§ Dr. SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to extend routine screening for middle-aged male patients; and if he will make a statement; [1482]
(2) if he will list the diseases for which routine screening would be appropriate for men aged over 50 years; and if he will make a statement. [1484]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 2 July 2001]: The United Kingdom national screening committee (NSC) advises Ministers, the devolved Assemblies and the Scottish Parliament on all aspects of screening policy. The NSC assesses proposed new programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria and in forming its proposals draws on the latest research evidence. Assessing programmes in this way is intended to ensure that screening does more good than harm at a reasonable cost.
The NHS plan announced colorectal cancer screening will be introduced should the current pilot studies demonstrate its effectiveness. It also announced that a prostate cancer screening programme will be introduced if and when screening and treatment techniques have developed sufficiently. The NSC will continue to keep all research evidence for preventing disease through screening under careful review when considering the case for recommending new programmes