Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support men to access PSA blood tests on the NHS to check for early warning signs of prostate cancer.

The Department continues to work with NHS England in the ongoing Help Us Help You Campaigns to raise awareness of prostate cancer and ensure men have access to the information and services they need to make informed decisions about their health.

Men who are concerned about their risk of prostate cancer, or who are experiencing symptoms, are encouraged to discuss prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing with their general practitioner (GP). The National Institute for of Health and Care Excellence has developed guidance for referring patients if prostate cancer is suspected after a physical examination using the suspected cancer referral pathway. The guidance advises clinicians to consider PSA testing only for those with certain symptoms outlined in the guidance.

The Government also published guidance for GP’s on advising men without symptoms of prostate cancer who ask about the PSA test. The guidance advises GPs should use their clinical judgement to manage asymptomatic men and those who they consider to be at increased risk of prostate cancer.