Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to p.16 of the document entitled Fit for the future: 10 Year Health Plan for England, published on 3 July 2025, what progress his Department has made on the development of the business case for the proposed use of Public-Private Partnerships in Neighbourhood Health Centres.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Department and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority are working on a business case for a public-private partnerships model around Neighbourhood Health Centres that sets out the potential and an assessment of the value for money so that a final decision on the approach can be taken by the time of the 2025 Budget.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of care home fees on self-funding residents.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The majority of care homes are in the independent sector and are free to set their fees as they see fit. The Department does not have the powers to set or recommend the level of fees that a private care home can charge, as this is a commercial decision for a care provider. However, all businesses are required to comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 by ensuring that they use fair and clear terms in their standard agreements with customers.

We have launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission will deliver recommendations for the transformation of adult social care, including how to best create a fair and affordable adult social care system.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce the impact of care costs for self funding care home residents.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The majority of care homes are in the independent sector and are free to set their fees as they see fit. The Department does not have the powers to set or recommend the level of fees that a private care home can charge, as this is a commercial decision for a care provider. However, all businesses are required to comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 by ensuring that they use fair and clear terms in their standard agreements with customers.

We have launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission will deliver recommendations for the transformation of adult social care, including how to best create a fair and affordable adult social care system.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the future role of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates has been within the scope of discussions (a) he and (b) his Department have had with the British Medical Association in relation to potential strike action.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

My rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and Departmental officials regularly discuss a wide range of matters with the British Medical Association (BMA) in relation to the working conditions of doctors and specifically in relation to the current dispute with the Resident Doctors Committee. The BMA has raised the issue of the differential in starting salaries between some resident doctors and physician associates and anaesthesia associates both in discussions and publicly.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of acceptation of the recommendations of the Leng review on the number of (a) Physicians Associates and (b) Anaesthesia Associates.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The principal question of the Leng Review was to assess whether the roles of physician associates and anaesthesia associates, now to be known as physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia, are safe and effective. The review’s findings were clear that, with changes in line with its recommendations, there remains a place for these roles to continue as supportive, complementary members of medical teams.

While decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers at a local level, physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia will continue to play an important role in the NHS.

Our forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will look at how to get the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care, and we will consider the findings of the Leng Review when developing the plan.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Independent report entitled The Leng review: an independent review into physician associate and anaesthesia associate professions, published on 16 July 2025, what steps is his Department taking to help support those who have completed (a) physician associate and (b) anaesthesia associate training into employment appropriate for their qualifications.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The principal question of the Leng Review was to assess whether the roles of physician associate and anaesthesia associate, now to be known as physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia, are safe and effective. The review’s findings were clear that, with changes in line with its recommendations, there remains a place for these roles to continue as supportive, complementary members of medical teams.

NHS England has written to National Health Service trusts, integrated care boards, and primary care networks reiterating their responsibilities to their staff as employers, including providing pastoral support where required. Importantly, NHS England has also written directly to the staff most affected by the recommendations, in the Response to Recommendations from the Independent Review of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates (the Leng Review), setting out where they can find support if required. Further information on the Response to Recommendations from the Independent Review of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates (the Leng Review) is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/response-to-recommendations-from-the-independent-review-of-physician-associates-and-anaesthesia-associates/

While decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual NHS employers at a local level, physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia will continue to play an important role in the NHS.

Our forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will look at how to get the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care, and we will consider the findings of the Leng Review when developing the plan.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support the future employment of people undergoing physicians associate and anaesthesia associate training, following the publication of The Leng Review.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The principal question of the Leng Review was to assess whether the roles of physician associate and anaesthesia associate, now to be known as physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia, are safe and effective. The review’s findings were clear that, with changes in line with its recommendations, there remains a place for these roles to continue as supportive, complementary members of medical teams.

NHS England has written to National Health Service trusts, integrated care boards, and primary care networks reiterating their responsibilities to their staff as employers, including providing pastoral support where required. Importantly, NHS England has also written directly to the staff most affected by the recommendations, in the Response to Recommendations from the Independent Review of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates (the Leng Review), setting out where they can find support if required. Further information on the Response to Recommendations from the Independent Review of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates (the Leng Review) is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/response-to-recommendations-from-the-independent-review-of-physician-associates-and-anaesthesia-associates/

While decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual NHS employers at a local level, physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia will continue to play an important role in the NHS.

Our forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will look at how to get the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care, and we will consider the findings of the Leng Review when developing the plan.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the (a) pricing and (b) reimbursement system for multi-indication medicines is adequate for patients with (i) rare and (ii) ultra-rare conditions.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Indication-specific pricing can support access to treatments, including for rare conditions, by enabling companies to propose a specific price for smaller indications that would otherwise be commercially unviable under a uniform price.

In January 2025, following public consultation, NHS England published an updated NHS Commercial Framework for New Medicines, setting out their approach for assessing the eligibility of medicines with multiple indications to qualify for indication-specific pricing.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been able to recommend many medicines licensed for the treatment of rare and very rare diseases through its standard technology appraisal process which are now available to National Health Service patients in England. In addition, NICE operates a separate Highly Specialised Technologies evaluation programme for medicines that meet specific criteria for very rare conditions. This programme applies a higher cost-effectiveness threshold than standard appraisals to support access to treatments for very rare conditions.

As set out in the Life Sciences Sector plan, we will be introducing a new and proportionate approach to NICE appraisals and NHS indication-specific based pricing agreements for medicines with large numbers of indications, strong long-term outcome data, and low affordability risk.

The NHS Commercial Framework encourages early and open dialogue between companies and NHS England where indication-specific pricing or other commercial flexibilities may be needed to support access to treatments. NHS England is open to providing early guidance on such arrangements and to working with companies to explore suitable commercial options.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who has been commissioned to develop the business case for the proposed public private partnerships for neighbourhood health centres in the NHS 10 year plan; which (a) companies and (b) other organisations expressed an interest; and whether (i) patients, (ii) other members of the public and (iii) NHS staff will be part of the decision-making process.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The business case is being co-developed with the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority and the Department. A preliminary market engagement notice was issued on 1 July 2025, which is available at the following link:

https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036389-2025

Responses from companies who are interested in this opportunity are commercially sensitive and so cannot be shared.

The business case will set out the potential for a public private partnerships model and an assessment of value for money so that a final decision on the approach can be taken by the time of the 2025 Budget in the autumn. If a decision is taken to proceed then further market engagement will take place on the model and approach. The location of, and services provided through, Neighbourhood Health Centres will be decided at a local level by the National Health Service and other stakeholders, based on the local needs of patients.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS dentistry receives adequate investment from new NHS funds allocated to the Department through the Spending Review.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department settlement announced at the 2025 Spending Review means that annual National Health Service day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, a £53 billion cash increase, by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24. This will take the NHS resource budget to £226 billion by 2028/29, the equivalent to a 3% average annual real terms growth rate over the Spending Review period.

The details of budget allocations within departments are still being determined. The Department is working to provide the detail and certainty needed on future funding and spending plans, including for NHS dentistry.

NHS planning guidance for 2025/26 confirms that dental budgets are ringfenced. Planning guidance also confirms that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding allocated for the NHS in the Spending Review 2025 will be allocated for dental provision in each of the next five years.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department settlement announced at the 2025 Spending Review means that annual National Health Service day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, a £53 billion cash increase, by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24. This will take the NHS resource budget to £226 billion by 2028/29, the equivalent to a 3% average annual real terms growth rate over the Spending Review period.

The details of budget allocations within departments are still being determined. The Department is working to provide the detail and certainty needed on future funding and spending plans, including for NHS dentistry.

NHS planning guidance for 2025/26 confirms that dental budgets are ringfenced. Planning guidance also confirms that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase the proportion of NHS funding allocated to dentistry over the remainder of this Parliament.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department settlement announced at the 2025 Spending Review means that annual National Health Service day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, a £53 billion cash increase, by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24. This will take the NHS resource budget to £226 billion by 2028/29, the equivalent to a 3% average annual real terms growth rate over the Spending Review period.

The details of budget allocations within departments are still being determined. The Department is working to provide the detail and certainty needed on future funding and spending plans, including for NHS dentistry.

NHS planning guidance for 2025/26 confirms that dental budgets are ringfenced. Planning guidance also confirms that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 67568 on Obesity: Drugs, whether his Department has issued any guidance to the public on the risks of obtaining weight loss medications through online-only providers.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) continually monitors the safety of all medicines, including weight loss drugs such as GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs).

Patient safety is our top priority, and no medicine would be approved unless it met the MHRA’s expected standards of safety, quality, and effectiveness. The MHRA has safety monitoring and surveillance systems in place, and when a safety issue is confirmed, the MHRA will act promptly to inform patients and healthcare professionals and take appropriate steps to mitigate any identified risk.

In December 2024, January 2025, and June 2025, the MHRA published communications on the safe use of GLP-1Ras, namely:

• ‘The MHRA reminds healthcare professionals to advise patients of the side effects of GLP-1 agonists and to report misuse’, which is available at the following link:
  https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mhra-reminds-healthcare-professionals-to-advise-patients-of-the-side-effects-of-glp-1-agonists-and-to-report-misuse;
• ‘UK medicines regulator warns against buying weight loss medicines without a prescription this New Year’, which is available at the following link:
  https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-medicines-regulator-warns-against-buying-weight-loss-medicines-without-a-prescription-this-new-year; and
• ‘GLP-1 medicines for weight loss and diabetes: what you need to know’, which is available at the following link:
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know.

The first communication advised healthcare professionals on the safe use of GLP-1 RAs, including being alert to the potential for misuse and that the benefit risk is only positive when used within the approved indications as detailed in the product information. The MHRA also advised that those purchasing privately online should do so from an authorised source such as a registered pharmacy.

The second communication was aimed towards the public with similar messaging, warning the public of the dangers of accessing medicines from unregulated sources, such as online-only, unverified providers, and emphasised that GLP-1 RAs should only be used with a valid prescription and under clinical supervision. The guidance also urged healthcare professionals to advise patients on recognised side effects and to report misuse via the MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme, with further information available at the following link:

https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

Most recently, the MHRA issued some general guidance to the public on how to safely and effectively use GLP-1 RAs. The MHRA strongly emphasised the importance of obtaining these medicines from a legitimate pharmacy, including those trading online, with a prescription issued by a healthcare professional. The guidance directed the public in Great Britain to check on the General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPhC) website that it is properly registered, and for Northern Ireland to refer to the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI) website. Further information on the GPhC and the PSNI is available, respectively, at the following two links:

https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/registers

https://registers.psni.org.uk/

The MHRA continues to keep the safety of these medicines under continual review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 67568 on Obesity: Drugs, what estimate her Department has made of the number of adverse health incidents associated with weight loss medications obtained through online private providers in the last 12 months.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from their independent advisory committee, the Commission on Human Medicines, where appropriate to inform regulatory decisions.

Information collected via the Yellow Card scheme in relation to where the medicine was obtained cannot differentiate private providers specifically. A question regarding where the patient obtained their medicine is included on a Yellow Card report, however this is not mandatory and is a free text field. This free text information is therefore available to support signal detection and assessment, but cannot be extracted or analysed in an aggregated format.

The MHRA publishes data received via the Yellow Card scheme in the form of interactive Drug Analysis Profiles (iDAPs). These interactive profiles display a complete listing of all suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) that have been reported to the MHRA via the Yellow Card scheme for particular drug substances. This includes all reports received from healthcare professionals, members of the public, and pharmaceutical companies. On iDAPS it’s possible to find information for several different data points such as the number of ADR reports by year, age, and sex, as well as information on the types of reactions included in the reports. Guidance concerning the interpretation of the information included is provided at the bottom of each iDAP page. It is particularly important to note that reports are not confirmed side effects to a medication, and that incidence cannot be derived since a number of factors influence the reporting of ADRs. Further information on iDAPs is available at the following link:

https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/idaps

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to help reduce levels of (a) violent and (b) sexual crime against NHS staff.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Everyone working in the National Health Service has a fundamental right to be safe at work.

All NHS organisations should have robust policies and procedures in place to manage sexual misconduct in the workplace. In September 2023, NHS England launched the healthcare system’s first organisational Sexual Safety Charter. There are over 400 signatories to the charter across the health system who have committed to taking and enforcing a zero-tolerance approach to any unwanted, inappropriate, or harmful sexual behaviours in the workplace.

In April 2025, the Government announced that the Social Partnership Forum’s recommendations on tackling and reducing violence, as part of the 2023 Agenda for Change pay deal, have been accepted. These include significant commitments to tackle violence and aggression against NHS staff, including improving data and the reporting of incidences, and ensuring strengthened risk assessment, training, and support for victims. This will be strengthened by the introduction of a new set of staff standards, as detailed in the 10-Year Health Plan, which will cover issues including tackling violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the NHS workplace.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how may dentists offering NHS treatment to adults there are per 1,000 people in (a) Bolsover constituency, (b) Derbyshire and (c) England.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In 2023/24, there were 49 dentists per 100,000 people in the NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) area. This is compared to an average across ICBs of 50 dentists per 100,000 people in England. It should be noted that the published figure for England is 42 dentists per 100,000 people. This differs from the ICB average as dentists can perform National Health Service dentistry in multiple ICBs, leading to some being double counted at a sub national level. We have provided the average across ICBs which is better for direct comparisons at an ICB level.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to ICBs across England. For the Bolsover constituency, this is the Derby and Derbyshire ICB.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to improve the mental well-being of NHS staff.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Looking after the mental health of our hardworking National Health Service staff is a priority for the Government.

The 10-Year Health Plan committed to roll out staff treatment hubs. These hubs will provide a high-quality occupational health service for all NHS staff, including support for mental health issues. It will build on work that NHS England has led to strengthen occupational health in the NHS and on existing mental health provision such as the Practitioner Health service.

We will also work with the Social Partnership Forum to introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment, covering issues such as access to healthy meals, support to work healthily and flexibly, and tackling violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the workplace.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support the mental health of (a) victims and (b) survivors of crime.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Too many people with mental health issues, including victims and survivors of crime, are not getting the support or care they need. This is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health so that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it.

We are committed to improving mental health care for people with a range of mental health conditions, and to shifting the focus from treatment to prevention as we make the National Health Service fit for the future.

This Government is recruiting 8,500 mental health workers to help ease pressure on busy mental health services. More than 6,700 extra mental health workers have been recruited since July, latest data shows. The latest recruitment milestone means the government is more than halfway towards its target of hiring an extra 8,500 mental health staff by the end of this Parliament, helping get people the care they need so they can get back to work, school and doing what they love.

We are transforming mental health services into 24 hour a day, seven day a week neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach, and increasing access to evidence based digital interventions. People will get better access to mental health support and advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week directly through the NHS App, including through self-referral for Talking Therapies.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a cap on the amount of self-funding for care payable by any person.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government inherited a commitment to implement charging reforms in October 2025, including a cap on personal care costs. Regrettably, funding for these reforms had not been guaranteed, preparations for full rollout were not on track, and thus it was impossible to deliver these reforms by October.

This Government remains committed to reforming the adult social care sector and we have launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The Terms of Reference are sufficiently broad to enable Baroness Casey to independently consider how to build a social care system fit for the future, including considering the affordability of care costs if she sees fit.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 67568 on Obesity: Drugs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that private online clinics prescribing weight loss drugs are compliant with (a) Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and (b) General Medical Council guidance.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The safest way to access medicines privately is to do so via a United Kingdom-registered prescriber and pharmacy, whether in-person or online. All UK prescribers, whether employed privately or by the National Health Service, are expected to take account of appropriate national guidance, and are regulated by UK regulators. Using UK-registered pharmacies also means that the medicines received will meet UK standards of safety and efficacy. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has reminded prescribers to explain the possible side effects of these medicines, and the risks around falsified products.

Any UK prescriber operating in a private capacity must be a healthcare professional who is regulated by a professional regulator such as the General Medical Council (GMC) for doctors, or the General Pharmaceutical Council or Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, for pharmacists.

When prescribing, doctors are expected to follow the GMC’s Good practice in proposing, prescribing, providing and managing medicines and devices, which refers to guidance from the MHRA. The General Pharmaceutical Council has strengthened safeguards for online pharmacies, including the need for extra checks to verify eligibility for obesity medicines. Guidance for registered pharmacies providing pharmacy services at a distance, including on the internet, is available at the following link:

https://assets.pharmacyregulation.org/files/2025-02/gphc-guidance-registered-pharmacies-providing-pharmacy-services-distance-february-2025.pdf

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care providers in England. Private online clinics that prescribe weight loss medicines need to register with the CQC for the regulated activity of Treatment of Disease, Disorder or Injury as set out by the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

The CQC can take regulatory or enforcement action where they find fundamental standards have been breached.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are currently being treated in hospital for (a) anorexia and (b) other eating disorders.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is not possible to identify the number of people currently in receipt of hospital treatment for eating disorders such as anorexia, as hospital episode statistics data is collected several weeks in arrears.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the average cost of healthcare was for (a) male prisoners and (b) female prisoners in HMP Downview in the last 12 months.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

HMP Downview is a women’s prison. The average cost of healthcare per female prisoner at HMP Downview for 2024/25 was £11,765.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to improve incontinence care provided by the NHS.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Millions of men, women, young people, and children of all ages are living with bowel and bladder problems. All continence problems can be debilitating and life changing. They affect a wide range of care groups and can be a particular concern for the ageing population.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published five guidelines on the management of urinary and faecal incontinence to date. These guidelines cover the management of urinary incontinence in people with neurological disease, the prevention and management of pelvic floor dysfunction, and pelvic organ prolapse in women. NICE has also published a further 14 products in relation to urinary incontinence and 12 in relation to faecal incontinence.

The Department has also commissioned NICE to produce late-stage assessment guidance on one-piece closed bags for colostomies and intermittent urethral catheters for chronic incomplete bladder emptying in adults. These late-stage assessments gather the views of clinical experts and patients to help NICE assess and compare the value of products in widespread use across the National Health Service.

The NHS must also have regard to the Excellence in Continence Care guidance, published in 2018. This provides advice for commissioners, providers, and healthcare staff on understanding and addressing continence needs within their local population. This guidance is supported by British Society of Urogynaecology. Further information on the Excellence in Continence Care guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/excellence-in-continence-care/

NHS England has also produced Safer Bowel Care for Patients at Risk of Autonomic Dysreflexia, a serious medical emergency that can occur in people with spinal cord injuries, which offers resources to support safer bowel care practice and highlights the importance of implementing the Excellence in Continence Care framework.

In addition to national guidance, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has professional standards relating to bladder and bowel nursing care. The NMC Code places strong emphasis on the principle of “Prioritising People”, which sets out the expectation that registrants should always respond to individual patient needs.

NHS England is also developing a best practice catheter care pathway across all settings to be completed by the end of this year.

Our focus on the shift from hospital to community will help to drive more joint working in neighborhoods between primary care, pharmacies, community health care, and social care, to help people to manage incontinence at home, by giving them access to the right self-care, the right professional support, so they aren’t passed from service to service, and reducing their need for emergency admissions to hospital.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to ensure the preparedness of NHS hospitals for extreme weather conditions.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government continues to support the resilience of the healthcare estate through substantial capital investment. National Health Service trusts are responsible for maintaining their estate, including adapting premises to reduce risks associated with climate change and severe weather, as set out in the NHS Standard Contract. The Department is supporting the improvement of NHS sites by investing £30 billion over the next five years in day-to-day maintenance and repair, with £5 billion allocated specifically to address the most critical building issues. We are also continuing delivery through the New Hospital Programme, where schemes will achieve a minimum Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method rating of ‘Excellent’ for new builds, and ‘Very Good’ for refurbishments, including a key focus on climate adaptation. In addition, all NHS investments in new buildings and upgrades to existing facilities that are subject to the HM Treasury business case approval process must align with the NHS Net Zero Building Standard, which includes a focus on overheating risks.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce elective care backlogs at hospitals in the North East.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As of May 2025, the latest available data, the total waiting list in the North East and Yorkshire region stood at 990,884, with 67.1% waiting within 18 weeks, which is better than the national average of 60.9%.

Since May 2024, the waiting list in North East and Yorkshire region has decreased by 19,141, and 18-week performance has improved by 1.7%. The North East and Yorkshire region includes:

• Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB);
• North East and North Cumbria​ ICB;
• South Yorkshire ICB; and
• West Yorkshire ICB.

We have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029. There are a range of efforts underway, nationally and in the North East, to reduce the time patients are waiting for elective care.

The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and reform efforts we will undertake to return to the 18-week standard, and to ensure patients have the best possible experience while they wait. This includes addressing the challenges in diagnostic waiting times, providing the number of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests that are needed to reduce elective and cancer waits.

We have supported this with additional investment in the autumn and spring Spending Reviews, which has allowed us to exceed our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having now delivered 4.6 million additional appointments up to the end of April 2025.

Furthermore, in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Department has set out a transformed vision for elective care by 2035, where the majority of interactions no longer take place in a hospital building, instead happening virtually or via neighbourhood services. Planned care will be more efficient, timely, and effective.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that children nearing the end of life can access palliative care at home.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations.

To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.  The statutory guidance requires ICBs to work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of palliative and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations.

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. This funding will also help to develop and better outreach services to support people in their own homes when needed.

Additionally, we are providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant.

I have tasked officials to look at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all- age palliative and end of life care, including services provided at, or closer to, home, in line with the 10-Year Health Plan. It is our intention to work together with stakeholders to ensure that everyone has access to the care they need, in the right place, at the right time, at the end of life.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many buildings managed by his Department have been found to have reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Health Service has been surveying hospital sites to identify the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) since 2019. The table below shows the number of NHS sites found to have RAAC in the Fylde constituency and Lancashire:

Note: the three sites in Lancashire were the Blackpool Victoria Hospital, now eradicated, the Royal Blackburn Hospital, and the Blackburn Ambulance Station.

The Department has published a full list of sites with confirmed RAAC on GOV.UK website, at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-in-hospitals-management-information

Once the presence of RAAC is confirmed at a hospital site, the trust joins NHS England’s national RAAC programme, which has delivered mitigation and eradication works across all hospital sites with confirmed RAAC to keep facilities safe and open, and which is working to remove RAAC fully from the NHS estate.

The Government is committed to removing RAAC from the NHS estate as a priority and will continue to support NHS England’s RAAC programme with £440 million in 2025/26.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing for people who have been diagnosed with PTSD in Greater Manchester.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board is responsible for commissioning services to meet the mental health needs of people across Greater Manchester.

Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing is recommended as a treatment option for adults with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. People with post-traumatic stress disorder may be able to access it through local NHS Talking Therapies services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had discussions with the Dorset Integrated Care Board on the use of the electronic prescription service in all care settings.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No discussions have been held between the Department and the Dorset Integrated Care Board on the use of the electronic prescription service (EPS) in all care settings.

NHS Dorset has been collaborating with providers of healthcare under the National Health Service’s service agreements to work with suppliers to enable EPS solutions in all environments, commencing in outpatient environments. Independent service provider contracts on renewal or in tender will prioritise EPS as a service requirement.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle shortages of Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is aware of ongoing intermittent supply issues with pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) and is continuing to work with all suppliers of PERT to help resolve the supply issues in the short and longer term. This includes asking that they expedite deliveries, source stock from other markets, and increase production. Through these discussions we have managed to secure additional volumes for 2025 for the United Kingdom. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market.

In the longer term, the Department has had interest from non-UK suppliers of PERT wishing to bring their products to the UK and, along with colleagues in the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, we are working with these potential suppliers, and if authorised, these products could further diversify and strengthen the market.

The Department has issued management advice to healthcare professionals which directs clinicians to unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable, and which includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure local mitigation plans are implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a public facing page to include the latest update on PERT availability and easily accessible prescribing advice for clinicians.

The Department will continue to work closely with the manufacturers to resolve the issues as soon as possible, to ensure patients have continuous access to medicines.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to support for people with anxiety in Yeovil constituency.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board is responsible for commissioning services to meet the mental health needs of the people in Yeovil.

People with anxiety can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies or their general practitioner can refer them. NHS Talking Therapies offer evidence-based psychological therapies to help with common mental health problems such as anxiety.

Nationally, the Government is investing an extra £688 million this year to transform mental health services by hiring more staff, delivering more talking therapies, and getting waiting lists down. We are delivering on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers for children and adults by the end of this Parliament.  6,700 of these workers have been recruited since July 2024, meaning we are more than halfway towards our target.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the provision of healthcare services in Launceston, in the context of the upcoming closure of the Launceston Minor Injuries Unit.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is aware of the temporary closure of the Launceston Minor Injuries Unit (MIU), which is a decision that was made due to staffing challenges. The responsibility for the delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services ultimately rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioning body, which in this case is the NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (ICB), rather than the Government. This includes the responsibility to conduct an impact assessment on traveling, provision of services, and an equality impact assessment. The Government has been informed that the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust completed an Equality Impact Assessment for the closure, which identified the impact to be increased travel time or distance to an alternative MIU.

In some scenarios, such as this one, the NHS provider may need to make a temporary service change due to a risk to safety or the welfare of patients or staff. These temporary changes do not represent a permanent or irreversible decision about an NHS service. Permanent changes would only be possible by following the due process, including appropriate engagement with people and communities.

The Government expects the local NHS to develop clear plans for reverting temporary service changes. If this cannot be done safely, the ICB will need to develop plans for a permanent solution by following the due process, including appropriate engagement with people and communities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 16662 on NHS: Public Consultation, if he will provide a full breakdown of the total costs incurred.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Following an invitation to tender competition process, we appointed Thinks Insight, Kaleidoscope Health and Care, and the Institute For Public Policy Research to support us to run the engagement exercise for the 10-Year Health Plan. The details of this award and the redacted contract can be found on contracts finder, at the following link:

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/80963989-c4d6-4a16-8e12-c31b43a81dda

The awarded value of the contract was up to £2,961,595.50, with an option to vary to £3,500,000 in the event that the scope of the contract evolves. Following the conclusion of the engagement exercise and launch of the 10-Year Health Plan, the contract cost is £3,336,483.50.

The increase in costs was largely due to the high number of responses received during the engagement exercise, and the ensuing analysis required. The number of responses received during the engagement exercise significantly exceeded the estimates provided by any of the prospective suppliers bidding for the contract. In total, the Department received over 270,000 contributions, making it the largest ever conversation on the future of the National Health Service.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to ensure that the public are (a) consulted and (b) involved in decisions on the use of public-private partnerships in the NHS.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The business case to assess the feasibility of using a public-private partnership (PPP) model for Neighbourhood Health Centres is being co-developed by the Department of Health and Social Care and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.

The business case will set out the potential for a PPP model and an assessment of the value for money so that a final decision on the approach can be taken by the time of the 2025 Budget in the autumn. If a decision is taken to proceed, then further market engagement will take place on the model and approach. The location of, and services provided through, Neighbourhood Health Centres will be decided at a local level by the NHS and other stakeholders, based on the local needs of patients.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS dental services will receive increased funding from the Spending Review.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department settlement announced at the 2025 Spending Review means that annual National Health Service day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, a £53 billion cash increase, by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24. This will take the NHS resource budget to £226 billion by 2028/29, the equivalent to a 3% average annual real terms growth rate over the Spending Review period.

The details of budget allocations within departments are still being determined. The Department is working to provide the detail and certainty needed on future funding and spending plans, including for NHS dentistry.

NHS planning guidance for 2025/26 confirms that dental budgets are ringfenced. Planning guidance also confirms that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the average increase in the cost of running a dental practice in the last 12 months.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is conducting a research project to better understand the costs and pressures associated with running a dental practice in England.

As part of this research, a survey was launched on 13 May and closed on 16 June 2025. This included questions on laboratory fees and dental materials as well as other associated costs with running a dental practice.

We are currently reviewing and analysing the responses to understand the findings.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS commercial framework for new medicines, updated on 29 January 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the requirement to provide value at or below the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence cost-effectiveness threshold on access to treatments for (a) rare and (b) ultra-rare diseases.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Indication-specific pricing can support access to treatments, including for rare conditions, by enabling companies to propose a specific price for smaller indications that would otherwise be commercially unviable under a uniform price.

In January 2025, following public consultation, NHS England published an updated NHS Commercial Framework for New Medicines, setting out their approach for assessing the eligibility of medicines with multiple indications to qualify for indication-specific pricing.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been able to recommend many medicines licensed for the treatment of rare and very rare diseases through its standard technology appraisal process which are now available to National Health Service patients in England. In addition, NICE operates a separate Highly Specialised Technologies evaluation programme for medicines that meet specific criteria for very rare conditions. This programme applies a higher cost-effectiveness threshold than standard appraisals to support access to treatments for very rare conditions.

As set out in the Life Sciences Sector plan, we will be introducing a new and proportionate approach to NICE appraisals and NHS indication-specific based pricing agreements for medicines with large numbers of indications, strong long-term outcome data, and low affordability risk.

The NHS Commercial Framework encourages early and open dialogue between companies and NHS England where indication-specific pricing or other commercial flexibilities may be needed to support access to treatments. NHS England is open to providing early guidance on such arrangements and to working with companies to explore suitable commercial options.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring NHS England to establish an agreement in principle with pharmaceutical companies that commercial flexibility may be granted for a multi-indication medicine pending the outcome of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence evaluation of such medicines.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Indication-specific pricing can support access to treatments, including for rare conditions, by enabling companies to propose a specific price for smaller indications that would otherwise be commercially unviable under a uniform price.

In January 2025, following public consultation, NHS England published an updated NHS Commercial Framework for New Medicines, setting out their approach for assessing the eligibility of medicines with multiple indications to qualify for indication-specific pricing.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been able to recommend many medicines licensed for the treatment of rare and very rare diseases through its standard technology appraisal process which are now available to National Health Service patients in England. In addition, NICE operates a separate Highly Specialised Technologies evaluation programme for medicines that meet specific criteria for very rare conditions. This programme applies a higher cost-effectiveness threshold than standard appraisals to support access to treatments for very rare conditions.

As set out in the Life Sciences Sector plan, we will be introducing a new and proportionate approach to NICE appraisals and NHS indication-specific based pricing agreements for medicines with large numbers of indications, strong long-term outcome data, and low affordability risk.

The NHS Commercial Framework encourages early and open dialogue between companies and NHS England where indication-specific pricing or other commercial flexibilities may be needed to support access to treatments. NHS England is open to providing early guidance on such arrangements and to working with companies to explore suitable commercial options.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 67568 on Obesity: Drugs, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients accessing weight loss medications through private online platforms undergo appropriate clinical assessments and safeguarding procedures.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Prescribers, whether National Health Service or private, are accountable for their prescribing decisions, and are expected to take account of appropriate national guidance.

In addition to the duty of the prescriber, patients themselves must be honest when providing information to an online prescriber so that they receive advice and medicines which are appropriate for them and so that risks can be managed. Prescribers need full information to be able to prescribe safely.

In February 2025, the General Pharmaceutical Council published updated guidance for online pharmacies. Prescribers are expected to verify the information given to them by the patient to ensure any medicines prescribed are appropriate, for example, through a video consultation, using a patient’s clinical record, or contacting the patient’s general practice. This helps to safeguard vulnerable patients, including minors.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making it a mandatory requirement for defibrillators to be fitted in patient transport vehicles.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Many non-emergency patient transport service (NEPTS) ambulances operated by National Health Service trusts already carry a defibrillator.

However, the contractual requirements for the provision of NEPTS services are determined by each integrated care board (ICB), based on their assessment of the needs of the local population. Therefore, each ICB can determine whether they wish to specify the carrying of a defibrillator on non-emergency ambulances as a contractual requirement, along with the cost and crew training implications.

Patients undergo regular assessment for patient transport service (PTS) journeys. If significant clinical issues are identified as part of that assessment, then the PTS provider could allocate additional measures for that patient. This might include having particular equipment, including a defibrillator, on board, and/or having crews with a higher training level.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are on the waiting list for tinnitus treatment in Fylde constituency.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold information in the format requested.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support parents who have experienced baby loss in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Experiencing pregnancy or baby loss can be extremely difficult and traumatic. We are determined to make sure all bereaved parents, regardless of where they live, have access to compassionate care and support. We recognise that more support for parents is needed and are making steady improvements.

Surrey Heath residents who lose a baby can access a midwifery bereavement service provided by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, available seven days a week.

Specialist community perinatal and maternal mental health services, including the Forget Me Not service, are also available for people who require them. More information on this service is available at the following link:

https://www.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/our-services/mental-health-and-wellbeing/forget-me-not-service/

All trusts in England are signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway. This pathway is designed to improve the quality and consistency of bereavement care for parents and families experiencing pregnancy or baby loss.

In February 2024, the Department launched the Baby Loss Certificate service, which is a voluntary scheme to enable parents who have experienced any pre-24-week pregnancy loss to record and receive a certificate to provide recognition of their loss if they wish to do so.

As of June 2025, Maternal Mental Health Services are now available in all areas of England. These services provide specialist psychological support for women with moderate/severe or complex mental health difficulties arising from birth trauma or baby loss.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of NICE’s rejection of trastuzumab deruxtecan for use in secondary breast cancer treatment on patient outcomes.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Decisions on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service in England are made on the basis of recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) following an evaluation of a treatment’s costs and benefits. These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is important that they are made independently and on the basis of the available evidence.

NICE published guidance in July 2024 on the use of Enhertu for the treatment of HER-2 low metastatic and unresectable breast cancer and was unfortunately unable to recommend it for routine NHS funding. I understand that NICE and NHS England have sought to apply as much flexibility as they can in their considerations of Enhertu for HER2-low breast cancer and have made it clear to the companies that their pricing of the drug remains the only obstacle to access.

Ministers met with the manufacturers of Enhertu, AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo, in November 2024, to encourage them to re-engage in commercial discussions with NHS England. Despite NICE and NHS England offering unprecedented flexibilities, the companies were unable to offer Enhertu at a cost-effective price. NICE’s guidance published in July 2024 will therefore remain unchanged. NICE has reassured me that the door remains open for the companies to enter into a new NICE appraisal if they are willing to offer Enhertu at a cost-effective price.

Since January 2022, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed. These treatments are now available to eligible NHS patients.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take legislative steps to require the listing of health risks on adverts placed by fertility clinics seeking egg donors.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the United Kingdom’s fertility sector regulator, sets out strict requirements in its Licence Conditions and Code of Practice in relation to the recruitment of donors and the information that must be given to egg donors in advance of donating at UK-licensed fertility clinics, which includes information about the potential immediate or longer-term health risks and the psychological consequences of being a donor, as well as offering counselling to everyone involved.

In addition, the HFEA’s Code of Practice states that advertising should be designed with regard to the sensitive issues involved in recruiting donors and should follow the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) codes. This includes that advertising or publicity aimed at recruiting gamete or embryo donors, or encouraging donation, should not refer to the possibility of financial gain or similar advantage, although it may refer to compensation permitted under relevant HFEA Directions.

The ASA and HFEA issued a joint enforcement notice in 2021 to ensure fertility clinics and others were aware of the advertising rules, which remains in place.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will implement localised reporting of CAMHS (a) funding and (b) performance.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Every local integrated care board (ICB) has a legal duty to produce an annual report on how it has discharged its functions in the previous financial year. This provides the opportunity for ICBs to demonstrate the full breadth of their work with people and communities and involves people and communities in decision-making, and includes working with children and young people.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mechanisms are in place to ensure (a) local community and (b) patient engagement in the (i) design and (ii) delivery of new NHS hospital infrastructure.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Hospital 2.0 is the New Hospital Programme’s (NHP) approach to standardising the design for future hospitals and has been designed and developed with people with lived and learnt experiences throughout the stages of the design process, from strategic outline business cases, early plans to commissioning, and full operationalisation. Stakeholders include National Health Service staff, NHS trusts, royal colleges, patients, and the public, as well as the supply chain. Over 1,300 clinicians, over 400 patients and lived experience partners, and 57 architects and designers have worked alongside subject matter experts to feed into the design process. This is to ensure that new hospitals will meet current and future healthcare needs, and that patients and staff are at the heart of its designs.

The NHP works collaboratively with NHS England and trusts to ensure that the design of each hospital is right-sized for local circumstances and tailored to the needs of the local community.

The NHP is currently embarking on another cycle of formal engagement workshops with key national stakeholders to showcase the current progress of Hospital 2.0 designs, with a workshop focussed on the patient and public perspectives.

Outside the NHP, the majority of investment in new hospital infrastructure relates to works on part of a site or to renovation and maintenance, and so is subject to local design considerations. When healthcare services are relocated to a new site a formal process of consultation is followed.

At a local level, integrated care boards are responsible for strategic infrastructure planning, managing the budget, and allocating funding according to local priorities in their area. Local systems have also developed infrastructure strategies to create a long-term plan for future estate requirements and investment for each local area and its needs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of NICE’s severity modifier on access to new treatments for incurable secondary breast cancer.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for the methods and processes that it uses in the development of its recommendations. The severity modifier was introduced in January 2022 as part of a number of changes intended to make NICE’s methods fairer, faster, and more consistent.

NICE carried out a review of the implementation of the severity modifier in September 2024 and found that it is operating as intended. This showed that the proportion of positive cancer recommendations is higher, at 84.8%, than with the end-of-life modifier it replaced, at 75%, and the proportion of positive recommendations for advanced cancer treatments is also higher, at 81.1% compared to 69%.

Since January 2022, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed. These treatments are now available to eligible National Health Service patients.

NICE has commissioned research to gather further evidence on societal preferences that will inform future method reviews.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with women's rights campaigners to discuss the impact of egg donation on young women.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), as the regulator of the United Kingdom’s fertility sector, met with Surrogacy Concern and Stop Surrogacy Now in October and December 2024.

The HFEA provided information about the strict requirements in its Licence Conditions and Code of Practice relating to donor recruitment, the data published by the HFEA, and the information clinics must provide to patients and donors about the risks of any treatment prior to it taking place at HFEA licensed clinics.

The HFEA’s Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee recently reviewed the published evidence of health outcomes for those having fertility treatment, including egg donors. The last 10 years of evidence were reviewed and the HFEA will update the relevant information on its website as needed.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commission research on the effects on UK citizens of a ban on pursuing surrogacy abroad.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has no plans to commission research on the effects of a ban on international surrogacy arrangements.

The Government supports surrogacy as a part of assisted conception options, to help people who have difficulty starting their own family.

The Government recognises that international surrogacy is a complex area, and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office has published guidance for British nationals seeking international surrogacy arrangements.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commission research in to the long term effects of egg retrieval on women's bodies.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Reigate on 22 July 2025 to Question 68253.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the General Pharmaceutical Council on reducing overprescribing.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not had any discussions with these organisations related to reducing overprescribing.

The National Health Service and partner organisations are responding to the challenge of overprescribing, as set out in the Government’s review of overprescribing, Good for you, good for us, good for everybody, in September 2021.

Progress has been made to implement the recommendations of that review, for example:

- implementing the National Medicines Optimisation Opportunities for integrated care boards;

- addressing problematic polypharmacy, when there is potential harm associated with taking multiple medicines;

- delivering Structured Medication Reviews; and

- publication of a repeat prescribing toolkit and oversupply dashboard to support general practices to identify oversupply and improve repeat prescribing processes.

Offering treatments that are not medicines is also key to addressing overprescribing. Many other initiatives delivered across the NHS contribute towards this. These include delivery of personalised care and shared decision-making, NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression, and social prescribing.

We are continuing to address issues with the prescribing of medicines in line with the NHS’ 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the National Institute for Health Research on reducing overprescribing.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not had any discussions with these organisations related to reducing overprescribing.

The National Health Service and partner organisations are responding to the challenge of overprescribing, as set out in the Government’s review of overprescribing, Good for you, good for us, good for everybody, in September 2021.

Progress has been made to implement the recommendations of that review, for example:

- implementing the National Medicines Optimisation Opportunities for integrated care boards;

- addressing problematic polypharmacy, when there is potential harm associated with taking multiple medicines;

- delivering Structured Medication Reviews; and

- publication of a repeat prescribing toolkit and oversupply dashboard to support general practices to identify oversupply and improve repeat prescribing processes.

Offering treatments that are not medicines is also key to addressing overprescribing. Many other initiatives delivered across the NHS contribute towards this. These include delivery of personalised care and shared decision-making, NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression, and social prescribing.

We are continuing to address issues with the prescribing of medicines in line with the NHS’ 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with Health Education England on reducing overprescribing.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not had any discussions with these organisations related to reducing overprescribing.

The National Health Service and partner organisations are responding to the challenge of overprescribing, as set out in the Government’s review of overprescribing, Good for you, good for us, good for everybody, in September 2021.

Progress has been made to implement the recommendations of that review, for example:

- implementing the National Medicines Optimisation Opportunities for integrated care boards;

- addressing problematic polypharmacy, when there is potential harm associated with taking multiple medicines;

- delivering Structured Medication Reviews; and

- publication of a repeat prescribing toolkit and oversupply dashboard to support general practices to identify oversupply and improve repeat prescribing processes.

Offering treatments that are not medicines is also key to addressing overprescribing. Many other initiatives delivered across the NHS contribute towards this. These include delivery of personalised care and shared decision-making, NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression, and social prescribing.

We are continuing to address issues with the prescribing of medicines in line with the NHS’ 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is sufficient project delivery capacity within (a) the NHS and (b) supply chains to implement the New Hospital Programme.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Earlier this year, the New Hospital Programme (NHP) appointed a Health Delivery Partnership as its principal Programme Delivery Partner, which is working closely with the NHP to provide the expert technical skills needed to develop the infrastructure and programme delivery capability to support successful delivery.

The NHP remains committed to strengthening its internal capacity, supported by a Knowledge and Skills Transfer Strategy aimed at embedding the self-sustaining knowledge and skills required to increase its in-house resource.

Since 2021, the NHP has undertaken extensive market engagement with industry to build industry interest, assess current capacity, and understand key investment drivers. The NHP launched procurement for its bespoke Hospital 2.0 Alliance Framework, designed to establish a long-term, sustainable, and collaborative supply chain partnership and contracting model that will secure market appetite and investment.

The NHP is currently engaging with industry on the Hospital 2.0 integrated system, particularly the technical requirements, specification, and designs. Three key industry sectors identified to focus on include: designers and architects; main works contactors; and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contractors.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry on reducing overprescribing.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not had any discussions with these organisations related to reducing overprescribing.

The National Health Service and partner organisations are responding to the challenge of overprescribing, as set out in the Government’s review of overprescribing, Good for you, good for us, good for everybody, in September 2021.

Progress has been made to implement the recommendations of that review, for example:

- implementing the National Medicines Optimisation Opportunities for integrated care boards;

- addressing problematic polypharmacy, when there is potential harm associated with taking multiple medicines;

- delivering Structured Medication Reviews; and

- publication of a repeat prescribing toolkit and oversupply dashboard to support general practices to identify oversupply and improve repeat prescribing processes.

Offering treatments that are not medicines is also key to addressing overprescribing. Many other initiatives delivered across the NHS contribute towards this. These include delivery of personalised care and shared decision-making, NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression, and social prescribing.

We are continuing to address issues with the prescribing of medicines in line with the NHS’ 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Royal College of General Practice on reducing overprescribing.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not had any discussions with these organisations related to reducing overprescribing.

The National Health Service and partner organisations are responding to the challenge of overprescribing, as set out in the Government’s review of overprescribing, Good for you, good for us, good for everybody, in September 2021.

Progress has been made to implement the recommendations of that review, for example:

- implementing the National Medicines Optimisation Opportunities for integrated care boards;

- addressing problematic polypharmacy, when there is potential harm associated with taking multiple medicines;

- delivering Structured Medication Reviews; and

- publication of a repeat prescribing toolkit and oversupply dashboard to support general practices to identify oversupply and improve repeat prescribing processes.

Offering treatments that are not medicines is also key to addressing overprescribing. Many other initiatives delivered across the NHS contribute towards this. These include delivery of personalised care and shared decision-making, NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression, and social prescribing.

We are continuing to address issues with the prescribing of medicines in line with the NHS’ 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with NHS Digital on reducing overprescribing.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not had any discussions with these organisations related to reducing overprescribing.

The National Health Service and partner organisations are responding to the challenge of overprescribing, as set out in the Government’s review of overprescribing, Good for you, good for us, good for everybody, in September 2021.

Progress has been made to implement the recommendations of that review, for example:

- implementing the National Medicines Optimisation Opportunities for integrated care boards;

- addressing problematic polypharmacy, when there is potential harm associated with taking multiple medicines;

- delivering Structured Medication Reviews; and

- publication of a repeat prescribing toolkit and oversupply dashboard to support general practices to identify oversupply and improve repeat prescribing processes.

Offering treatments that are not medicines is also key to addressing overprescribing. Many other initiatives delivered across the NHS contribute towards this. These include delivery of personalised care and shared decision-making, NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression, and social prescribing.

We are continuing to address issues with the prescribing of medicines in line with the NHS’ 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to innovative treatments for people with SOD1 motor neurone disease.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the Naitonal Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE aims, wherever possible, to issue guidance close to the time of licensing, and the NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.

NICE has selected tofersen for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis caused by SOD1 gene mutations as a topic for guidance development through its Highly Specialised Technology (HST) programme. The HST programme appraises medicines for the treatment of very rare, and often very severe diseases, and evaluates whether they can be considered a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources. NICE is working with the company to confirm timelines for this evaluation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to stop the use of paper forms for blood tests ordered by (a) GPs and (b) hospitals.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Pathology service transformation is critical to delivering the Government's ambitions for the National Health Service. The NHS has invested heavily in delivering digital transformation for pathology services to reduce reliance on paper-based processes; working closely with integrated care boards, pathology networks, and clinical IT suppliers to ensure interoperability between clinical systems to enable a fully digital, joined-up approach to pathology services.

This includes implementing and expanding use of electronic test requesting systems and supporting efforts to standardise their use. These systems allow clinicians in general practice and hospital settings to request pathology tests digitally, improving efficiency, reducing transcription errors, and enhancing patient safety.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the accessibility of band five nursing roles available to newly qualified nurses with (a) less than two years' experience, (b) between two and four years' experience and (c) over four years' experience.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver safe and effective care.

NHS England is working with employers, universities, and regional nursing leads to ensure support is in place to help graduating nurses find a role as soon as possible after qualification and transition into the workplace.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure newly qualified nurses have pathways to gain clinical experience.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England is working with employers, universities, and regional nursing leads to ensure that support is in place to help graduating nurses find a role as soon as possible after qualification and transition into the workplace.

It is important that as part of their first roles, newly registered nurses are supported to embed their skills and integrate into their new team and place of work. Nursing preceptorships provide structured support for newly qualified nurses to do this as they transition into professional roles. The NHS England National Preceptorship Framework sets out that all newly qualified nurses should receive preceptorship in their first-year post-registration.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the level of employment opportunities for newly qualified nurses in Surrey.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Decisions on the employment of newly qualified nurses are a matter for individual National Health Service trusts, which manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are working closely with NHS England, employers, universities, and regional nursing leads to ensure support is in place to help graduating nurses find a role as soon as possible after qualification and transition into the workplace.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in his Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department approves temporary international remote working for staff to work remotely overseas for short defined periods of time where there is critical business need or unforeseen personal circumstances that require immediate attention outside of the United Kingdom. The Department approved 73 cases of international remote working for Department staff between 4 July 2024 and 4 July 2025. The destinations that we have approved for international remote working cases are as follows Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and USA. The Department has no approved permanent postings outside of the UK.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent fraud by nationwide GP chains.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government takes fraud against the National Health Service extremely seriously and we will use every available tool to bring fraudsters to account. A comprehensive three-year Counter Fraud Strategy is in place and a Fraud Risk Assessment has been undertaken for contracted services within general practice, to identify fraud risks so that preventative action can be taken. The NHS Counter Fraud Authority is also in place as a dedicated special health authority tasked with leading the fight against fraud, bribery, and corruption in the NHS in England. Where allegations of fraud are received, they will be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action will be taken.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's document entitled Dentistry Cost Survey published on 13 May 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of incorporating the results of the cost of dental services survey into (a) reform of the NHS dental contract and (b) trends in the level of funding for dentistry.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is conducting a research project to better understand the costs and pressures associated with running a dental practice in England. The aim is to support ambitions on dental reform by ensuring that the Government has an objective and accurate understanding to inform policy development. It will also improve understanding around the sustainability of the current system. As part of this research, a survey was launched on 13 May 2025 and closed 16 June 2025. We are currently reviewing and analysing the responses to understand the findings.

The results of the Dentistry Cost Survey will enhance the information and data we currently have to inform and support effective future policy measures, including dental reform.

