Written question asked by John P Smith (Labour) on Tuesday, 31 October 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 November 2000. It was answered by Yvette Cooper (Labour) on Monday, 13 November 2000 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the new variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease care package will be earmarked for assisting in the early identification of the symptoms of the disease; what support he intends to give as part of the NVCJD care package to the families of victims who have been misdiagnosed.

Answer: Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proportion of the new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease care package will be earmarked for assisting in the early identification of the symptoms of the disease; [136278] (2) what support he intends to give as part of the NVCJD care package to the families of victims who have been misdiagnosed. [136279] Yvette Cooper: Patients will have access to the full range of services provided by the National Health Service and Social Services departments. The Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) Care Package Fund is intended to ensure that people diagnosed as having CJD have rapid access to comprehensive, appropriate packages of care. The speed of diagnosis in cases of CJD is improving all the time and the CJD Surveillance Unit continues to work towards further improvement.

Secondary information