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Written Question
Breast Cancer: Screening
Friday 26th January 2024

Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 15 September 2023 to Question 198696 on Breast Cancer: Screening, what national evaluative projects have been commissioned; and what are the timelines for their delivery.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has commissioned a series of evaluative projects to improve the NHS Breast Screening Programme. These include actively following up women who have missed an appointment or not engaged with the service; looking at the reasons why women do not attend screening to address any barriers; and assessing the impact on screening uptake using different invitation methodologies with reference to factors such as age, previous screening history including attendance at first invitations and subsequent invites, and deprivation.

These projects are expected to report by April 2024.


Written Question
Breast Cancer: Screening
Friday 26th January 2024

Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 29 November 2022 to Question 94900 on Breast Cancer: Screening, what progress has been made on a new breast screening IT system.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Work on the Digital Transformation of Screening (DToS) programme is ongoing. When introduced, it will start to give breast screening offices across the country a single consolidated England-wide view of participants and improvements to appointment booking, which will allow the option for online booking and self-serve appointment. These changes to data monitoring and appointments will be delivered incrementally over the next 24 months, subject to funding. Longer term, the current breast screening IT system will be completely replaced by the DToS.


Written Question
Breast Cancer: Screening
Friday 26th January 2024

Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Public Accounts Committee report Adult health screening, published on 10 May 2019 (HC 1746), what progress they have made towards the first recommendation contained in that report to publish a plan, with timeframes for action, to explain how they intend to address the health inequalities that exist in breast screening.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Public Health England published an inequalities strategy in an online-only format in October 2020 aimed at supporting local screening services, commissioners, and others to address inequalities. Accepted recommendations from the 2019 Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on Adult Health Screening have now been implemented, so NHS England no longer reports against the PAC report.

NHS England has developed a national plan to improve uptake within the breast screening programme, including interventions to address inequalities and screening barriers. This includes working to ensure that breast screening appointments are as convenient to people as possible and focusing its efforts on low uptake areas and groups. NHS England is also working to ensure they have data, including on protected characteristics, to support services to deliver more targeted initiatives.


Written Question
Pathology: Digital Technology
Friday 26th January 2024

Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Digital pathology to improve cancer screening and save lives, published on 5 January 2024, what additional training will be given to pathologists working to enable the quick uptake of new technology.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Following the recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee to support the use of digital pathology in the National Health Service cervical, breast and bowel cancer screening programmes, NHS England are investing in and working with the Royal College of Pathologists in the on-going development of an online Pathology Portal.

This digital learning platform will support trainees and established pathology practitioners in digital pathology to ensure that digital learning materials are available to the multi-professional workforce.

NHS England plans to issue guidance at the end of January 2024 for the three NHS Cancer Screening Programmes, to support local providers of histopathology services who wish to implement digital pathology for the reporting of screening cases.


Written Question
Community Diagnostic Centres: Cancer
Wednesday 24th January 2024

Asked by: Chloe Smith (Conservative - Norwich North)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the rollout of community diagnostic centres on the time taken to diagnose less survivable cancers.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is taking steps through NHS England to improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those cancers mentioned by the Less Survivable Cancer Taskforce, namely lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, pancreatic and stomach. Diagnostic checks are a key part of cancer pathways and the 150 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) opened by the Government will give earlier diagnostic tests, benefitting millions of patients including those who are referred with suspected less survivable cancers. National Health Service systems have been asked to prioritise CDC capacity towards their most challenged cancer pathways, where this is clinically appropriate, and these centres have delivered over six million additional tests for all elective activity since July 2021. The CDC programme is on track to meet its target to open up to 160 CDCs by March 2025, with many due to open ahead of schedule.

In November 2022, the NHS also announced an expansion of direct access to diagnostic scans across all general practices, to help cut waiting times and speeding up cancer diagnosis, or all-clear for patients. The NHS is now looking to widen the clinical pathways for which this is offered.

Making improvements across different cancer types is critical to helping achieve the NHS Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of patients at an early stage by 2028 and reducing inequalities in cancer survival. NHS England has commissioned new cancer clinical audits covering six cancer types, some of which are less survivable: pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney cancer and primary and metastatic breast cancer. All six audits will cover care delivered in England and Wales.


Written Question
Cancer: Waiting Lists
Wednesday 24th January 2024

Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for treatments for (a) breast, (b) ovarian and (c) prostate cancer.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Reducing waiting times for treatments of all types of cancer is a priority for the Government, as is increasing early cancer diagnosis as this is a key contributor to reducing cancer health inequalities. We are expanding capacity through our community diagnostic centres (CDCs) supported by £2.3 billion of capital funding with 150 CDCs currently operational and having delivered over six million additional tests, checks and scans including vital cancer checks since January 2021.

The planned Major Conditions Strategy will look at the early diagnosis and treatment of cancer and will consider a wide range of interventions and enablers to improve outcomes and experience for a range of cancer patients, including those less survivable cancers.

NHS England has commissioned six cancer clinical audits which will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatments and outcomes for patients, including ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney cancer and primary and metastatic breast cancer. The Royal College of Surgeons began work on this audit in October 2022, and the first outcomes expected in September 2024.


Written Question
Breast Cancer: Screening
Wednesday 24th January 2024

Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for the Department of Health and Social Care on 15 September 2023 (198696), whether they will make the Uptake Improvement Plan for the breast screening programme public.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Whilst no assessment has been made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake or the timescales for reaching the achievable target of 80%, the Government continues to be committed to supporting and improving uptake the NHS breast screening programme.

A national plan has been developed by NHS England in collaboration with key stakeholders such as cancer alliances, to improve uptake in the breast screening programme from 2023 and beyond; this is in line with the Long Term Plan commitment that by 2028, 75% of cancers will be diagnosed at stages one and two.

The improvement plan is not set to be published, but covers the priorities and interventions needed to increase uptake. This includes expanding access to screening, reducing inequalities, continuing to develop IT systems to improve data analytics, and ensuring communications are inclusive and accessible to all.


Written Question
Breast Cancer: Screening
Wednesday 24th January 2024

Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Demos and Breast Cancer Now report The Cost of Breast Cancer: Modelling the economic impact to the UK, published on 22 January, what assessment they have made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Whilst no assessment has been made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake or the timescales for reaching the achievable target of 80%, the Government continues to be committed to supporting and improving uptake the NHS breast screening programme.

A national plan has been developed by NHS England in collaboration with key stakeholders such as cancer alliances, to improve uptake in the breast screening programme from 2023 and beyond; this is in line with the Long Term Plan commitment that by 2028, 75% of cancers will be diagnosed at stages one and two.

The improvement plan is not set to be published, but covers the priorities and interventions needed to increase uptake. This includes expanding access to screening, reducing inequalities, continuing to develop IT systems to improve data analytics, and ensuring communications are inclusive and accessible to all.


Written Question
Breast Cancer: Screening
Wednesday 24th January 2024

Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, based on the current speed of recovery, what estimate they have made of when breast screening uptake in England could reach the achievable target of 80 per cent.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Whilst no assessment has been made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake or the timescales for reaching the achievable target of 80%, the Government continues to be committed to supporting and improving uptake the NHS breast screening programme.

A national plan has been developed by NHS England in collaboration with key stakeholders such as cancer alliances, to improve uptake in the breast screening programme from 2023 and beyond; this is in line with the Long Term Plan commitment that by 2028, 75% of cancers will be diagnosed at stages one and two.

The improvement plan is not set to be published, but covers the priorities and interventions needed to increase uptake. This includes expanding access to screening, reducing inequalities, continuing to develop IT systems to improve data analytics, and ensuring communications are inclusive and accessible to all.


Written Question
Breast Cancer: Screening
Wednesday 24th January 2024

Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State at the Department for Health and Social Care on 15 September 2023 (198696), what actions are included in the Uptake Improvement Plan for the breast screening programme; and what are the recommended timeframes for those actions.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Whilst no assessment has been made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake or the timescales for reaching the achievable target of 80%, the Government continues to be committed to supporting and improving uptake the NHS breast screening programme.

A national plan has been developed by NHS England in collaboration with key stakeholders such as cancer alliances, to improve uptake in the breast screening programme from 2023 and beyond; this is in line with the Long Term Plan commitment that by 2028, 75% of cancers will be diagnosed at stages one and two.

The improvement plan is not set to be published, but covers the priorities and interventions needed to increase uptake. This includes expanding access to screening, reducing inequalities, continuing to develop IT systems to improve data analytics, and ensuring communications are inclusive and accessible to all.