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9 July 2007 : Column 1301W—continued
Health
Blood: Contamination
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2007, Official Report, column 230W, on blood: contamination, what (a) written and (b) verbal communications his Department has had with the UK Haemophilia Centre Directors Organisation to date on the inquiry chaired by Lord Archer into contaminated blood and blood products; and if he will make a statement. [147951]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department has not had any formal written or verbal communication with the United Kingdom Haemophilia Centre Doctors’ Organisation about the Lord Archer Inquiry.
Breast Cancer: Portsmouth
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women in Portsmouth (a) did not accept an invitation to routine breast screening, (b) did not attend appointments made, (c) were diagnosed with breast cancer and (d) died from breast cancer in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [146496]
Ann Keen: Data on how many women in Portsmouth who did not accept an invitation to routine breast screening is not collected centrally.
Data on how many women in Portsmouth who did not attend appointments made (or where the result was inadequate) is shown in the table.
| Breast screening programme: Women invited for routine screening by Portsmouth Breast Screening Unit and their attendance each specified year | |||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
| (1) Number of women screened who produced a technically adequate result. (2) Includes a small amount of women who where screened and produced an inadequate result. Source: KC62 table 1 A, B, Cl and C2 The Information Centre. | |||
Data on how many women in Portsmouth were diagnosed with breast cancer is shown in the table.
| Breast screening programme: Women diagnosed with cancer by Portsmouth Breast Screening Unit by invitation type each specified year | |||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
| (1) Total women with cancer includes those called for routine screening, early recalls, and self and general practitioner referrals. Source: KC62 table 3 parts A, B, Cl, and C2 The Information Centre. | |||
Data on how many women in Portsmouth died from breast cancer is shown in the table.
| Number of deaths with an underlying cause of breast cancer, females, Portsmouth Unitary Authority, 2003-05( 1) | |
| Deaths (Females | |
| (1) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. Notes: 1. Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C50. 2. Based on unitary authority boundaries as of 2007. | |
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what account he has taken of trends in the demographics of Portsmouth in the operation of the NHS Breast Screening programme there; [146502]
(2) what the average intervals are between routine screening appointments for breast cancer in Portsmouth. [146495]
Ann Keen: The Department takes the issues of maintaining the three year interval for breast screening and the demographic challenges facing the breast screening programme over the coming years very seriously. This is why Professor Mike Richards, National Cancer Director, wrote to the chief executives of all 10 strategic health authorities (SHAs) in England on 9 February 2007 on behalf of the Department's Cancer Programme Board.
The letter to the chief executive of South Central SHA (the SHA area covering Portsmouth), pointed out the demographic challenges facing local breast screening services to help local commissioners plan their service over the coming years. By 2008-09, South Central SHA will have to carry out 185,350 screenings per year (an additional 74 per cent. of its 2004-05 level, inclusive of women in the extended age range of 65-70) in order to achieve and/or maintain the three year screening interval. By 2015-16, 207,250 screenings per year will be needed, a 95 per cent. increase on 2004-05 activity.
The letter also highlighted the importance of maintaining a three-year screening interval. Between January and March 2007, 99.1 per cent. of women served by the Portsmouth Breast Screening Unit were screened within 38 months of their previous screen. 51 per cent. of women had been screened within three years of their previous screen.
The Portsmouth Unit are working hard to ensure that all women are screened within three years of their previous screen.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women in Portsmouth were invited for breast screening on a routine basis in 2006-07; how many such invitations he expects to be issued in (a) five and (b) 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [146503]
Ann Keen: The data on the number of women invited for breast screening on a routine basis in 2006- 07 will not be published until February 2008. Data provided, therefore, is for 2005-06. Information on the number of invitations expected to be issued in the next five and 10 years is neither forecast nor collected centrally.
The table shows the latest data available.
Cancer
Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department’s cancer strategy is for the next decade; and if he will make a statement. [148453]
Ann Keen: The Department is currently developing a new Cancer Reform Strategy to build on the successes of the Cancer Plan published in 2000. The work is being led by the National Cancer Director, Professor Mike Richards CBE. More than 1,000 representatives, including patients, clinicians, charities and other independent experts have been involved. The strategy is expected to be published before the end of 2007.
Cancer: Drugs
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the annual expenditure per capita was on cancer drugs in each of the last 10 years; and what benchmarking analysis she has undertaken of expenditure on cancer drugs in other EU countries. [146759]
Ann Keen: The Department does not collect information centrally on annual expenditure per capita on cancer drugs. However national health service reference costs returns from the NHS for 2005-06 show that over £460 million is spent on in-patient chemotherapy treatment and drugs. This excludes out-patient costs and excess bed days where patients spend longer in hospital than expected.
