§ Sir Julian CritchleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors underlie his Department's priorities in allocating funding for the screening of (a) prostrate cancer, (b) cervical cancer, and (c) breast cancer. [14378]
§ Mr. HoramThe Government look to the national screening committee for advice on the introduction, review, modification or cessation of population screening programmes. In order to determine priorities for screening, the national screening committee uses criteria 725W based upon the principles of screening developed by Wilson and Jungner for the World Health Organisation. The key principles are; that the condition should pose an important health problem; the natural history of the disease should be well understood; there should be a recognisable early stage; treatment at an early stage should be more beneficial than treatment started later; there should be a suitable test acceptable to the population with facilities for diagnosis and treatment; screening should be repeated at intervals where appropriate; the chance of physical or psychological harm to those screened should be less than the chance of benefit; the cost of a screening programme should be balanced against the benefit it provides.