With myocardial infarction being the number one cause of death in the UK the issue of delivering efficient yet effective cardiac care within the NHS is an important issue which the Government is seeking to address.

March 2008 celebrated the 20th anniversary of both the breast and cervical screening programmes in the UK. During the last two decades there has been great progress in both prevention and early detection of cervical cancer. But, if more lives are to be saved, it is essential to continue making improvements to the screening programme and encourage women to attend screenings when invited.

Skin cancer is the commonest cancer in the UK and comprises three main cancers: basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and malignant melanoma (MM). All types of skin cancer have increased in incidence dramatically and steadily with numbers doubling approximately every decade. The rise continues despite efforts at education and prevention supported by Dermatology and Cancer Associations and now there are more than 120,000 new cancers a year in the UK.

By Mikis Euripides, Assistant Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Asthma UK

Asthma is a common, treatable condition that affects over five million people in the UK, including over one million children. Although it should be manageable in primary care, four people a day, on average, die from asthma and it resulted in over 77,000 hospital admissions in 2005. The annual cost of asthma to the NHS is close to £1 billion.

David Bellamy GPwSI in COPD, Bournemouth and Poole PCT

“With the decline in numbers of doctors and experienced nurses, increasing pressure on the acute sector and increasing patient expectation, how can the problem of chronic disease management be addressed and the service provided become more effective?

By Sheonaidh Johnston, National AIDS Trust

HIV remains one of the most serious public health challenges facing this country. There are now over 70,000 people living with HIV in the UK and a third of these are unaware of their status. The number of people diagnosed annually with HIV has trebled in the last ten years, with new diagnoses now exceeding 7,000 a year.

By Cathy Hughes, RN MSc Clinical Nurse Specialist in Gynaecological Oncology, Royal Marsden Hospital and Chair of the Gynaecological Nursing Forum at the RCN

By Emily Humphreys, Policy and Information Officer, Asthma UK

Asthma UK, the British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK have teamed up to produce a web-based toolkit for commissioners working on behalf of people with long-term conditions. The website is already evolving into a valuable hub for commissioners to share information and access the latest guidance, and was warmly welcomed by Rosie Winterton, Minister for Health Services, at its launch on 18 January.

HIV is one of the most significant and serious communicable diseases facing the United Kingdom, according to the Health Protection Agency.