Earlier this month, Dr Sarah Jarvis, a representative of the cholesterol charity Heart UK, met Health Select Committee chairman Kevin Barron (Labour; Rother Valley) to explain why primary prevention screening should be in the QOF.
‘It is having various meetings to inform it in its decision-making process,’ Dr Jarvis told GP.
Heart UK wants the quality framework to give GPs points for screening all over 40s for cardiovascular risk, as stipulated in Joint British Societies (JBS2) guidance. The charity has given evidence to the QOF review committee.
Dr Jarvis said it is important ‘to make it clear that GPs are in the best place to do primary prevention screening and that to be done comprehensively it has to be in the quality framework’.
‘We’re very confident that there is a very sound clinical base,’ she explained.
The GPC and NHS Employers are currently in negotiations over changes to the quality framework to be implemented from April 2008.
rachel.liddle@haymarket.com
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