§ Ms. Richardsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether he will ask private clinics offering laboratory services for breast and cervical cancer screening facilities for details of any cases of mistakes which have been made and notified to them;
(2) what steps he takes to monitor the effectiveness of the laboratory services for breast and cervical cancer screening offered by private clinics;
(3) whether he will introduce controls on the effectiveness and accuracy of the laboratory services for breast and cancer screening offered by private clinics before licensing their operation;
(4) whether he is satisfied with the standard of quality control provided by private clinics offering laboratory services for breast and cervical cancer screening.
§ Mrs. CurrieMy right hon. Friend has at present no statutory powers enabling him to monitor or control private screening clinics or the laboratory or other services they use.
Breast cancer screening clinics using mammographic x-rayss, whether private or National Health Service, will be covered by regulations on the protection of patients from ionising radiation whcih will be laid before the House later this year. These will require that all medical exposures to ionising radiation conform to accepted medical practice, and that those directing and effecting the exposures are adequately trained in radiation protection and the techniques appropriate to their work.
No licensing system could ensure absolute diagnostic accuracy. Screening techniques are not infallible. There will always be a few false negative and false positive results. The objective must be to keep these to an absolute minimum.
We are however, considering whether statutory control for private breast or cervical cancer screening clinics and the laboratories they use would help to meet this objective. Such control would, however, require primary legislation.
The rules of professional conduct enforced by the General Medical Council apply to all doctors working in NHS or private cancer screening.