Sudden Cardiac Death: Screening for Young People
Debate between Lord Winston and Baroness Blake of Leeds
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I am not convinced that the evidence is as categoric as the noble Lord asserts, but I am delighted to tell the House that the UK National Screening Committee will open a public consultation on sudden cardiac death screening in the spring. It is crucial that we let it do its work and bring all the evidence forward to make sure that we come forward with the right approach to a desperate situation.
Lord Winston (Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the UK National Screening Committee is an excellent body doing a fine job of work? It is interesting that this is the third Question on screening we have had in the past two months of parliamentary work. What we see is that screening that is not focused is not only not valuable but risky because it causes a great deal of harm to perfectly healthy people. Will she point out that focused screening is what we need and that that requires considerable scientific endeavour? I think we are endeavouring to do that at the moment.
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
My noble friend raises the crucial point about the NSC. I emphasise again that it has a well-earned international reputation for rigour and for making robust, evidence-based recommendations that stand up to scrutiny. My noble friend is right that we have to understand that introducing population-level screening for some aspects can cause harm, and we have to be mindful of that, let the experts do their work and come up with the best way forward for the majority of people.
Weight Loss Medication
Debate between Lord Winston and Baroness Blake of Leeds
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
Quite a few points were made there. I think the noble Lord is referring to reports about acute pancreatitis, for example. The MHRA has done a thorough review of the suspicions around these medicines. No new safety concerns were identified but, every time something comes up, it will be looked into. The noble Lord is absolutely right that we need to support the longitudinal studies that are happening, but going on beyond the initial licensing will also be critical. As I answered previously, work in other areas to encourage healthy lifestyles will be ongoing, and this will need to be taken seriously by patients from a very young age.
Lord Winston (Lab)
My Lords, the causes of obesity are many, not just one or two issues. Has my noble friend the Minister considered whether some sort of pilot programme looking at particular types of obesity might be sensible, just as the questioner has, in effect, already asked? I agree that the long-term effects are really important and must not be forgotten.
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
My noble friend raises an important point. I would not stand at the Front Bench and counter what he has said. I will be very happy to pick up his ideas after this session and look at all the innovative ways in which we can take future work forward.