Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory cardiovascular screening for anyone participating in organised sport.

The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has opened its three month public consultation on screening to prevent Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) in young people, ages 12-39. The consultation will close on 7 September and welcomes input from individuals and organisations. Further information about the consultation and how to participate can be found at the following link:

https://legacyscreening.phe.org.uk/suddencardiacdeath

The UK NSC last reviewed screening for SCD in young people, ages 12-39, in 2015 and it was recommended that screening should not be offered.

The UK NSC is an independent committee that advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four UK countries on all aspects of screening. Using research evidence, pilot programmes and economic evaluation, the Committee assesses the evidence for national screening programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria covering: the condition; the test; the treatment options; and the effectiveness and acceptability of the screening programme.