NI lags behind UK in cancer screenings

THE chair of a powerful Westminster committee has written to the Department of Health here with concerns about cancer screening services and the lack of an up-to-date cancer strategy.

House of Commons’ NI Affairs Committee chairman Dr Andrew Murrison MP wrote to health department permanent secretary Richard Pengelly after it was revealed that a quarter of patients in Northern Ireland are still not receiving treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral from their GP for suspected cancer — well short of the official target of 95%.

Dr Murrison, who is leading an inquiry into health funding here, said: “Northern Ireland is lagging behind the rest of the UK in its cancer screening and care. It’s the only region in the UK that does not carry out the recommended FIT screenings for bowel cancer and HPV tests for cervical cancer.

“Additionally, patients in Northern Ireland face severe delays in receiving diagnosis and treatment, and some patients are expected to finance the upfront costs of their own travel to England for specialist treatment.

“In the absence of a devolved Assembly, there is a risk that Northern Ireland’s now out-ofdate cancer strategy will not be comprehensively updated. It is vital that the department acknowledges these shortfalls in cancer care and develops a strategy for addressing them.”

A spokesman from the Department of Health said: “Meeting the challenges posed by cancer is, and will continue to be, one of the department’s highest priorities.

“We have made great strides in tackling cancer and significant progress has been made in the past decade; cancer survival rates in NI are better now than they ever have been. Six out of 10 people with a diagnosis of cancer live more than five years and five out of 10 live for more than 10 years.”

❝ Patients in NI face severe delays in receiving cancer diagnosis and treatment

Dr Andrew Murrison