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 improve coordination between (a) primary and (b) secondary care to ensure (i) timely and (ii) effective monitoring of patients diagnosed with Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance to enable early detection of blood cancer.

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes for all patients across England. This includes the monitoring of patients with pre-cancerous conditions like monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) who carry a small risk of progressing to multiple myeloma or other related cancers.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced that a National Cancer Plan for England will be published this year, supporting the Prime Minister’s mission to build an NHS fit for the future and reduce the number of lives lost to cancer. As part of the National Cancer Plan, we are committed to working closely with partners and patient groups to shape the long-term vision for cancer.

Patients diagnosed with MGUS must be appropriately and effectively monitored both in primary care and secondary care, with regular blood tests to check for any change in their condition and to ensure that any need for treatment can be met as soon as possible.

Our 10 year plan commits to shifting care from the hospital to the community, including diagnostic tests, and to ensuring care is more integrated across primary and secondary care. Diagnostic tests, such as blood tests, should be more easily accessible and located in the community where possible, which is more convenient for patients than going to hospital. In addition to diagnostic capacity in traditional settings such as general practices and hospitals, we have committed to build upon the current 170 community diagnostic centres that are open across the country by expanding a number of these and by building up to five new ones, as well as expanding the number that are open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

Our Elective Reform Plan commits to more integrated working between primary and secondary care, including diagnostics. Further investment and improvement of the NHS electronic referral service will support effective joint clinical decision making and improve the quality of information shared between primary and secondary care.

Healthcare services provided by general practice, including phlebotomy and blood tests, are commissioned locally by integrated care boards based on population need.