§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Health Authority in each of the last five years; what the local survival rate is; how much funding has been given to breast cancer treatment in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [67421]
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§ Ms BlearsInformation held centrally on diagnoses of breast cancer in the former Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and
Finished consultant episodes (FCEs) where the main diagnosis was "Malignant neoplasm of breast" or "Carcinoma in situ of breast", for patients resident in Isle of Wight and Portsmouth & South East Hampshire Health Authority Health Authority 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 QD2 Portsmouth & South East Hampshire HA 471 558 531 494 836 QD4 Isle of Wight HA 451 498 508 548 249 Total 992 1,056 1,039 1,042 1,085 Notes:
1. An FCE is defined as a period of patient care under one consultant in one health care provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as one person may have several episodes within the year.
2. The main diagnosis is the first of seven diagnosis fields in the HES data set, and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
3. Data in this table are adjusted for both coverage and unknown/invalid clinical data, except for 2000–01 which are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.
Additional information on registrations and survival rates can be found in the Compendium of Clinical and Health Indicators 2001, which is available on national centre for health outcomes website. Information on breast cancer is also available on the National Statistics website.
The mortality rates for the former health authority area have decreased over the last decade but do remain high compared to the rest of the country, as do the average life years lost for women under 75 years. The breast cancer group of the central south coast cancer network is to examine in more detail the apparent variations and to review all treatment protocols to ensure they follow best practice.
The funding allocated to local breast cancer services is determined by the health authority and, for that reason, figures are not held centrally.