§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve the measurement of cholesterol in the over-50s. [127735]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe planning and priorities framework, "Improving, Expansion and Reform", which sets out priorities for the next three years for the national health service, includes a target for practice based registers to ensure that patients with, or at high risk of, coronary heart disease and diabetes receive appropriate care and treatment in line with national service framework standards, including advice on diet, physical activity and smoking. Patients at risk of coronary heart disease include those with hypertension, diabetes and who are obese.
The quality and outcomes framework within the new general medical services contract, being introduced from 1 April 2004, will reward general practitioners who monitor, and can demonstrate control of, the cholesterol level of patients suffering from chronic heart disease.