Breast Cancer
Health
John Leech (Manchester, Withington, Liberal Democrat)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health
(1) what progress his Department has made on a national breast cancer audit as part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcome Programme;
(2) whether he plans to hold a specification development meeting for a national breast cancer audit;
(3) when he plans to announce further details of the funding arrangements for a national clinical audit for breast cancer as part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcome Programme.
Paul Burstow (Minister of State (Care Services), Health; Sutton and Cheam, Liberal Democrat)
The Secretary of State for Health, Mr Lansley, announced in October 2011 that 11 new clinical areas would be added to the Department of Health funded National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme. These include a national breast cancer audit. The first four new national clinical audits to be commissioned are: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emergency laparotomy, the national vascular registry and prostate cancer. Specification development meetings have already been held for these audits and tender returns will shortly be invited for them. The remaining seven new national clinical audits will be commissioned in due course, using the same commissioning process.