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Written question asked by Yasmin Qureshi (Labour) on Thursday, 22 May 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 2 June 2025. It was answered by Ashley Dalton (Labour) on Thursday, 5 June 2025 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Heart Diseases: Diagnosis

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NT-proBNP testing is implemented in Community Diagnostic Centres.

Answer

NT-proBNP is a well-established blood test used across the National Health Service in the detection of heart failure. All standard and large model community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are required to offer blood tests via a phlebotomy service, and the majority of spoke model CDCs also offer this service.

All NHS pathology networks have laboratories that are equipped to provide results for these blood tests.

14 CDCs are also currently able to provide NT-proBNP blood tests as a point of care test (POCT), where results can be assessed on site while patients wait, allowing patients to get results on the same day. NHS England is working with CDCs to expand the number offering this test as a POCT test.

NHS England has also released guidance to increase the use of NT-proBNP tests as a triage tool for referral to echocardiography services. The guidance has been published, and is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/enhancing-gp-direct-access-to-diagnostic-tests-for-patients-with-suspected-chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-asthma-or-heart-failure/

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
54244
Session
2024-26
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Heart Diseases: Diagnosis
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Subjects
Diagnosis Heart diseases Community diagnostic centres
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk