§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make a statement on the amount of time taken by each health board in Scotland to notify patients of the results of smear tests for cervical cancer;
(2) if he will make a statement on the guidelines issued by the Scottish Office on the amount of time which should be taken by Scottish health boards to notify women of the results of their smear tests for cervical cancer.
§ Mr. StewartHealth boards have been set a target of a maximum of 14 days average for the reporting of results to the patient.
Information is not collected centrally on the time taken by each health board but the current average processing time for cervical smears examined by NHS laboratories in Scotland is 11 days.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the procedures used by Ayrshire and Arran health board in carrying out screening for cervical cancer; and what is the average amount of time taken to notify patients of the results of smear tests within the Ayrshire and Arran health board area.
§ Mr. StewartCervical screening procedures followed in Ayrshire arid Arran health board comply with existing guidance. There is a three-yearly call-recall system in place for all women aged 20 to 60 years and the laboratory staff at Crosshouse hospital participate in an external quality assurance scheme.
Information is not collected centrally on the time taken by GPs, hospitals or clinics to report the results but the national target is 14 days on average.
The current average processing time for cervical smears examined at Ayrshire and Arran health board's laboratory is 10 days.