Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the access to a simple blood test (BNP or NT-proBNP) for heart failure patients; and what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of people who having been given that test who are then referred to a specialist early for further investigation and diagnosis.

NHS Long Term Plan work to ensure early and rapid access to heart failure diagnostic tests remains a priority for NHS England and NHS Improvement during the COVID-19 pandemic. NHS England and NHS Improvement are committed to working with regions and networks to increase access to the B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) blood test and echocardiography, to improve the early detection and optimum management of heart failure.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are also working with voluntary sector partners, employers, local authorities, community pharmacists and general practitioner practices to provide opportunities for the public to check on their health, through readily accessible tests of high-risk conditions.

No information is held centrally regarding the number and proportion of people who having been given the BNP blood test and who are then referred to a specialist early for further investigation and diagnosis.