The Government’s ambition is to deliver fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the pathway into paramedicine is accessible to (a) mature students and (b) career changers, in the context of the requirement for new paramedics to hold a BSc qualification.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Paramedicine students are able to access the Learning Support Fund (LSF), a non-repayable grant of £5,000 per academic year. Further financial support is available for childcare, travel, and dual accommodation costs while on clinical placements. Students studying paramedicine as a second degree are also able to access the LSF, subject to meeting other eligibility criteria. Apprenticeships offer an alternative training route for those for whom a full-time university course is not practical or preferred, allowing people to earn as they learn.

Pathways can also be shortened, depending on the level of someone's prior learning, via a process called Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL), which recognises previous learning and experience. People with non-traditional qualifications can apply to universities to determine if their skills, knowledge, and abilities may be recognised via APEL.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued guidance on the maximum distance that a patient should travel to see their registered GP.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As part of the arrangements for the provision of primary medical services, general practices (GPs) are required to agree an area within which they will accept patients onto their list. This ensures there is a sufficient distribution of GPs for all patients in England and provides for an area in which practices feel they are able to provide home visits, should they be needed.

Changes to the GP Contract arrangements in 2014/15 brought in a measure allowing GPs to register patients from outside their catchment areas without a duty to provide home visits for such patients.

If the practice feels it is not clinically appropriate or practical for the patient to be registered so far away from home, it can still refuse registration, but should explain the reason for doing so.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of hysteroscopies that were stopped early because of intolerable patient pain in the NHS in England in 2024.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The data requested is not held.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with NHS Trusts on the adequacy of letters sent to patients before a hysteroscopy on (a) the procedure, (b) pain relief and (c) the principles of informed consent.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that some procedures, such as hysteroscopy, can result in pain, and the level of pain experienced will vary between individual women. It is important that healthcare professionals provide women with information prior to their procedure so that women can make an informed decisions about the procedure and pain relief options, including the option of local or general anaesthetic.

Clinical guidelines support healthcare professionals to provide evidence-based care. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) published an updated guideline on outpatient hysteroscopy in September 2024. The updated guideline has reference to minimising pain and discomfort during hysteroscopy procedures. While RCOG guidelines are not mandatory, they are designed to support high-quality care, and the Department and NHS England encourages local implementation tailored to patient needs. This is available at the following link:

https://www.rcog.org.uk/guidance/browse-all-guidance/green-top-guidelines/outpatient-hysteroscopy-green-top-guideline-no-59/

Letters and information sent to patients are determined at a local level by individual National Health Service trusts. A range of additional information is available for patients on hysteroscopy procedures, including on the NHS website, and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has created a patient information resource on hysteroscopy. This is available at the following link:

https://www.rcog.org.uk/outpatient-hysteroscopy

As with all procedures, healthcare professionals are expected to fully explain the procedure in advance, including expected symptoms, side effects, and risks. These conversations should be undertaken using a shared decision-making approach that ensures individuals are supported to make decisions that are right for them. This provides a collaborative process through which a clinician supports a patient to reach a decision about their treatment, bringing together the clinician’s expertise, such as treatment options, evidence, risks and benefits, with the patient’s preferences, personal circumstances and values. NHS England has published guidelines on the use of shared decision making.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will have discussions with NHS Trusts on the adequacy of the processes used to obtain informed consent for hysteroscopy procedures.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that some procedures, such as hysteroscopy, can result in pain, and the level of pain experienced will vary between individual women. It is important that healthcare professionals provide women with information prior to their procedure so that women can make an informed decisions about the procedure and pain relief options, including the option of local or general anaesthetic.

Clinical guidelines support healthcare professionals to provide evidence-based care. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) published an updated guideline on outpatient hysteroscopy in September 2024. The updated guideline has reference to minimising pain and discomfort during hysteroscopy procedures. While RCOG guidelines are not mandatory, they are designed to support high-quality care, and the Department and NHS England encourages local implementation tailored to patient needs. This is available at the following link:

https://www.rcog.org.uk/guidance/browse-all-guidance/green-top-guidelines/outpatient-hysteroscopy-green-top-guideline-no-59/

Letters and information sent to patients are determined at a local level by individual National Health Service trusts. A range of additional information is available for patients on hysteroscopy procedures, including on the NHS website, and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has created a patient information resource on hysteroscopy. This is available at the following link:

https://www.rcog.org.uk/outpatient-hysteroscopy

As with all procedures, healthcare professionals are expected to fully explain the procedure in advance, including expected symptoms, side effects, and risks. These conversations should be undertaken using a shared decision-making approach that ensures individuals are supported to make decisions that are right for them. This provides a collaborative process through which a clinician supports a patient to reach a decision about their treatment, bringing together the clinician’s expertise, such as treatment options, evidence, risks and benefits, with the patient’s preferences, personal circumstances and values. NHS England has published guidelines on the use of shared decision making.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will implement mandatory clinician guidelines for hysteroscopies to (a) minimise pain and (b) promote informed decision making.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that some procedures, such as hysteroscopy, can result in pain, and the level of pain experienced will vary between individual women. It is important that healthcare professionals provide women with information prior to their procedure so that women can make an informed decisions about the procedure and pain relief options, including the option of local or general anaesthetic.

Clinical guidelines support healthcare professionals to provide evidence-based care. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) published an updated guideline on outpatient hysteroscopy in September 2024. The updated guideline has reference to minimising pain and discomfort during hysteroscopy procedures. While RCOG guidelines are not mandatory, they are designed to support high-quality care, and the Department and NHS England encourages local implementation tailored to patient needs. This is available at the following link:

https://www.rcog.org.uk/guidance/browse-all-guidance/green-top-guidelines/outpatient-hysteroscopy-green-top-guideline-no-59/

Letters and information sent to patients are determined at a local level by individual National Health Service trusts. A range of additional information is available for patients on hysteroscopy procedures, including on the NHS website, and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has created a patient information resource on hysteroscopy. This is available at the following link:

https://www.rcog.org.uk/outpatient-hysteroscopy

As with all procedures, healthcare professionals are expected to fully explain the procedure in advance, including expected symptoms, side effects, and risks. These conversations should be undertaken using a shared decision-making approach that ensures individuals are supported to make decisions that are right for them. This provides a collaborative process through which a clinician supports a patient to reach a decision about their treatment, bringing together the clinician’s expertise, such as treatment options, evidence, risks and benefits, with the patient’s preferences, personal circumstances and values. NHS England has published guidelines on the use of shared decision making.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2025 to Question 65734 on Sodium Valproate: Women, whether his Department holds information on the number of women between the ages of 18 and 52 who were prescribed sodium valproate in 2024.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) holds prescription data relating to drugs and appliances dispensed within a community setting in England.

The number of female patients between the ages of 18 and 52 years old who were prescribed sodium valproate in England in 2024 was approximately 14,600.

The data is based on figures extracted from the NHSBSA ePACT2 database, which includes all National Health Service prescriptions prescribed in England and dispensed within a community setting, held for the chemical substance of sodium valproate, where the prescriptions have been submitted to the NHSBSA by dispensing contractors for the payment of the supply of drugs and the associated services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential financial barriers for people studying Paramedic Science as a second undergraduate degree.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Students studying paramedicine as a second degree are able to access the Learning Support Fund (LSF), subject to meeting the other eligibility criteria. The LSF comprises a non-repayable training grant of £5,000 per academic year. Further financial support is available for childcare and travel and dual accommodation costs while on clinical placements.

Access to student loans is governed by The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 (as amended) and is a matter for the Department for Education.

The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare courses, including paramedicine, under close review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to make second-degree Paramedic Science students eligible for (a) student finance and (b) the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Students studying paramedicine as a second degree are able to access the Learning Support Fund (LSF), subject to meeting the other eligibility criteria. The LSF comprises a non-repayable training grant of £5,000 per academic year. Further financial support is available for childcare and travel and dual accommodation costs while on clinical placements.

Access to student loans is governed by The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 (as amended) and is a matter for the Department for Education.

The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare courses, including paramedicine, under close review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding strategies his Department is considering to ensure hospices remain (a) competitive and (b) sustainable.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include the hospice services available within the ICB catchment.

As set out in the Government’s recently published 10-Year Health Plan, we are determined to shift more care out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting. Palliative care and end of life care services, including hospices, will have a big role to play in that shift, and were highlighted in the plan as being an integral part of neighbourhood teams.

I have tasked officials to look at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all- age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan. The Government and the National Health Service will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative and end-of-life care services to support a reduction in variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of establishment of the Staff Treatment Hubs announced in the 10 Year Health Plan.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will roll out staff treatment hubs that will ensure staff have access to high quality support for occupational health, including support for mental health and back conditions.

