HC Deb 13 February 2004 vol 418 cc167-8W
Lady Hermon

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to increase the availability of the osteoporosis drug Evista in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the treatment of osteoporosis in Northern Ireland. [155202]

Angela Smith

Evista (generic name Raloxifene) is one of a number of interventions used to prevent and treat osteoporosis. Raloxifene is available to patients on health service prescription in Northern Ireland.

The choice of any intervention in the treatment of osteoporosis is a clinical one taken in consultation with the patient and based upon the best evidence available. Key factors include the nature and stage of disease progression, the risk and benefits of treatment, the patient age and underlying co-morbidities.

Clinical Resource Efficiency Support Team (CREST) Guidelines on the Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis were issued to Health Service professionals in Northern Ireland in 2001. The guidelines identify evidence-based strategies for the prevention and issue of childhood obesity is being established under the auspices of the Ministerial Group on Public Health, which I chair.

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