INCREASING work pressures on GP surgeries are preventing the effective delivery of cancer prevention information, a new report claims.
The research by the University of Ulster also found that many of the 11,200 cases of people diagnosed with cancer every year in the north, could be prevented.
Details of the report, which was funded by Cancer Focus Northern Ireland, were revealed yesterday at an All Party Cancer Group meeting at Stormont.
The aim of the study was to investigate the current and potential role of GPs and primary care nurses in the prevention of cancer through health promotion strategies.
The research found that GPs and nurses in surgeries are the best placed health professionals to deliver cancer prevention information.
While the research showed that smoking cessation and cancer screening were the most common cancer prevention activities carried out in GP clinics, time constraints during consultations meant opportunities to discuss cancer prevention issues with patients were not always maximised.
The research also revealed that the link between cancer and the key risk factors of alcohol consumption, obesity, diet and physical activity were generally only discussed with patients when they presented themselves to GP surgeries with a related health problem.
The report concluded that consideration should be given to providing Primary Care Nurses with a more formal cancer prevention role.
Roisin Foster, chief executive of Cancer Focus, said: "It is interesting and important that GPs and nurses both agreed that Primary Care Nurses were better placed to provide cancer prevention activities and acknowledge that cancer prevention is an integral part of their roles but that both also identified time constraints as a real issue in delivering this."