§ Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been undertaken and what conclusions reached on whether annual monitoring of the over 75-year-olds is cost effective.
571W
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThere is wide support for the over-75s being seen regularly, at least once a year and preferably in their own homes; the objective being to establish whether there are any medical or social conditions which would otherwise go unreported, but are easily remediable.
Such interventions are intended to minimise disability and hence improve the quality of life and to attempt to avoid "crisis" admissions to hospitals.
There are clear cost-effective benefits if the well-being of patients is maintained or improved as a result of the marginal costs involved.
In introducing the requirement in the new contract for general practitioners to offer an annual check-up and a home visit for their patients aged 75 and over, we considered the extensive literature in the field of care of the elderly that is available both in this country and internationally.