Written question asked by Paul Flynn (Labour) on Monday, 19 October 1998, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 26 October 1998. It was answered by Lord Boateng (Labour) on Monday, 26 October 1998 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advice the National Screening Committee has given regarding the extension of the breast cancer screening programme to women aged 65 years and over.

Answer: Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice the National Screening Committee has given regarding the extension of the breast cancer screening programme to women aged 65 years and over; and if he will make a statement. [55791] Mr. Boateng: The National Screening Committee considered the possible extension of the breast screening programme to women over the age of 65 on 22 July 1998. Their view was that the first priority must be to ensure that the existing programme can maintain a three year screening for all women. The Committee acknowledged the promising nature of the interim results of the pilot studies for extending the screening programme to older women, and the evidence in favour of the introduction of two views at all screens. The Committee also recognised that any national roll-out of these extensions would require additional staff in an area where recruitment is becoming less easy. In anticipation that the final results of the three pilot studies bear out the interim results, the Committee recommended that new arrangements need to be identified to address the workforce pressures on the breast screening programme. Discussions are being held with the relevant professional bodies and those involved in the screening programme to identify solutions to meet these pressures.

Secondary information