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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many women were given hysterectomies in an NHS hospital in the latest year for which figures are available; [219704] (2) what steps are being taken to ensure that women who, with clinical support, request a less invasive treatment as an alternative to hysterectomy receive their treatment of choice on the NHS; and if he will make a statement; [219705] (3) how many NHS trusts offer access to a multidisciplinary team including gynaecologists and an interventional radiologist to diagnose and treat uterine fibroids as recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence; [219706] (4) what guidance is given to NHS trusts on the use of uterine artery embolisation for fibroids. [219707] Miss Melanie Johnson: There were 49,600 hysterectomy operations (OPCS4 codes Q07, Q08) performed in national health service hospitals, England in 2003-04. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued revised full guidance on fibroid embolisation in October 2004; this is available on its website at www.nice.org.uk. NICE decided that the procedure is safe and that most patients have improved symptoms. However, NICE considers that more information is needed about how well it works, how long it works for and how it affects a woman's ability to become pregnant. Once NICE guidance is published, health professionals are expected to take it fully into account when exercising their clinical judgement. However, NICE guidance does not override the individual responsibility of health professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer. Decisions about patterns of services delivery are a matter for individual health authorities and trusts to determine locally, taking into account local population needs, priorities and resources. We do not, therefore, collect information on this centrally.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

431 c1731-2W;431 c1727-8W; 219704;219705;219706;219707

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Access Diagnosis Women Patients NHS trusts Safety Surgery National Institute for Clinical Excellence Radiology Hysterectomy

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk