The New Statesman Podcast
Are we living through an overdiagnosis epidemic?
Published: 26 March 2025 at 06:00 Europe/London
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Episode notes
In today's Spring Statement Labour are having to make cuts - and welfare has been hit hard. Last week the health secretary Wes Streeting said that too many people were being written off work due to overdiagnosis. A statement which received considerable backlash.
But what do we really mean by overdiagnosis? And how is it affecting public health?
Hannah Barnes is joined by neurologist and author Suzanne O’Sullivan about her increasing fears of overdiagnosis and the impact it can have on both physical and mental health; what she thinks about those comments from Wes Streeting (and the reaction to them); and the relationship between public policy and health.
This conversation was recorded in partnership with the Cambridge Literary Festival.
If you’d like to register for tickets for the upcoming festival from 23-27 April please follow the link: cambridgeliteraryfestival.com
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