To ask the Minister of Health to detail any steps his Department is taking to reduce diagnostic delays for those with leukaemia.

The Northern Ireland Cancer Network (NICaN) Haematology Clinical Reference Group (CRG) is currently updating NICaN Primary Care Referral Guidance for suspected cancers. This revised guideline will provide more specific advice on identifying suspected haematological malignancies, including leukaemia, as well as guidance on the appropriate referral pathways.

In addition, NICaN, in partnership with the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and the Macmillan GP facilitators, delivers monthly primary care education and awareness sessions for GPs, nurses, pharmacists and allied health professionals. These sessions aim to improve understanding of red-flag symptoms and support earlier recognition. Further GP education sessions will be scheduled to coincide with release of updated NICaN Primary Care Guidance for Haematology Cancers (expected mid-late 2026).

Patients may also delay consulting their GP when experiencing symptoms that can be vague or non-specific. This highlights the importance of improving both public awareness and GP awareness to support earlier identification and diagnosis of leukaemia in primary care.

My department has also established two rapid diagnostic centres (RDCs) to support cancer diagnosis. GPs across Northern Ireland can now refer patients who do not meet the standard suspected cancer criteria but for whom they have ongoing clinical concern to the ‘Vague Symptoms Pathway’ provided through the RDCs. This service is designed to support earlier investigation and diagnosis for patients whose symptoms may indicate a haematological malignancy such as leukaemia.

Preliminary work is also underway as part of Action 16 of the Northern Ireland Cancer Strategy 2022-2032 to establish a Specialist Integrated Haematology Malignancies Diagnostic Service (SIHMDS) for Northern Ireland, subject to the availability of funding. A SIHMDS will improve patient outcomes for haematological cancers through a more accurate, timely and cost-efficient diagnostic process.