THERE is “no issue” with the Hospital MRI scanner in diagnosing prostate cancer, the Health Department has stressed after an independent report stated that it was not possible to screen for the disease in Jersey.
The department, which has moved to reassure Islanders following the release of the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) report, said there was currently no screening programme in Jersey or the UK.
The report was authored by Professor Tim Briggs, Graham Lomax, Dan Pearce from GIRFT, a UK programme that focuses on improving the quality of care within healthcare settings by reducing unnecessary variations.
A total of 36 recommendations were outlined by reviewers, who visited the Hospital for two days in April 2024.
One of the recommendations raised in the review was that the General Hospital should “undertake a review of current equipment and upgrade where necessary”.
In the report, reviewers said: “We were told that the equipment is old and the software on MRI scanner requires updating as currently it is not possible to screen for prostate cancer.”
In a statement responding to the report, Health and Community Services said: “We would like to reassure Islanders that there is no issue with our MRI machine in diagnosing prostate cancer.
“The GIRFT report recommends that HCS review its current equipment as currently it cannot screen for prostate cancer. However, it must be pointed out that there is no screening programme for prostate cancer in Jersey, nor is there one in the UK. This is because at the moment there is no reliable test which can detect prostate cancer at an early stage.
“If a reliable screening test was developed, we would investigate whether it could be introduced to Jersey.”
A new trial to gather evidence on screening methods to detect prostate cancer is due to be led by researchers at Imperial College London, working alongside UCL, Queen Mary University of London and the Institute of Cancer Research.
The £42m trial is backed by charity Prostate Cancer UK, and is hoping to see its first results within three years.
Currently, patients who are concerned about prostate cancer in Jersey can attend their GP for a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test.
If the PSA result is raised, the patient is referred to the Urology Department for further investigations.
These investigations could include an MRI scan of the prostate, and, if an abnormality detected, a prostate biopsy.
