thequarter.
Screening (VTE, breast, cervical,
bowel, diabetic retinopathy)
VTE (venous thromboembolism)
risk assessment
Of the 3.4 million adult patients admitted
to NHS-funded acute care between July
and September 2012, 93.9 percent of these
received a VTE risk assessment on admission,
a slight increase compared to Q1 2012/13
(93.4 percent).
293 providers (out of 311 providers who
submitted data), reported that at least 90
percent of adult admissions to hospital were
risk assessed for VTE, compared to 275 in June
2012, 241 in March 2012, and 18 in July 2010
when the collection fi rst began.
Breast screening
The NHS Operating Framework 2012/13
states that NHS organisations should continue
working to meet the expectations in service
specifi c outcomes strategies that have been
published, including those for cancer. In
addition, all deadlines for the full roll-out of
programmes highlighted in previous NHS
Operating Frameworks should be completed
within the established timescale.
As at the end of September 2012, 55 out of
80 local programmes (69 percent) had
implemented the extension randomisation and
a further 9 (11 percent) were unsuitable for
randomisation and were inviting only the 47-49
year-olds. 16 programmes (20 percent) are still
to expand, citing lack of digital mammography,
staffi ng shortfalls and funding as issues.
Cervical screening test results
The NHS Operating Framework 2012/13 states
that NHS organisations should continue to work
to meet the expectations in service specifi c
outcomes strategies that have been published,
including those for cancer.
As recommended by the Advisory Committee on
Cervical Screening, the operational standard for
women receiving their results within 14 days has
been set at 98 percent. At the end of September
2012, the percentage of women receiving their
results within 14 days was 99.1 percent, an
increase on the Q1 fi gure of 95.7 percent.
Bowel screening
The initial roll-out of the NHS bowel cancer
screening programme (NHS BCSP) across
England was completed on 23 August 2010.
By the end of September 2012, nearly 16 million
kits (15,685,679) had been sent out and nearly
9 million (8,922,699) returned. Over 13,500
(13,649) cancers had been detected, and over
70,000 (70,345) patients had undergone polyp
removal. Men and women over the age limit
can request a testing kit every two years, and
nearly 190,000 (188,304) have self-referred for
screening so far.
The NHS BCSP is currently being extended to
men and women aged 70 up to their 75th
birthday, in order to screen around 1 million more
men and women each year. The NHS Operating
Framework 2011/12 stated that extensions begun
in 2010/11 should continue and be maintained
for 2011/12. Those centres whose end of original
screening round fell beyond 2011/12 should now
be preparing to expand on completion of the
original round. The NHS Operating Framework
2012/13 states that all deadlines for the full
roll-out of programmes highlighted in previous
NHS Operating Frameworks should be
completed within the established timescale.
As at September 2012, 41 of the 58 local
screening centres (72 percent) had implemented
the extension, a 4 percent improvement on the
fi gure at the end of Q1.
Diabetic retinopathy
At Q2, 98.7 percent of people with diabetes
were offered screening for diabetic retinopathy
in the previous 12 months, comparable to the
fi gure of 98.5 percent for Q1.
The majority of PCTs continue to offer screening
to all people with diabetes, with more people
with diabetes now being offered screening
for retinopathy than ever before, and to
higher standards. This is in the context
of an ever-increasing number of people with
diabetes. Latest fi gures for Q2 show that
2.39 million people were offered screening and
the number of people with diabetes stands at
2.64 million. When the screening programme
was introduced in 2003, the number of people
with diabetes stood at 1.3 million.
Quarter 2 2012/13
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