Health Data: Research and Analysis
Debate between Lord Evans of Rainow and Baroness Bryan of Partick
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
I do not wish to mislead the House—I can talk only about NHS England. If the noble Baroness is referring to healthcare in Scotland, or indeed in Wales or Northern Ireland, I cannot talk specifically about this. What I can say is that the IT system software is transformative for healthcare in England—but it also equally applies to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Baroness Bryan of Partick (Lab)
My Lords, Professor Goldacre was concerned that in relation to health data we have lost public trust. There are many ways in which our data can be marketised, and people are quite rightly suspicious of it being misused, legally or illegally. Given the scale of NHS data stolen and now being released in Dumfries and Galloway, can the Minister agree that NHS users across the UK are right to be concerned?
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
I am sorry to say that I do not agree with the premise of the noble Baroness’s question. Improving patient outcomes through new technology or improved drugs requires the use of NHS data. Therefore, to make the best and most responsible use of the data that they hold, the NHS and social care systems need to work in partnership with a wide range of organisations, including commercial ones.
Secondary Metastatic Breast Cancer
Debate between Lord Evans of Rainow and Baroness Bryan of Partick
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
The noble Lord raises a very good point, and I will feed that back to the department.
Baroness Bryan of Partick (Lab)
My Lords, can the Minister assure us that older women, both those who have experienced breast cancer and those who have not, can continue to have access to breast cancer screening into their 70s and older?
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
Absolutely. We have provided an extra £10 million for the breast screening programme, which will provide 28 new breast screening units, targeted at areas with the greatest challenges of uptake and coverage, which includes more senior members of the community.