Chamber and committees

All women aged between 50-70 years of age are invited for breast screening every three years. Women aged 70 and over are able to request breast screening by contacting their local breast screening centre.

The Scottish Cancer Taskforce has discussed how awareness raising could be improved and further action will be considered at a workshop to be held early in 2010.

Whilst research has been undertaken into light-induced fluorescence endoscopy, no such systems are currently available to patients in NHS Scotland.

Each NHS board has responsibility for the planning and provision of health services in its area, based on an assessment of need and in accordance with local and national priorities.

Leading Better Care sets out the senior charge nurse''s (SCNs) role and responsibilities with regard to managing the practice setting including the effective use of resources and contributing to the management of the ward/department budget. The SCNs role as an empowered clinical leader and guardian of care quality means that they have a key responsibility in relation to the best use of the resources under their control, including having direct access to budgets for urgent repairs and replacement of equipment as required under the healthcare associated infection national action plan.

Leading Better Care identifies the senior charge nurse''s (SCN) role and responsibilities to promote a clean and safe environment for staff, patients and visitors by ensuring compliance with legislation, policies and protocols, including health and safety, healthcare associated infection, risk management and critical incident reporting and analysis.

SCNs are the guardians of quality and clinical standards in their areas of responsibility and have a key responsibility with regard to ensuring the cleanliness of their clinical areas.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24275 on 25 June 2009, which indicated that official data on the number of Clostridium difficile-related deaths, by NHS board and by hospital, is published by the General Register for Scotland (GROS) on an annual basis. Data for the calendar year 2008 were published by GROS in August 2009. Data for the calendar year January 2009 to December 2009 will be published in August 2010.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Data on the estimated survival rates for female breast cancer patients can be found at:

http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=cancer_female_breast_surv.xls&pContentDispositionType=inline.

The most recent rates that have been calculated are for the period of diagnosis 2000-04.

The guidance on completing the HAI (healthcare associated infection) reporting template requires NHS boards to ensure that reports are considered as part of bi-monthly public board meetings. The reports on NHS board websites are updated to coincide with these bi-monthly public board meetings.

The most recently available data show that between 2000 and 2004, the five year survival rate for oesophageal cancer was 11% for men and 7.7% for women.

Further information on survival rates for oesophageal cancer is available on the NHS Information Services Division website http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/1493.html. Data for other cancers can be found at http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/183.html.

We are aware that survival rates for oesophageal cancer remain poor compared with some other cancers, although we are encouraged to see that mortality rates for both men and women are decreasing. Action is taking place to tackle alcohol consumption, poor diet and smoking, all of which are known risk factors for oesophageal cancer. Through earlier detection, more rapid diagnosis and treatment, survival after cancer continues to improve.

Action has been taken to ensure doctors across the country have up-to-date referral guidelines to ensure patients presenting with possible symptoms of oesophageal cancer are quickly and efficiently referred for further investigation.

A Health Department Letter (HDL) was issued in 2007, HDL (2007) 9 Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer, with the aim of increasing awareness of cancer symptoms, including oesophageal cancer, amongst GPs and other healthcare professionals. This is available at:

www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/HDL2007_09.pdf.

A quick reference guideline based on the HDL was issued earlier this year to all GPs across Scotland. This is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/quickreferenceguide/suspectedcancer.

The referral guidelines and quick reference guide further support other relevant clinical guidelines such as SIGN Guideline 87 on the Management of Oesophageal and Gastric Cancer and SIGN Guideline 68 on Dyspepsia (which is due to be updated next year). Managed clinical networks use such guidelines to develop patient referral and care pathways.

There are currently no plans to issue additional guidance to GPs on the diagnosis of oesophageal cancer.