Prostate Cancer: Screening
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the screening policy for prostate cancer on demand on GP appointments; what additional guidance and resources will be provided to GPs to support discussions with men who are not eligible for the programme but who request a PSA test; and whether additional funding will be made available to primary care to support that work.
Answered by Mrs Sharon Hodgson
Any impact on general practice will be considered as part of implementation planning for the targeted prostate cancer screening programme. The programme is designed to focus activity on those at highest risk.
The Department is working with Cancer Research UK and UK Cancer Genetics Group to determine whether interim guidance could be developed with experts to help general practitioners make more informed clinical judgements when an asymptomatic man with a suspected family history asks for a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. In addition, work is under way to develop a new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Clinical Knowledge Summary to support discussions with men who are not eligible for the programme, but who request a PSA test.
Decisions on funding for implementation, including any implications for primary care, will be considered as part of wider delivery planning.
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