COUNCILLOR WERA HOBHOUSE CRITICISES SCREENING PLANS FOR THE NHS

6.00.00pm GMT Mon 7th Jan 2008

NHS Screening plans

Councillor Wera Hobhouse, Parliamentary Spokesman for Heywood and Middleton has attacked Prime Minster's speech today about screening tests for all patients in the NHS as a wasted opportunity.

All patients entering NHS hospitals in England will be screened for MRSA and Clostridium difficile, Gordon Brown has said. All patients attending hospital for routine operations will be screened for MRSA by 2008-9 with screening for emergency patients introduced over the next three years. The PM has also announced that patients in England will be offered screening for early signs of heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.

Councillor Wera Hobhouse comments:

"Doctors have condemned the poor scientific basis for the 'deep clean' and now the Prime Minister is acting against the scientific evidence from the Department of Health that a screening process for C difficile wouldn't be effective. We need to empower practitioners and patients to make changes and take decisions locally, not persist with central dictats on piecemeal changes. This Government needs to get NHS money to where it's most effective, not most politically noisy."