Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Marsh (Crossbench). It was answered on Monday, 5 February 2007.

Health: Hepatitis B

Question: My Lords, is this not part of a general problem? Are not PSA tests a major expense for the health service? What sort of progress is being made when there seems to be so much waste?

Answer: My Lords, I hope that the NHS is not being wasteful. We are doing everything we can to improve its overall performance. I think that the noble Lord is referring to prostate cancer screening, which I know is of great interest. The Government's position on that is that we are committed to introducing a national screening programme for prostate cancer if and when screening and treatment techniques are sufficiently well developed. My understanding is that at present there is no evidence anywhere in the world that screening for prostate cancer would reduce mortality. At the end of the day, that must be the key consideration.

Secondary information