Jon Trickett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve rates of early diagnosis for life-threatening illnesses.

Jane Ellison

Public Health England (PHE) runs a range of national social marketing campaigns, based on the best available evidence, to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of certain life-threatening illnesses and to therefore improve rates of early diagnosis. PHE works closely with the Department and NHS England to ensure that health care professionals are also targeted with campaign information to encourage earlier diagnoses and referrals.

In addition PHE leads the NHS Health Check programme which aims to reduce premature mortality and morbidity and invites anyone aged between 40 and 74 who does not have a pre-existing condition for a check every five years. This programme presents an opportunity to prevent heart attacks and strokes and save lives each year. It can also help prevent people from developing diabetes and detect cases of diabetes or kidney disease earlier, allowing individuals to be better managed and improve their quality of life.