§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations his Department has received concerning the efficiency of systems in place to report results from radiotherapy and X-rays; [75765]
(2) what representations his Department has received concerning the failure of radiology departments to record all results of diagnostic tests leading to investigations being unnecessarily repeated; and what representations his Department has received concerning the risks associated with increasing the radiation exposure of the patient due to repetition of diagnostic tests; [75751]
405W(3) what representations his Department has received concerning (a) the failure of radiology departments to record all results of diagnostic tests leading to investigations being unnecessarily repeated and (b) the risks associated with increasing the radiation exposure of the patient due to the unneccessary repetition of diagnostic tests. [75755]
§ Ms BlearsThe Department has received no representations concerning the efficiency of systems to report results from radiotherapy, X-rays and other diagnostic tests using ionising radiation. The use of ionising radiation in healthcare is governed by legislation.
The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2000, which came into force on 1 January 2001, require that all exposures to ionising radiation are justified and that a clinical evaluation of each exposure is recorded. A major intention of the legislation is to minimise the inappropriate use of ionising radiation in patients' exposures.
The regulations also require that where an employer, such as a trust, believes that a person may have been exposed to a dose of radiation greater than intended, from a repeat diagnostic test or other error, it must report such an incident to the appropriate authority. In England this authority is the Secretary of State's Inspectorate for the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2000.
§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of child patients receive treatment for(a) testicular cancer and (b) acute leukaemia within one month of initial GP referral. [75777]
§ Ms BlearsThe targets of a maximum one month wait from urgent general practitioner referral to first treatment for children's cancers, testicular cancer and acute leukaemia were introduced in December 2001. Central monitoring of the targets began in January 2002 and the table below shows performance for the three cancer sites in the last two quarters for which data are available. The table shows the proportion of patients treated within the target time.
One Month from Urgent Referral to First Treatment Quarter 4 2001–02 Quarter 1 2002–03 Children's cancers 100% 100% Testicular cancer 92% 93.5% Acute Leukaemia 100% 99%