§ Mr. HammondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 27 June 2000,Official 752W Report, column 437W, on cancer treatment, if he will estimate the percentage of cancer referrals in the NHS which are seen by (a) a cancer specialist and (b) a general surgeon in the most recent 12 months for which figures for referrals are available. [128593]
§ Yvette CooperData specific to the monitoring of the two-week waiting time breast cancer standard record the waiting time between date of decision to refer and date seen. They do not record the specialist seen by the patient. Data collected on non-two-week specific outpatient referrals and the waiting time to see a consultant are collected only by the consultant's main speciality code. This would not necessarily be able to identify cancer patients.
Guidance issued to the National Health Service on improving outcomes in breast cancer recommends that patients with breast cancer should be managed by multi-disciplinary specialist breast care teams working to written guidelines. Diagnostic services must be able to provide rapid and accurate information to enable patients who do not have breast cancer to be reassured and treated if necessary, while ensuring that those who do proceed rapidly to treatment.