Q&A: Brown's plans for the NHS
Updated on 07 January 2008
As the NHS turns 60, Gordon Brown will promise a more preventative NHS with a new national health screening programme for some of the biggest killer diseases.
What's the plan?
The government wants to set up the first national screening programme to spot the early signs of heart problems, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease and provide the sort of wellbeing tests generally only available privately.
How many people does the government estimate will be affected by these diseases?
They say 6.2 million people will be affected by heart problems, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease, including 200,000 who will die from the diseases.
Where will the tests take place?
Key diagnostic procedures such as blood tests, electro-cardiograms (ECGs) and ultrasounds are to be available in local GP surgeries.
Why are these tests to be carried out by GPs?
The government wants to meet targets of a maximum 18-week waiting times from diagnosis to treatment and using local surgeries is seen as a way of achieving this.
How does the government intend to target patients for the relevant tests?
By age, gender, postcode, family history, height and weight.
The vascular screening programme is a key component, what will it entail?
To be introduced this year or early 2009, vascular testing will include a series of blood, fat and sugar tests in GP surgeries.
How many lives does the government think could be saved by introducing a universal ultrasound test for men over 65, for example?
It thinks as many as 1,600 lives could be saved each year by offering a simple ultrasound test for early abdominal aortic aneurysm, or 'triple A', the weakening of the main artery from heart to abdomen, which kills more than 3,000 men annually.
