HEALTH COMMITTEE REPORT ON PREVENTION OF VENOUS THROMBOEMBOLISM

Early day motion 854, tabled 8 March 2005 by John Smith (Labour). Signed by 57 members.

That this House commends the Health Select Committee on its Report on the Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) in Hospitalised Patients (HC99); is concerned that this silent killer leads to over 25,000 deaths in England from venous thromboembolism, many of which are preventable by the use of well established treatments routinely available in the UK; urges the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to extend their guidelines on VTE to cover the majority of hospital patients and introduce the guidelines earlier than May 2007; is concerned that cheap, effective, easy-to-administer drugs such as low molecular weight heparin, which can dramatically cut the chances of patients developing a blood clot, and other devices that have a crucial part to play in preventing deaths are not being widely used; supports the recommendation that each hospital creates a thrombosis team charged with reducing the risk that patients face of developing VTE; further urges additional thrombosis awareness-raising initiatives so that patients and medical practitioners are informed of the risks of thrombosis; welcomes the spotlight placed on this crucial public health issue as a result of the inquiry; and calls on the Government to implement the recommendations as a matter of urgency to halt the alarmingly high number of deaths from this preventable condition.

Signatures by party: Labour 34, Liberal Democrat 12, Conservative 3, DUP 3, Labour/Co-operative 3, Independent 1, UUP 1.