Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of improved diagnosis and management of anaemia to reductions in avoidable admission to hospital; and if he will make a statement.

It is the responsibility of general practitioners, using their clinical judgement and supported by relevant guidance, to arrange the appropriate tests and investigations that may lead to an appropriate diagnosis.

A range of guidance on the testing and treatment of anaemia is available from sources including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Clinical Knowledge Summaries. NICE works to ensure its guidance reflects the latest available evidence.

Actively supporting patients with such conditions through better self-management, disease-management or case-management, or lifestyle interventions prevents acute exacerbations and reduces the need for emergency hospital admission.

The NHS Outcomes Framework Unplanned hospitalisation for chronic ambulatory care sensitive conditions captures data for a range of conditions including anaemia. This data is available at both national and clinical commissioning group level and the latest data report can be found at the following link:

http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB14887/ccg_ind_sep_14_comm.pdf