§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list, for each district health authority, the number of smear tests for cervical cancer screening which are currently delayed and the number of weeks' work which this backlog represents in each case.
§ Mrs. CurrieAll health authorities were told in January this year to give priority to ensuring that laboratories can meet demand and avoid backlogs which should not regularly exceed one month's work. Regions were asked 867W to report the number of districts that, as at 31 March 1986, were served by laboratories that were not meeting this requirement and the action being taken to improve matters.
The information supplied is set out as follows. Regional health authorities will be ensuring that remedial action is taken before they report to us again. Information on the number of smears at individual laboratories is not collected centrally.
District health authorities served by laboratories in which the backlog of cervical smears was reported by exceeding one month's work as at 31 March 1986 Regional Health Authority District Health Authority Backlog East Anglian East Suffolk 6 weeks Peterborough 8 weeks West Norfolk and Wisbech 8 weeks Mersey Wirral 5 weeks Oxford Wycombe 6 weeks East Berkshire 5 weeks Oxfordshire 5 weeks Northern South Tees 6 weeks Durham 6 weeks Northumberland 13 weeks Newcastle North Tyneside Gateshead 5 weeks South Tyneside North Western Regional Cytology Laboratory More than 4 weeks South Western Somerset 4 to 6 weeks North Devon 4 to 6 weeks Exeter Torbay 6 weeks North East Thames Bloomsbury 6 to 8 weeks Hampstead Barking, Haringey and Brentwood More than 4 weeks North West Thames Barnet More than a month East Hertfordsire More than a month North West Hertfordshire South East Thames Bromley 16 weeks Maidstone (part) Dartlord and Gravesham 7 weeks Tunbridge Wells 9 weeks South West Thames South West Surrey 6 weeks Trent Nottingham 5½ months Doncaster 3 months Rotherham 6 weeks Wessex Bath 5 weeks West Midlands Herefordshire 8 weeks South Warwickshire 8 weeks 868W
Researcher Location Title of project Period of award Estimated total cost£ Professor W. C. Shaw Welsh National School of Medicine The dental and social effects of malocclusion and the effectiveness of orthodontic treatment 1980–1987 148,000 Mrs. M. Seward London Hospital Medical College The provision of dental health care by women in England and Wales—10 year review 1985–1986 15,600 Professor P. J. Holloway University of Manchester A trial of a capitation payment system for children under 16 years of age treated in the general dental service of the NHS 1984–1989 450,000 Professor N. W. Johnson Royal College of Surgeons Development of dental caries vaccine 1970–1987 1,746,000 Dr. A. Wilson Laboratory of the Government Chemist A study in the absorption of polyelectrolytes on hydroxyapatite 1983–1986 67,000
Regional Health Authority District Health Authority Backlog Yorkshire Airedale 6 weeks Leeds Western 6 weeks Northallerton 7 to 8 weeks Scunthorpe 14 weeks