To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations his Department has received on the provision of incentives for the diagnosis and treatment of peripheral arterial disease in primary care. (210427)

The Department has engaged in discussions with Target PAD about ways to support adoption of best practice in identifying and treating patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) as part of a national overall strategy for vascular diseases.

The Department is currently developing the programme of vascular assessment originally announced by the Prime Minister in January, and outlined in “Putting Prevention First”, which is due to be rolled out from 2009-10. Copies of this publication are available in the Library. The programme is aimed at assessing and modifying risk factors for vascular disease. These are common to the whole range of vascular diseases, including PAD.

We expect the combination of vascular risk assessments and existing Quality and Outcome Framework registers for vascular diseases to identify the majority of people with PAD or at significant risk of developing it.

In addition, the Department has offered to work with Target PAD to develop a national specification for primary care trusts to commission local enhanced services in relation to PAD or for its treatment.