Doris-Ann held a constructive meeting this week with former Health Minister, Maggie Throup MP, to discuss support for IVDs in Parliament. As a passionate champion of the diagnostics industry in Parliament, Maggie indicated that she is keen to raise the profile of the IVD sector in her capacity as a backbench MP.
She has also kindly agreed to sponsor a Parliamentary Reception on behalf of BIVDA, which will take place this year.
Maggie possesses an extensive background within the life sciences industry, having worked as a biomedical scientist for many years before joining Parliament, where she became Minister for Vaccines and Public Health under then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Therefore, her knowledge and experience is vital to Parliamentary debates across life sciences and diagnostics.
This week, Maggie spoke in a Parliamentary debate regarding the NHS Long-term Strategy, where she heralded the impact of diagnostic testing in the NHS. She stated that IVDs were crucial in saving lives, saving NHS funds and relieving pressure on the NHS.
On that latter point, Maggie cited BIVDA figures which showed that at least 3% of A&E admissions were for chest pain symptoms, noting that the use of a simple blood test can quickly diagnose or rule out a heart attack – thus saving the NHS billions and easing pressures.
She urged the Government to capitalise on the full benefits of diagnostics as a means of achieving their aim of improving the health service, including clearing the backlog and making the NHS more productive. Moreover, she sought the Health Secretary’s assurance that diagnostics will be incorporated within NHS forward planning to take advantage of the aforementioned positive effects.
Maggie’s full speech can be read here.
