HEART UK CAMPAIGN AGAINST UNNECESSARY HEART DISEASE

Early day motion 1647, tabled 7 June 2007 by Doug Naysmith (Labour). Signed by 88 members.

That this House congratulates Heart UK on its campaign against unnecessary heart disease; notes the clear messages from its report Cholesterol in the Ageing Population: Avoiding the Crisis in Health and Pension Costs, that 300,000 deaths could be prevented annually in the UK by increasing treatment take-up in the context of annual productivity losses of £2.9 billion owing to heart disease; supports its call for greater access to cholesterol testing, especially amongst high-risk groups such as diabetics; notes further that 79 per cent. of the burden of NHS health costs for coronary heart disease relate to in-patient costs compared with 3 per cent. for primary healthcare; recommends that prevention is better than cure for improving quality of life, value achieved for NHS expenditure, and empowering the over 55s to enjoy longer working lives and to achieve the Pension Commission's goal of an improved and stable pension system; and calls on the Government to evaluate the more ambitious cholesterol lowering targets in the US, Europe and Scotland and consider adopting the latest guidelines on cholesterol targets issued by the Joint British Societies whilst accompanying them with a means of delivery through a revised quality and outcomes framework in the GP contract.

Signatures by party: Labour 53, Liberal Democrat 17, Conservative 14, DUP 1, Independent 1, Plaid Cymru 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1.