BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING

That this House notes with alarm that England and Wales have the highest death rates from breast cancer in the world and an unacceptably high death rate from cervical cancer; draws the attention of all honourable Members to the excellent report on cervical and breast cancer screening in England by the Committee of Public Accounts; and further notes the attention drawn by this report to the absence of reliable statistics on smear test results, the lack of agreement by health professionals on the interpretation of smears, the variation in take up rates between the regions and the low take-up rates in the inner cities amongst ethnic minority women and by homeless women; and urges the Department of Health to take immediate action to improve participation by these groups and therefore prevent many unnecessary and untimely deaths.