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 (a) help support community pharmacists in the early detection of leukaemia, (b) expand phlebotomy capacity and (c) increase levels of access to full blood counts.

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service in catching cancer, including blood cancers, as early as possible, to treat these diseases faster and more effectively, and thereby improve outcomes.

NHS England does not currently commission any phlebotomy or full blood count services from community pharmacies. Patients can access these services in community diagnostic centres (CDCs), which offer local populations a wide range of diagnostic tests closer to home, and greater choice on where and how they are undertaken, reducing the need for hospital visits and speeding up diagnosis.

The Elective Reform Plan commits to transform and expand diagnostic services and speed up waiting times for tests, including for blood tests. We will also expand the number of CDCs operating seven days a week and 12 hours a day, as well as the tests they offer, so that patients have greater access to these more convenient tests. We will also deliver additional CDC capacity in 2025/26 by expanding a number of existing CDCs and building up to five new ones.