§ 34. Mr. PatnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on achieving the implementation of the recommendations of the Forrest report on breast cancer screening.
§ Mr. FreemanI refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) on 24 January at columns533–37.
§ Ms. RichardsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he gives to health authorities on the provision of breast cancer screening services; in what circumstances authorities may charge users for such services; in what circumstances authorities may refuse to screen those attending such clinics with a referral letter from a general practitioner; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanDepartment of Health guidance to health authorities on the provision of breast cancer screening is contained in two letters, copies of which are in the Library: DA(87)14 of 31 March 1987 with which a draft health circular and the report "Breast Cancer Screening" by the Forrest working group were enclosed; and EL(88)P/48 of 15 April 1988. These require health authorities to provide three-yearly screening under the National Health Service on a routine basis for women aged 50 to 64 and on request for older women.
603WA woman with symptoms should be referred by her general practitioner to a clinician specialising in breast disease. In the case of a woman outside the eligible age group who does not have symptoms but who is considered to be at high risk, for example because either her mother or her sister has a history of breast cancer, her general practitioner can consult the screening service. It is for the service in consultation with clinicians specialising in breast disease and the local general practitioners to decide how such cases should be handled.
Health authorities can charge users for services which they are not required to provide under the National Health Service.