§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether he has any plans to facilitate the setting up of increased counselling and advice services for people seeking to have children and who may be carriers of sickle cell anaemia;
(2) how many hospitals have initiated screening programmes for sickle cell anaemia; and what measures he proposes to take to ensure comprehensive screening throughout England and Wales.
§ Mr. John PattenThe organisation of counselling, screening and other services for sickle cell sufferers, or those who may be at risk, is for health authorities to decide in the light of local needs. Genetic counselling may be undertaken by obstetricians, haematologists, paediatricians or general practitioners, and a special genetic advisory service is available in each National Health Service region. It is common practice to screen members of the at-risk communities, when they come into contact with the Health Service, for the presence of sickle cell anaemia or sickle cell trait, and NHS hospital laboratories have the technical facilities required for this purpose. I understand, however, that medical opinion is divided about whether screening of all new-born children, or only selected groups, is desirable. The Department funds part of the expenditure of the Organisation for Sickle Cell Anaemia Research and the Sickle Cell Society, both of which provide information, counselling and advice to sufferers and their families and are also active in increasing professional awareness of the condition. Inner city funds have been used to develop counselling and screening services in a number of places. We have also raised with the postgraduate medical deans of universities the question of including the subject of sickle cell disease in their courses for doctors.
§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will ask the Health Education Council further to expand its work on promoting public awareness about sickle cell anaemia by drawing up proposals to provide information for ethnic groups about the disease.
§ Mr. John PattenThe Health Education Council has produced two leaflets on sickle cell anaemia, one aimed 283W at doctors and health professionals, the other aimed at teachers. 72,000 copies of the former and 145,000 of the latter have been distributed. The Sickle Cell Society produced a handbook and guide for families on sickle cell disease in 1983. We do not propose to ask the HEC to undertake further work in this field at present.