In addition, data from the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) System and IMS Health show that annual spend on cancer drugs dispensed in hospitals and the community from 2002 to 2006 increased from £459.6 million to £729.1 million as set out in the following table.
| Combined hospital and community data( 2,5) | |||||
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | |
| (1) Anti-cancer drugs include cancer drugs appraised by National Institute for Clinical Excellence, standard cytotoxic drugs (non-NICE), drugs used for cancer and other conditions, endocrine drugs used for cancer and supportive care drugs used for cancer. (2) Prescription information has been taken from: a. the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system, supplied by the Prescription Pricing Division of the Business Services Agency. This is based on a full analysis of all prescriptions dispensed in the community i.e. by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England. Also included are prescriptions written in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man but dispensed in England. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospitals, including mental health trusts, or private prescriptions b. IMS Health—IMS collect hospital dispensing information from most hospitals in England. 97 per cent. of acute English hospitals supply data to IMS about all medicines dispensed in hospitals. Figures are grossed up to give England level estimates on the basis of bed numbers. IMS hospital dispensing data is released on a regular basis. Each IMS dataset includes data for 24 months and may include updates to earlier data. The datasets used in this table were: data prior to July 2005—the dataset issued in early 2006; July 2005 onwards—the dataset issued April 2007. (3) Cost is given in £ million and is the cost of the drugs at NHS list price. It is the basic cost of a drug. It does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income. (4) IMS data includes all drugs dispensed in NHS hospital regardless of patient, so will include drugs dispensed to private patients in private wards within NHS hospitals as long as they have been dispensed via the hospital pharmacy (extent of this varies from hospital to hospital). (5) The list of drugs used to compile the totals given in this table consists of drugs used in the treatment of cancer in early 2006. There may have been some additions to this list since that time which will not be included in this analysis. | |||||
As part of the development of the cancer reform strategy we are looking at where money is currently being spent in cancer services, where cost pressures will come from in the future and how we can get best value for money. As part of this work, we are considering available data on cancer spend including comparisons with other countries. This work is not yet complete.
Cancer: Low Incomes
Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to tackle financial hardship affecting cancer patients. [148533]
Ann Keen: There are a number of ways in which the Department is working to support people in financial hardship with the costs associated with their health care.
The NHS Low Income Scheme provides support for people in financial difficulties with prescriptions charges, dental treatment, sight tests and glasses and travel to receive national health service treatment through the Hospital Travel Costs Scheme. Financial support is available to those who are eligible through the benefits system, including disability living allowance and attendance allowance.
The Department is working to make people more aware of the financial support available through information prescriptions, which will be available for everyone with a long term condition by the end of
2008. This commitment is part of the 2006 White Paper “Our Health Our Care Our Say”.
We are piloting information prescriptions in 20 sites during 2007, including in four sites focusing on cancer (County Durham PCT, Nottingham university hospitals NHS Trust—Mid Trent Cancer Network, university hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust). These pilots are being run in partnership with voluntary organisations like Cancerbackup and Macmillan Cancer Support. Information prescriptions will guide people to the relevant websites, telephone numbers and support groups for their condition, including information about benefits.
Further information is made available locally through Patient Advice and Liaison Services, and policies are being developed locally to routinely offer information throughout the cancer patient pathway.
Cardiovascular System: Screening
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to issue guidance on abdominal aortic aneurysm screening; and if he will make a statement. [146668]
Ann Keen: The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (NSC) has advised that screening for men aged 65 for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) can be recommended in principle subject to further work, particularly on the appropriate configuration of treatment services and the provision for men to make an informed choice about whether to undergo screening. The NSC is considering the practical implications that would be involved in implementing a screening programme for AAA. Further detailed work under the auspice of the NSC is being undertaken on a number of practical issues. These include developing standard operating procedures, programme standards, quality assurance procedures and training requirements. The Department's officials will be kept informed on how this work develops.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps she is taking to ensure that mortality rates for abdominal aortic aneurysm operations are reduced prior to the introduction of a national screening programme; and if she will make a statement; [146674]
(2) what the mortality rate is in each strategic health authority in England for elective abdominal aortic aneurysm operations; and if she will make a statement. [146675]
Ann Keen: Commissioners of care and hospitals providing services have responsibility for ensuring quality of care, taking account of the Report published in October 2005 from the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death, “Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: A service in need of surgery?”. The report is available at:
The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (NSC) has advised that screening for men aged 65 for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) can be recommended, in principle, subject to further work,
particularly on the appropriate configuration of treatment services and the provision for men to make an informed choice about whether to undergo screening. The NSC is considering the practical implications that would be involved in implementing a screening programme for AAA. Further detailed work under the auspice of the NSC is being undertaken on a number of practical issues. These include developing standard operating procedures, programme standards, quality assurance procedures and training requirements. The Department’s officials will be kept informed on how this work develops.
The information requested regarding mortality rates for elective AAA operations by strategic health authority is not held centrally.
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