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28 Oct 2005 : Column 564W—continued
Smoking (Asthma)
Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Healthwhat steps she is taking to increase awareness of the effects of second-hand smoke on people with asthma. [21514]
Caroline Flint: The Government's 1998 White Paper, Smoking Kills", made clear that second-hand smoke, also known as passive smoking, was harmful to asthma sufferers and that they were more prone to attacks because of breathing in other people's smoke. We have in place a comprehensive strategy to tackle smoking and reduce the illness and death caused by smoking.
As part of our strategy, we have boosted our tobacco education media campaign, and from 2003, we have run campaigns raising awareness of the health risks of second-hand smoke. Our Smoking Near Children" campaign was the first to raise the general public's awareness of the health risks to children of second-hand smoke.
Our new second-hand smoke media campaign launched on 5 September 2005, which will run until the end of October, focuses on the health risks in the home—as most deaths and harm are due to second-hand smoke in the home.
In September 2005, the national health service updated and reissued the leaflet, Fact-Second-hand Smoke is a Killer", which gives the latest key facts on second-hand smoke. In the leaflet, it states that breathing in second-hand smoke doubles your chances of developing asthma, and if you are one of the 5.2 million people in the United Kingdom who already suffer from asthma, second-hand makes your breathing problems worse. A copy of the leaflet is available in the Library.
Blood
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the average cost per primary care trust to implement EU Directive 2002/98/EC on the traceability of blood; and what funding her Department has provided towards meeting these costs. [22115]
Caroline Flint: A regulatory impact assessment concluded that most of the requirements of the proposed regulations, implementing this directive, are already covered in central guidance and best practice standards in the United Kingdom. Thus, any costs were being, or would be incurred anyway.
The Department has made £200,000 available to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to meet the cost of developing a reporting system for serious adverse events and reactions.
Any additional cost incurred by an individual hospital or primary care trust will depend on how far it is compliant with current requirements and best practice.
Bowel Cancer
Mr. Gerrard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons screening for bowel cancer in England
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is limited to people over the age of 60 years; and if she will extend the age range to include people between 50 and 60 years. [21151]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Men and women in their 60s will be invited to take part in the national health service bowel cancer screening programme from April 2006. We will encourage men and women aged 70 and over to self refer if they wish to by seeing their general practitioner or ringing the local screening unit.
The risk of bowel cancer increases with age, with over 80 per cent. of bowel cancers arising in people who are 60 or over. Therefore, the Department has taken a pragmatic approach by inviting the optimal group of men and women who will benefit most from a screening programme. Also, we are determined that the new screening programme should not have a detrimental effect on services for patients with bowel cancer symptoms. When we have rolled out the programme to the whole country, we will make an assessment on whether to expand the programme to other age groups.
Breast Cancer
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of whether there are links between abortion and the incidence of breast cancer; and if she will make a statement. [20293]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 21 October 2005]: The Government believe that any woman considering an abortion must have all the facts to make an informed decision. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' (RCOG) evidence-based clinical guideline, The care of women requesting induced abortion (2004)", states that professionals involved in abortion care should be equipped to provide women with information on the long-term effects of abortion which are rare or unproven, including breast cancer. The guideline also concluded, following an extensive review of the literature, that the evidence shows that induced abortion is not associated with an increase in the risk of breast cancer.
Cancer Research UK undertook a study of the risk factors associated with breast cancer, including a further international review of the research evidence on abortion and breast cancer. Last year, this study also concluded there is no link.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has commissioned into the UK's success rate at treating breast cancer compared with other EU member states. [20991]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department has not commissioned any research comparing our success rate at treating breast cancer with other Europe Union member states. This research is already under way as part of the Eurocare programme of research.
Breast Screening
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has commissioned into the provision of routine breast checks for women under 50 years of age. [19043]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: The Forrest report, on which the breast screening programme is based, recommended further research to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of offering routine screening to women under 50. This is under way, entitled UKCCCR randomised controlled trial of the effect of breast cancer mortality of annual mammographic screening of women starting at age 40" (the 'Age' Trial).
