HC Deb 20 January 1994 vol 235 cc765-6W
Mr. Kynoch

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to publish the report produced by Professor Alfred Cuschieri on implications for the NHS of minimal access surgery.

Mr. Lang

This valuable and timely report is being published today as a focus for public debate on the important issues surrounding the development of minimal access therapy—MAT. Commissioned jointly by the Scottish Office Home and Health Department and the Department of Health, the report is intended as a contribution to the development of strategic planning for these new techniques in the NHS.

The report has already been referred to the medical and nursing advisory committee north and south of the border and the views of other interested bodies will be sought as appropriate.

MAT offers the prospect of major advances in patient care, but also requires the development of new skills. In the vital areas of training and technique evaluation, we have recently announced the establishment of two MAT training units in England and one in Scotland as a joint initiative by the Government and the Wolfson Foundation to ensure that clinicians are properly and fully trained to produce the best possible outcomes for patients.

As the report highlights, widespread introduction of these new techniques will represent very major change for the NHS. The interests of patients will of course be at the forefront of the development of MAT and we are already using Professor Cuschieri's report as the basis for work on establishing the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of these treatments to ensure maximum benefit for patients.

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