2. Letter from
Kathy Oliver, Co-Director of the International Brain Tumour
Alliance (www.theibta.org):
Dear
All
International
Brain Tumour Awareness Week was earlier this month and to tie
in with this period, the IBTA asked Lord Carlile of Berriew QC
to table a Parliamentary Question (PQ) in the House of
Lords about brain tumours.
Lord Carlile
very kindly agreed to do this and his PQ and the response are
pasted in below. The PQ and response appear in
Hansard, the Parliamentary order paper (dated 12
November) and can be accessed via this
link:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldhansrd/text/91112w0006.htm#09111249001170
With kind
regards
Kathy
============================================================================
Health: Brain
Tumours
Question
Asked by Lord
Carlile of Berriew
To ask Her
Majesty's Government what steps they propose to meet the
challenges associated with the diagnosis and treatment of
brain tumours, in the light of the initiatives provided by
International Brain Tumour Awareness Week. [HL6296]
Baroness
Thornton: The National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence published Improving Outcomes guidance in 2006 on
the healthcare that should be provided for people with brain
tumours and other central nervous system (CNS) tumours to
ensure the
12 Nov
2009 : Column WA213
best
outcomes, including early diagnosis. It is for the National
Health Service locally to implement this guidance, and the
National Cancer Action Team continues to work with the NHS at
local level to agree implementation plans.
The National
Cancer Peer Review Programme is currently developing measures
for brain and CNS tumours, which will be incorporated into the
Manual for Cancer Services. Other work includes supporting the
British Neuro-Oncology Society with the development of
national guidelines for rarer brain tumours. It is planned
that all brain services in England will be reviewed against
these measures from April 2011 in order to establish how well
the Improving Outcomes guidance has been
implemented.
In September
2009, we announced plans to further improve access to
diagnostics in primary care by offering all patients access to
tests and results, which can confirm or exclude cancer within
one week. Our aim is to start rolling this out from 2011-12
over a five-year
period.
