Written question asked by Virendra Sharma (Labour) on Wednesday, 21 March 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 23 March 2012. It was answered by Anne Milton (Conservative) on Monday, 26 March 2012 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Tuberculosis

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to promote GP awareness of tuberculosis incidence and the importance of early detection;

Answer: The Department is funding TB Alert, the national tuberculosis (TB) charity to:"increase awareness of TB among groups most vulnerable to TB through building the capacity of local voluntary sector organisations, national health service organisations and the wider public sector to run local awareness-raising programmes, taking account of the need for culturally appropriate information.""develop an online learning resource about TB for primary health care professionals, which is being produced together with the Royal College of General Practitioners. The purpose of the resource is to help improve early TB detection and treatment completion, and should be available by the end of the year."In addition, the NHS in London is funding the 'Find and Treat' outreach service to identify and treat cases of TB among people who are most at risk such as those who are homeless or have complex social needs. This service includes peer educators who raise awareness of TB among these groups and encourage them to get tested.Recently published guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on identifying and managing TB in hard to reach groups makes recommendations to the NHS and partner organisations about raising and sustaining awareness of TB among health care professionals and those at risk. This includes the need for information to be culturally and linguistically appropriate and in a range of media formats.

Secondary information