Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report entitled Rebuilding My Body: Breast reconstruction in England, published by Breast Cancer Now on 18 June 2018, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies of the conclusions and recommendations of that report.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published updated guidance on ‘Early and locally advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and management’ in July 2018. Section 1.5 has a series of detailed guidelines for breast reconstruction. The guidance can be found at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng101

The Breast Cancer Now report, ‘Rebuilding My Body: Breast reconstruction in England’, found evidence that patients’ access to breast reconstruction surgery is being restricted by some local health bodies. It recommends that clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) adopt new guidelines, which will ensure all breast cancer patients are supported to access the breast reconstruction they need at a time that is appropriate for them.

Breast Cancer Now, as the secretariat to NHS England's Breast Cancer Clinical Expert Group, will have regular engagement with NHS England who would be aware of the report and its recommendations.