Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of tuberculosis screening.

Jane Ellison

Actions to raise awareness and tackle stigma among populations at high risk of tuberculosis (TB) are highlighted in the Collaborative TB Strategy for England 2015 to 2020.

These actions consist of awareness raising of symptoms, targeted TB screening and education as part of new patient checks at general practice surgeries and the use of community workers and health advocates to signpost and facilitate patient access to local services. In addition, TB awareness raising is provided to statutory and voluntary agencies working with: the homeless; individuals who misuse drugs or alcohol; and migrants from countries with high TB incidence. Efforts to raise awareness of TB among health professionals are supported nationally by Public Health England and the leading national TB charity, TB Alert.

In addition, I have attended and hosted a number of events to raise awareness, most recently for World TB Day in March which included visiting the Find and treat mobile unit.