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Public Health (England)

My hon. Friend is right to recognise that some things can be done nationally, while others can be done locally. I can cite an example from Slough, where the Department of Health has sponsored a project on diabetes identification involving the Dr. Foster unit. The project has improved people’s awareness of diabetes, which is an important contributory factor to coronary heart disease. When I was first elected, I was shocked to discover that my constituency was in the top 10 towns in the country for early deaths from heart disease among males. As a result of that, we have a locally-determined clinic that 98 per cent. of diabetes patients are attending. The attendance was 50 per cent. at the old clinic, which just happened to be in Windsor, which does not have as much diabetes as Slough, but is better at arguing for facilities.