Vol. 543 No. 4
112 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the extent of deadlock in relation to the national cardiovascular strategy; the areas of difficulty between his Department, health boards and the Irish Medical Organisation; the reason the strategy is not in place; and when he expects to be in a position to have it up and running. [27409/01]
I presume the Deputy is referring to the steering group on secondary prevention for patients with cardiovascular disease in general practice in his question. This committee is a subgroup of the advisory forum on cardiovascular health, which advises the heart health task force and my Department on the prioritisation and the various technical issues associated with the implementation of the cardiovascular strategy report, Building Healthier Hearts.
Discussions are advanced and ongoing with the key stakeholders on how best to progress the implementation of this programme on a national basis. A meeting is scheduled to take place later this month with representatives from the Irish College of General Practitioners, the Irish Medical Organisation, the health boards and officials from my Department, to discuss outstanding issues.
