Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he is taking to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of Kawasaki disease among NHS health professionals.

Guidance is available from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the assessment and initial management of fever in children under five, and this guidance includes recommendations on recognising the symptoms of Kawasaki disease.

NICE’s clinical guidelines help healthcare professionals deliver the best possible care based on the best available evidence; the guidelines are not mandatory, although health and care commissioners are expected to take them fully into account.

Information about the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment and complications of Kawasaki disease is also available on the National Health Service website.

Furthermore, learning information and resources for clinicians about Kawasaki disease is available from Societi, The UK Kawasaki Disease Foundation. Societi engages with a range of NHS stakeholders to raise awareness of Kawasaki disease, and has a number of senior clinicians on its Scientific Advisory Board who work in leading NHS institutions and who have expertise in relevant clinical areas such as vasculitis and paediatric cardiology.