Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Desai (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 30 June 2009.

Health: Tuberculosis

Question: My Lords, I recall that the Chief Medical Officer announced a TB strategy five years ago. What has been the effect of that plan?

Answer: My Lords, in 2004, the Chief Medical Officer produced a TB action plan with 10 actions to bring TB under control. We are committed to tackling TB. The action plan involves reducing the number of people at risk of being newly infected by TB, providing high-quality treatment and care for them, and maintaining low levels of drug resistance, which has already been referred to, for multi-drug TB. We do this in several ways, including raising awareness of TB within the medical profession. The incidence of TB in the population has been stable for the past two years. The Care Quality Commission’s assessments of how these issues are delivered will include TB within the broad framework of how organisations are delivering at local level.

Secondary information