§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to ensure that the national breast screening service in Scotland carries out a regular audit of systems it uses for patient recall and other patient centre activities.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 13 March 1995]: The national Scottish breast screening programme information system is run at local offices but nationally maintained, supported and developed in line with recognised NHS information technology standards.
Audit is a fundamental element of systems management and development and is undertaken regularly on the SBSP information system.
In 1992–93, a full external review of the system was commissioned by the SBSP. It was confirmed that the system was operating satisfactorily and all additional recommended enhancements have been put in place.
§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date Ministers were informed that a mistake had been made at Dundee royal infirmary in the patient recall system of the national breast screening service, in respect of the records of women who had used that service; and when a decision was taken by Ministers not to carry through a national check of the records of all the women who had used the service in Scotland since 1989.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 13 March 1995]: Ministers were informed of the procedural error which had occurred at the Dundee breast screening centre based at Dundee royal infirmary, on 2 December 1994. Ministers were kept informed about the action taken to check the records of all the women who had attended the Dundee centre since it opened in December 1989. Professional and medical advice was taken at all stages and, in particular, on the need to preserve patient confidentiality.
The other six Scottish breast screening centres were asked to check their fail-safe procedures immediately and confirmed that they were fully operational in line with the tight standards set by the Scottish breast screening programme to minimise the risk of error. In addition, a check of all the interval cancers—that is, cancers which occur in the three-yearly interval between screenings—identified in the SBSP was instituted to ensure that no other cancers had been diagnosed following such a procedural error. This was the case.
The Scottish breast screening programme decided that the scale of any problem should be fully assessed before taking any action which would cause public alarm. The Dundee record review showed a rate of procedural errors which was 1.1 in 10,000 screenings. Against that background and the action which had already been taken to verify fail-safe procedures and check interval cancers, SBSP professionals considered that they should undertake a managed review of all Scottish records without causing disruption to the screening programme.
That recommendation was made to Ministers on 2 March 1995. They agreed immediately that, in the light of public concern, a review exercise should commence in the other six Scottish breast screening centres to offer full reassurance to women.