Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve diagnosis of anaemia in women.

There is information available from NHS Choices to support the identification of symptoms related to anaemia, which advises individuals to seek general practitioner (GP) advice should they experience those symptoms.

GPs exercise their clinical judgement with support from relevant guidance to arrange appropriate tests and investigations that may lead to a diagnosis, such as blood tests to assess the full blood count, which may highlight indicators of anaemia. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Clinical Knowledge Summaries website also provides guidance on testing and treatment of all types of anaemia.