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Breast Cancer

Answer

The Department does not collect data centrally on waiting times for genetic tests for inherited forms of breast cancerHowever, this Government do recognise that some patients have experienced long waits for genetic tests in the past and this will have caused stress and anxiety. This is unacceptable.The genetics White Paper ‘Our Inheritance, Our Future—realising the potential of genetics in the NHS’, published in June 2003, committed up to £18 million for NHS genetics laboratories in England. This major investment is boosting capacity and supporting modernisation in genetics laboratories, thus helping them meet the rising demand for genetic tests.To ensure that this investment resulted in real patient benefit, the White Paper set out new standards for genetic test turn around times, to be achieved by the end of 2006. These are:"within three days where the result is needed urgently, for example, for prenatal diagnosis;""within two weeks where the potential genetic mutation is already known, for example, because another family member has already been tested; and""within eight weeks for unknown mutations in a large gene."This money was allocated during the last two financial years (2004-05 and 2005-06) and laboratories are working hard to get their new facilities up to speed to meet these standards.The Department is monitoring molecular genetics laboratories' progress through the commissioners of genetic services. On current plans the laboratories serving the population in the Newark area expect to be delivering these standards for genetic tests for breast cancer by the end of 2006.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

451 c1800W;451 c1802W; 99883

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Breast cancer Screening

Link

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