The main aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of annual mammographic screening of women starting at ages 40 to 41 on mortality from breast cancer, thus giving a definitive answer to the outstanding question of whether population screening below 50 is beneficial or not. The study began in February 1991, and recruitment to the trial has now stopped at 160,000 women. The results of this study are expected to be submitted by February 2006 to a journal for publication after peer review.
Brucella Viruses
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures her Department has taken (a) to monitor and (b) to prevent food contamination by brucella viruses; and if she will make a statement. [21555]
Caroline Flint: Food hygiene legislation places the responsibility on food business operators to produce food safely, and there is no requirement for routine monitoring of the food supply for brucella organisms.
The only specific requirements in respect of brucella and food are in dairy and meat hygiene legislation. Raw milk from cows or buffaloes must be heat treated unless it comes from animals belonging to a brucellosis free or officially brucellosis free herd. Raw milk from ewes or goats must be heat treated unless it has come from animals belonging to a production holding which is either brucellosis free or officially brucellosis free.
All susceptible animals slaughtered for human consumption undergo official post-mortem inspection under official veterinary supervision. Meat from animals suffering from acute brucellosis must be declared unfit for human consumption as must the udder, genital tract and blood from animals that have reacted positively or inconclusively to a brucellosis test.
Budget Deficits (Oxfordshire)
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Healthwhat assessment she has made of the reasons for budget deficits in primary care trusts in Oxfordshire for2005–06. [20392]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The budget deficits in primary care trusts (PCTs) in Oxfordshire are the responsibility of the PCTs which are expected to plan for and achieve financial balance each and every year.
Cancer Treatment
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients with breast cancer have been referred to private hospitals for their treatment in the last five years; and how many were treated in NHS hospitals. [18002]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: We do not collect information on the number of breast cancer patients referred to private hospital for their treatment. The number of breast cancer patients treated in national health service hospitals in England, for the last five years, is shown in the following table.
| Number of breast cancer patients treated | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 47,497 |
| 2000–01 | 46,827 |
| 2001–02 | 46,702 |
| 2002–03 | 47,578 |
| 2003–04 | 49,546 |
Source:
Hospital episode statistics, Health and Social Care Information Centre.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on cancer treatment (a) waiting times and (b) targets in East Sussex in the last 10 years. [20446]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The NHS cancer plan sets out our strategy for reducing cancer waiting times. A two- week outpatient waiting time standard for urgent general practitioner referrals of suspected cancer was introduced in December 2000. Cancer waiting times treatment standards of one month from urgent GP referral to first cancer treatment were introduced for cases of testicular cancer, children's cancers and acute leukaemia in 2001.
Further standards of maximum waits of 31 days from diagnosis to first cancer treatment and 62 days from urgent referral with suspected cancer to first cancer treatment were introduced for patients with breast cancer in 2001 and 2002 respectively. These 31 and 62 day standards will be in place for all cancer patients from December 2005. Performance against the current cancer waiting times targets are published quarterly on the Department of Health website. Performance data showing progress towards the 2005 targets are also available on the Department's website at http://www.performance.doh.gov.uk/cancerwaits/.
The tables show how East Sussex Hospitals National Health Service Trust has made progress in meeting the cancer waiting times targets.
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Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the average waiting timesfor cancer patients (a) from diagnosis to start of treatment and (b) from urgent general practitioner referral to start of treatment in each of the last 12 quarters. [20852]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
Average waiting times for the treatment of cancer patients are not collected. Cancer waiting times treatment standards of one month from urgent general practitioner referral to first cancer treatment were introduced for cases of testicular cancer,children's cancers and acute leukaemia in 2001.
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Further standards of maximum waits of 31 days from diagnosis to first cancer treatment and 62 days from urgent referral with suspected cancer to first cancer treatment were introduced for patients with breast cancer in 2001 and 2002 respectively. These 31 and 62 day standards will be in place for all cancer patients from December 2005. Performance against the current cancer waiting times targets are shown in the tables, and are published quarterly on the Department's website. Performance data showing progress towards the 2005 targets was first published for quarter one of 2005–06. Further data will be published on the Department's website at http://www.performance.doh.gov.uk/cancerwaits/ as it becomes available.
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