§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list, for each of the cancer networks, the current1122W average waiting time for (a) radiotherapy and (b) chemotherapy from the time of consultant referral; and if he will give comparable figures for (i) 2002, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 1997. [117397]
§ Ms BlearsInformation on waiting times for chemotherapy and radiotherapy are not collected centrally. However, the NHS Cancer Plan set out maximum waiting time targets for first definitive cancer treatment which could include either chemotherapy or radiotherapy. From December 2001 there is a one month maximum wait from diagnosis to first treatment for breast cancer and a one month wait from urgent general practitioner referral to first treatment for children's cancers, testicular cancer and acute leukaemia. From 2002 there is a maximum two month wait from urgent referral to treatment for breast cancer. By 2005 there will be a maximum two months from urgent referral to treatment and a maximum one-month wait from diagnosis to first treatment for all cancers.
§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many teenagers with cancer are being treated on wards intended for use by, or classified as(a) children and (b) old people (i) in England, (ii) within each health authority and (iii) within each hospital in the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency. [118178]
§ Ms BlearsNo statistics are available centrally which allow us to show which hospitals treat teenager cancer patients alongside children and which treat them alongside older people.
§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what counselling and support services are available through the NHS for teenage cancer and transplant patients. [118180]
§ Ms BlearsThe National Institute for Clinical Excellence is currently completing guidance on supportive care for people with cancer. This guidance will inform local decisions on what support services are given to teenage cancer patients and will be published in February 2004. Currently, paediatric units will usually provide counselling and support services for teenage cancer patients, based on local need.
All national health service organ transplant units are expected to provide counselling and support services for teenage transplant recipients. This ranges from educational support and general preparation for transplantation to post operative care.
§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to support and promote teenage cancer units; and if he will make a statement. [118181]
§ Ms BlearsPrimary care trusts are responsible for providing local national health service services, based on the needs and priorities of the local population. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is currently preparing service guidance for the NHS in England and Wales on child and adolescent cancers. This guidance is due to be published in February 2005 and will form the basis for the treatment of teenage cancer patients in the NHS.
1123WThe NHS is working with the Teenage Cancer Trust throughout the United Kingdom in developing specialist units for teenagers with cancer. We are also developing the children's national service framework, which will put both children and teenagers at the centre of their health and social care, building services around their needs.
§ Sir Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what specific health care strategies he has set for the detection and treatment of(a) prostate, (b) lung, (c) bowel and (d) testicular cancer in men; and if he will make a statement. [118563]
§ Ms BlearsWe are taking action in several areas to improve the detection and treatment of prostate, lung, bowel and testicular cancer
1124WThe national health service prostate cancer programme sets out the Government's approach to improving prostate cancer services including the publication of the prostate cancer risk management programme in July 2001 and a commitment to introducing a prostate cancer screening programme if, and when, screening and treatment techniques have developed sufficiently.There has been targeted investment in lung cancer services. An additional £10 million was made available from 1999 to improve lung cancer services. This money is being used to help improve access to services, enhance the quality of treatment and to bring down waiting times for treatment for lung cancer. From 2002–03, this money was placed in baseline allocations.The national cancer director launched the NHS bowel cancer programme on 4 February 2003. This programme will translate into action the Government's commitment to continue to improve services for bowel cancer patients and to introduce a national screening programme for bowel cancer.There are already specialist NHS services for the management of men with testicular cancer and outcomes are generally good with the vast majority of patients being cured. Men should be aware of any unusual changes in their testicles and consult doctors early in order to ensure the maximum chance of a cure. That is why we have collaborated with Cancer Research UK in the production of a testicular self-awareness leaflet "Testicular Cancer: Spot The Symptoms Early", which is widely available.The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published guidance on the use of new generation chemotherapy drugs benefiting around 5,000 lung cancer patients and 7,000 bowel cancer patients each year. NICE is currently preparing guidance on the use of a new drug, Iressa, for the treatment of lung cancer.Last year, NICE published "Improving Outcomes Guidance" (I0G) on the organisation and delivery of services for people with urological cancers, including prostate and testicular cancer. Local NHS organisations are currently developing action plans for implementing the guidance.NICE is currently updating the 1997 IOG for bowel cancer services. The updated guidance is due to be published later this summer.IOG for lung cancer services was published in 1998. NICE is now developing clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of lung cancer, which are due to be published in March 2004.We are determined to improve cancer services for all patients, including those with prostate, lung, bowel and testicular cancers. That is why the Cancer Plan is being backed by the biggest ever increase in funding for cancer services. Compared to 2000–01, there will be an additional £570 million a year in 2003–04.
§ Sir Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase awareness of cancer in men; and what specific age-groups of men are being targeted by his Department. [118564]
§ Ms BlearsWe have increased the visibility of health messages highlighting to smokers the risks of smoking, including lung cancer. New Regulations require tobacco products to carry larger, starker health warnings on both front and back of the packet. The dangers of second hand smoke are also highlighted in some of the new warnings.
NHS smoking cessation services are well established across England. The services are available to help smokers who want to stop, with a particular emphasis on helping smokers from manual socio-economic groups. The services provide counselling and support to smokers in a variety of settings in primary or secondary care, and in the community, to complement the provision of smoking cessation aids such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and Zyban.
Regarding prostate cancer, we want men to know what their prostate gland is, what it does and what can go wrong with it, but we need to raise awareness in a responsible way. The Department has funded three projects in this area:
Section 64 grant to the Prostate Cancer Charity to increase further information about prostate cancerSection 64 grant to the Prostate Cancer Charity to improve awareness of the risks and symptoms of prostate cancer in African and Afro-Caribbean men in BritainThe Database of Individual Patient Experiences in prostate cancerAs part of the prostate cancer risk management programme (PCRMP), evidence-based primary care resource packs were sent to all general practitioners in England in September 2002, to aid them in counselling men who are worried about prostate cancer, ensuring the men make an informed choice about whether or not to have a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test. Future public awareness programmes are a key term of reference for the newly established prostate cancer advisory group, chaired by the national cancer director. The content and target audience for these programmes will be an important consideration.
The national health service bowel cancer programme was launched in February, and has three key strands: developing a national screening programme, improving services for people with symptoms, and improving treatment. Underpinning the programme will be an expansion of the workforce and an information strategy for both the public and professionals. The national cancer director is now taking this work forward.
Testicular cancer is almost always curable if found early. The disease responds well to treatment, even if it has spread to other parts of the body. More than nine out of 10 patients are cured. Men should be aware of any unusual changes in their testicles and consult doctors early in order to ensure the maximum chance of a cure. That is why we have collaborated with Cancer Research UK in the production of a testicular self-awareness leaflet "Testicular Cancer: Spot The Symptoms Early", which is widely available.
1125WThese different ways of raising awareness of cancer in men are aimed at the age ranges affected by these cancers. Therefore the testicular cancer leaflet is aimed at younger men, prostate and bowel cancer information is generally aimed at older men, while the smoking policies to combat lung cancer, among other diseases, is aimed at all smokers.
§ Dr. Evan HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many cancer care spell delays were recorded in(a) England, (b) each NHS region and (c) each strategic health authority in each of the last six years; [116942]
(2) how he defines a cancer care spell delay. [116943]
§ Ms BlearsInformation is not collected centrally on cancer care spell delays. A cancer care spell delay is defined as a delay in either an out-patient appointment or treatment for suspected cancer after a referral has been received. A cancer care spell delay should be recorded locally for each delay. Information on cancer care spell delays will be used locally for performance management of cancer services.