AQW 29372/22-27

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 26/06/2025
Answered On Date: 08/07/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health what actions his Department is taking to improve the early detection of pancreatic cancer, given that most cases are diagnosed at a late stage.

Answer:

Pancreatic cancer is a devastating illness that progresses rapidly and has very poor outcomes when diagnosed at a late stage. Achieving earlier diagnosis is key to improving outcomes for patients and accessing potentially lifesaving treatment.

Northern Ireland was the first part of the UK to agree to implement the Optimal Care Pathway for pancreatic cancer developed by Pancreatic Cancer UK (PCUK), which sets a target of diagnosis within 21 days. My officials and colleagues in Health and Social Care (HSC) are currently working alongside PCUK to take this forward.

My officials are also developing policy principles to support quicker diagnosis of pancreatic cancer through the expansion of the Rapid Diagnosis Centre model. The establishment of the RDC model has already made a hugely positive impact by delivering earlier cancer diagnoses and better patient outcomes through the Vague Symptom Pathway. The expansion of the model into red flag diagnostic pathways provides a huge opportunity to diagnose patients quicker and shorten treatment pathway times.