AQW 5503/22-27 Written question to the Minister of Health
To ask the Minister of Health how many people were seen for an urgent cancer check during 2023.
Asked by Paula Bradshaw MLA on 5 February 2024
- Answered
- Written
- After due date
- Tabled
- 5 February 2024
- Answer due by
- 20 February 2024
- Answered
- 21 February 202416 days after tabling
- Department
- Department of Health
- Priority question
- No
Answer
Information on the number of people seen for an urgent cancer check during 2023 is not collected centrally in the Department. This information has been sourced from each of the five Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts and is presented in table 1 below. This is the number of people seen in their first consultant-led outpatient appointment after being referred with a suspect cancer. Not all of these patients will have a confirmed cancer diagnosis following the appointment.
Table 1: The number of people seen for an urgent cancer check in each HSC Trust during 2023
| HSC Trust | Number Seen |
| Belfast | 15,946 |
| Northern | 18,872 |
| South Eastern | 19,087 |
| Southern | 12,551 |
| Western | 13,537 |
| Total | 79,993 |
Source: HSC Trusts