§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to(a) extend the National Service Framework to cover cardiac arrhythmias and (b) set targets for their diagnosis and treatment; [162804]
1049W(2) if he will make representations to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence that its appraisal of pacemakers (a) examines utilisation rates and (b) takes into account the views of the British Cardiac Society. [162807]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonOn 12 March the Government announced the establishment of an expert group to advise the Department of Health on future policy on sudden cardiac death and cardiac arrhythmia.
This could lead to the drafting of a new national service framework (NSF) chapter setting out the standards and models of care for these conditions. The group will be chaired by the National Clinical Director for Heart Disease, Dr Roger Boyle with voluntary and professional organisations including Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) and the British Cardiac Society being invited to join. Patients and families of patients will also have a strong voice in the work.
The British Cardiac Society are one of the many professional groups contributing to the ongoing National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) appraisal of their 2000 guidance on the use of implantable cardioverter defibrillators for arrhythmias. The 2000 report provided guidelines for utilisation rates, and any further recommendations will be made using the best evidence available. NICE are also conducting an appraisal on dual chamber pacing to assess the clinical and cost effectiveness of dual chamber pacemakers compared with single chamber pacemakers, and both appraisals will feed in to the work of the newly-formed group.