§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what assessment he has made of the number of extra staff needed to implement a full cervical cancer call and recall system in every district health authority.
§ Mrs. CurrieComputerised call and recall systems for cervical screening are now operational in every district health authority in England. Much of the work of taking smear tests will be carried out by general practitioners and their staff. The number of any additional staff needed for the screening programme will vary from district to district according to local circumstances. It is a matter for individual health authorities and family practitioner committees to make their own assessment and to ensure that an adequate number of staff is allocated to the programme.
§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the backlog in the laboratory examination of cervical cancer smears in Scunthorpe district health authority in each year from 1980.
§ Mrs CurrieThe Department has collected such information centrally only since October 1987. The latest month's return from the Scunthorpe district health authority shows an average reported processing time for cervical smear tests of eight weeks. Departmental guidance states that laboratories should aim to return results to the doctor concerned within one month. I understand the health authority plans to recruit more staff in order to meet that target. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman of Scunthorpe health district to ascertain whether information relating to earlier years is available locally.