§ Lord Ironsideasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they have taken to implement European quality assurance recommendations for breast cancer screening, which were defined at European level in 1992 by high level experts, according to the statement in paragraph 80 on page 36 of COM (94) 83 final proposing the 1995–99 Action Plan to combat cancer, published by the European Commission on 29 March 1994.
§ The Minister of State, Department of Health (Baroness Jay of Paddington)There is no requirement to implement the European quality assurance recommendations for breast cancer screening as these are for guidance only. The United Kingdom experience in mammography made a strong contribution to the development of the European guidelines, as we were the first country within the European Community to launch a nationwide breast screening programme based on computerised call and recall, and the programme had clear quality standards built into it from the start. These are at least as comprehensive as the European recommendations.
However, we are not complacent. The recent report on breast cancer services in Exeter and quality assurance in breast screening identified serious shortcomings in the current lead purchasing arrangement for quality assurance. This Government are determined to put things right, and we have ordered reform of the organisation of cancer screening, including the transfer of responsibility and resources for quality assurance to National Health Service Regional Offices. They will have explicit responsibility for ensuring that any problems with 68WA screening services are picked up and dealt with rapidly, and, in the last resort, they will be able to close down units which fail to meet national standards.