Prostate Cancer: Screening
(asked on 8th September 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on (a) routine PSA testing for males in specific age categories and (b) the reimbursement of GP practices by the NHS for providing PSA tests; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of existing funding arrangements for PSA tests on the willingness of GP practices to provide routine testing.
There is no age limit on prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests.
Advice for general practitioners (GPs) called the Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme provides information and guidance for GPs to counsel asymptomatic men about the potential benefits and harms of PSA testing so they can make an informed decision about whether to have the test. There is no routine testing of men using PSA. They are advised to follow National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance for men who they think may have symptoms that could be prostate cancer. This includes the use of PSA as a diagnostic rather than screening test.
More information on the programme is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prostate-cancer-risk-management-programme-overview
With regards reimbursement of GP practices by the National Health Service for providing PSA tests, local enhanced services, such as blood tests, are negotiated and agreed locally, and are commissioned by integrated care boards to fit the needs of the local population. GP practices can choose whether they would like to participate in providing these services. These services can vary in scope and funding across the country. We have not assessed the potential impact of this funding arrangement for PSA tests on GP willingness to provide testing.
Where a man is symptomatic of prostate cancer, NICE guidance is clear about using the PSA test in these men. The guidance is available at the following link: