Disability: Screening

(asked on 15th January 2024) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the absence of special provisions in the NHS to provide routine diagnostic tests such as mammograms and cervical smears to women who are paralysed following a spinal cord injury and are wheelchair bound complies with the Equality Act 2010.


Answered by
Lord Markham Portrait
Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 24th January 2024

Under the Equality Act 2010 and the Health and Social Care Act 2012, National Health Service screening providers have a legal duty to make sure screening services are accessible to everyone, including people with one or more protected characteristics.

NHS England is committed to improving the accessibility of the screening programmes it commissions under the Public Health Services (S7a) agreement, particularly for under-served groups in society such as those with disabilities. Contractually, providers of NHS screening services are required to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that their services are accessible for people with disabilities.

Services make reasonable adjustments within the constraints of equipment, to ensure that disabled people are offered the opportunity to have screening, however there may be situations where this is not possible. Providers will deal with these on a case-by-case basis and offer an alternative approach as necessary.

Reticulating Splines