical smear may not be the most appropriate test for patients presenting with symptoms. The UK National Screening Committee encourages all women who have concerns about their health or who present with symptoms to contact their general practitioner, who will then decide on the most appropriate next steps and diagnostic tests.
Women who have a history of cancer are invited to attend regular appointments for testing, which will usually consist of a physical examination. These examinations will look for signs of cancer returning and are recommended for every three to six months for the first two years, and then every six to 12 months for a further three years.
Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to equalise all payments to those (a) infected and (b) affected by the contaminated blood scandal regardless of route of infection.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Government remains committed to addressing disparity in the support offered to those infected and affected by the infected blood disaster, across the United Kingdom.
The Department is working with relevant Government departments to resolve the immediate and pressing disparity between the English support scheme and those in Northern Ireland and Wales. The Government intends to launch a consultation between the four nations of the UK to achieve comprehensive parity for all those infected and affected and to consider the broader issues of support.
In addition to considering any recommendations made by the Infected Blood Inquiry.
Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many haemophiliac registrant victims of the contaminated blood scandal were paid the full £20,000 from the £10 million that the Government allocated in 1989 to the Haemophilia Society.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Haemophilia Society is a national charity founded in 1950 to provide support and services to the haemophilia community. The Department gave an ex gratia grant of £10 million to the Haemophilia Society in 1987 to enable them to establish a special trust fund so that payments could be made to meet the needs of the individuals with haemophilia affected and infected with HIV/AIDS because of receiving contaminated blood and blood products. This trust fund was called the Macfarlane Trust and it began administering the scheme in 1988.
The Macfarlane Trust was wound up in November 2017 and the English Infected Blood Support Scheme took over this scheme from November 2017 along with all other schemes supporting those affected and infected by contaminated blood and blood products.
The Department does not hold data in respect of numbers of people receiving an ex gratia payment.
Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2019 to Question 1906, what assessment his Department has made of the most appropriate test for patients presenting with symptoms of cervical cancer; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that women with symptoms of cervical cancer under the age of 25 are encouraged to return to their GP if they are denied a cervical screening test but symptoms continue.
Answered by Jo Churchill
All general practitioners (GPs) should use the latest evidence-based guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to identify people at risk of cancer. The NICE referral guidelines for suspected gynaecological cancers recommend that GPs consider a suspected cancer pathway referral (for an appointment within two weeks) for women if, on examination, the appearance of their cervix is consistent with cervical cancer.
People of any age who present with symptoms of cervical cancer, should make an appointment with their GP, who may then make a cancer pathway referral to a gynaecologist for examination. This may result in an additional referral for symptomatic colposcopic examination if cancer is suspected.
Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with members of the UK national screening committee on amending NHS guidelines to allow cervical smear test samples from under 25s to be examined if a GP requests an examination.
Answered by Jo Churchill
A cervical smear may not be the most appropriate test for patients presenting with symptoms. The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC) encourages all women who have concerns about their health or who present with symptoms to contact their general practitioner (GP), who will then decide on the most appropriate next steps and diagnostic tests.
There have been no discussions with members of the UK NSC in amending National Health Service guidelines to allow cervical smear test samples from under 25s to be examined if a general practitioner requests an examination.
Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to answer Question 287926 tabled on 6 September 2019 by the hon. Member for the City of Chester.
Answered by Jo Churchill
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.