EURATOM Supply Agency

(asked on 5th July 2016) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 13 June (HL459), what impact the UK National Screening Committee expects the delay in publishing the final report of National Institute for Health Research project HTA-14/141/01 to have on the timescales for reviewing its recommendation on screening for atrial fibrillation in adults.


This question was answered on 13th July 2016

The project ‘Screening Strategies for Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis’ is being funded through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme. There were a larger number of studies than expected – around 260 - because of the broad population inclusion criteria and the active phase of the project has slightly overrun.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) reviews the evidence for screening based on the best and most robust evidence available. The UK NSC is due to review the evidence for screening people aged 65 and over for atrial fibrillation in the financial year 2017/18. It is anticipated that the timing of the UK NSC review will not be affected by the delay to the publication of the NIHR’s ‘Screening Strategies for Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis’. The UK NSC will consider the timing of its review more closely in spring 2017.

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