Mr. Neil Johnson:

I will add to what Mr. Collins said and endorse everything he said. With regard to the last comment on heart failure, this is a huge issue and burden, which presents many challenges. One of the big challenges is the diagnosis of heart failure and access to a basic echocardiogram. Reference was made earlier to the waiting time. GPs, who tend to be the first presentation, have a dilemma in that they cannot diagnose the condition if they do not have access to these tests. Access to echocardiograms is an important issue in heart failure.

I will ask my colleague, Ms Gibson, to address behavioural change because she is a specialist in that area. In the context of the overall burden of disease we are describing, there is a bottleneck in that third age when a large proportion of these conditions present. Reference was made to a blood pressure awareness campaign, which is needed, but, equally, there is also a need for a national mini-cardiac screen using some sort of free mechanism through which people can be detected before these conditions become exacerbated. These conditions are easily detected. It is not high science to take a blood pressure, listen to somebody's heart with a stethoscope or check a pulse. These simple tests can detect conditions that have an enormous impact on the individual and a significant economic burden on society.