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Liver Diseases

Volume 480: debated on Wednesday 8 October 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals to monitor the incidence of liver disease as a marker for the performance of public health programmes on alcohol, obesity and blood-borne viruses. (222375)

Liver disease is a growing problem. Often it is associated with people’s choices throughout their lives.

The Government have published strategies for alcohol misuse, viral hepatitis and obesity, designed to improve diagnosis and treatment for the future. However, we are aware that despite these strategies, there is a problem in the shorter term of managing the primary causes of liver disease.

We are now considering what the national health service needs to do over the next few years in order to address these pressures, and how this should be monitored. We shall announce next steps in due course.