The commitment to staff treatment hubs draws on various evidence sources including the NHS England internal Staff Treatment Access Review, which demonstrated the clear productivity and economic argument for investing in the health of our National Health Service staff, particularly focusing on mental health and musculoskeletal treatment services as the main drivers of sickness absence in the NHS, as well as wider sectors.

Following the publication of the 10-Year Health Plan on 3 July 2025, work is underway to develop implementation and operational plans for the staff treatment hubs. This will determine factors such as location, budgets, timeframes, and capacity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of NHS staff that will be treated at the Staff Treatment Hubs within the first five years of their establishment.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will roll out staff treatment hubs that will ensure staff have access to high quality support for occupational health, including support for mental health and back conditions.

The commitment to staff treatment hubs draws on various evidence sources including the NHS England internal Staff Treatment Access Review, which demonstrated the clear productivity and economic argument for investing in the health of our National Health Service staff, particularly focusing on mental health and musculoskeletal treatment services as the main drivers of sickness absence in the NHS, as well as wider sectors.

Following the publication of the 10-Year Health Plan on 3 July 2025, work is underway to develop implementation and operational plans for the staff treatment hubs. This will determine factors such as location, budgets, timeframes, and capacity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria his Department plans to use to determine where to locate the Staff Treatment Hubs announced as part of the 10 Year Health Plan.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will roll out staff treatment hubs that will ensure staff have access to high quality support for occupational health, including support for mental health and back conditions.

The commitment to staff treatment hubs draws on various evidence sources including the NHS England internal Staff Treatment Access Review, which demonstrated the clear productivity and economic argument for investing in the health of our National Health Service staff, particularly focusing on mental health and musculoskeletal treatment services as the main drivers of sickness absence in the NHS, as well as wider sectors.

Following the publication of the 10-Year Health Plan on 3 July 2025, work is underway to develop implementation and operational plans for the staff treatment hubs. This will determine factors such as location, budgets, timeframes, and capacity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timeframe is for the establishment of the first Staff Treatment Hubs.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will roll out staff treatment hubs that will ensure staff have access to high quality support for occupational health, including support for mental health and back conditions.

The commitment to staff treatment hubs draws on various evidence sources including the NHS England internal Staff Treatment Access Review, which demonstrated the clear productivity and economic argument for investing in the health of our National Health Service staff, particularly focusing on mental health and musculoskeletal treatment services as the main drivers of sickness absence in the NHS, as well as wider sectors.

Following the publication of the 10-Year Health Plan on 3 July 2025, work is underway to develop implementation and operational plans for the staff treatment hubs. This will determine factors such as location, budgets, timeframes, and capacity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Staff Treatment Hubs will be established as part of the 10 Year Health Plan.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will roll out staff treatment hubs that will ensure staff have access to high quality support for occupational health, including support for mental health and back conditions.

The commitment to staff treatment hubs draws on various evidence sources including the NHS England internal Staff Treatment Access Review, which demonstrated the clear productivity and economic argument for investing in the health of our National Health Service staff, particularly focusing on mental health and musculoskeletal treatment services as the main drivers of sickness absence in the NHS, as well as wider sectors.

Following the publication of the 10-Year Health Plan on 3 July 2025, work is underway to develop implementation and operational plans for the staff treatment hubs. This will determine factors such as location, budgets, timeframes, and capacity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of public transport to and from other healthcare centres around Launceston, in the context of the upcoming closure of Launceston Minor Injuries Unit.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is aware of the temporary closure of the Launceston Minor Injuries Unit (MIU), which is a decision that was made due to staffing challenges. The responsibility for the delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services ultimately rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioning body, which in this case is the NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (ICB), rather than the Government. This includes the responsibility to conduct an impact assessment on traveling, provision of services, and an equality impact assessment. The Government has been informed that the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust completed an Equality Impact Assessment for the closure, which identified the impact to be increased travel time or distance to an alternative MIU.

In some scenarios, such as this one, the NHS provider may need to make a temporary service change due to a risk to safety or the welfare of patients or staff. These temporary changes do not represent a permanent or irreversible decision about an NHS service. Permanent changes would only be possible by following the due process, including appropriate engagement with people and communities.

The Government expects the local NHS to develop clear plans for reverting temporary service changes. If this cannot be done safely, the ICB will need to develop plans for a permanent solution by following the due process, including appropriate engagement with people and communities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to support hospices to (a) attract and (b) retain their workforce.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services.  As independent organisations, charitable hospices are responsible for their own recruitment and employment terms. They are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment, including the pay scales. It is for them to determine what is affordable within the financial model they operate.

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. The funding will alleviate immediate pressures on hospice finances, enabling them to invest in infrastructure over the longer term. It will allow hospices to create an improved physical environment with enhanced facilities and will allow them to focus their attention and wider resources on providing the best quality care to patients.

Some hospices, however, are NHS services. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create an NHS workforce in England ready to deliver a transformed service. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it. From now on, we will ensure that staff will be better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future, so they can achieve more.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will conduct an impact assessment of the closure of Launceston Minor Injuries Unit.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is aware of the temporary closure of the Launceston Minor Injuries Unit (MIU), which is a decision that was made due to staffing challenges. The responsibility for the delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services ultimately rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioning body, which in this case is the NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (ICB), rather than the Government. This includes the responsibility to conduct an impact assessment on traveling, provision of services, and an equality impact assessment. The Government has been informed that the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust completed an Equality Impact Assessment for the closure, which identified the impact to be increased travel time or distance to an alternative MIU.

In some scenarios, such as this one, the NHS provider may need to make a temporary service change due to a risk to safety or the welfare of patients or staff. These temporary changes do not represent a permanent or irreversible decision about an NHS service. Permanent changes would only be possible by following the due process, including appropriate engagement with people and communities.

The Government expects the local NHS to develop clear plans for reverting temporary service changes. If this cannot be done safely, the ICB will need to develop plans for a permanent solution by following the due process, including appropriate engagement with people and communities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Integrated Care Boards in England provide Covid Medicines Delivery Units.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department and NHS England do not collect or hold this information centrally. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for making funding available and for arranging access to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended COVID-19 therapeutics, in line with its Rapid guideline: managing COVID-19, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng191

ICBs will establish services to meet the needs of their local populations, which might include COVID-19 Medicines Delivery Units, but could also include other access options such as primary and community care, or outreach services. Patients can find out about local services at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/covid-19/treatments-for-covid-19/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance in May 2025 on supporting patients in accessing lateral flow tests for covid-19.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) updated its recommendations on the use of nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir for the treatment COVID‑19 in adults in May 2025. The update followed a decision by the company to set a new list price for nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir which meant that it is no longer a cost-effective treatment for people with diabetes, obesity, or heart failure, or for those aged 70 years old or over. Nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir continues to be recommended by NICE for people who have an increased risk for progression to severe COVID‑19 as defined in NICE’s guidance, at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta878/chapter/5-Supporting-information-on-risk-factors-for-progression-to-severe-COVID19

Rapid lateral flow tests for COVID-19 are available free of charge to people who are eligible for COVID-19 treatment as defined by NICE’s guidance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of allowing qualified non-medical prescribers to prescribe (a) dihydrocodeine, (b) testosterone and (c) other controlled drugs on women’s healthcare.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department supports non-medical professions to use legal mechanisms to prescribe, administer and/or supply medicines to patients, where it is safe and appropriate to do so. Some non-medical healthcare professionals train as independent prescribers, allowing them to prescribe a wide range of medicines, including testosterone, dihydrocodeine and some controlled drugs, within their professional scope of practice. In addition, some non-medical professions can also supply and/or administer specified controlled drugs via Patient Group Directions.

The Department also supports further expansion of medicines responsibilities of non-medical healthcare professionals. Officials are carefully considering proposals relating to a range of healthcare professionals, as part of wider work concerning non-medical prescribing. However, currently, the Department has made no assessment of the potential impact of allowing qualified non-medical prescribers to prescribe dihydrocodeine, testosterone and other controlled drugs as part of women’s health care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 10 June 2025 from the hon. Member for Hazel Grove, Ref LS07270.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Baroness Merron) replied to the hon. Member’s letter on 29 August 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 22 April 2025 from the hon. Member for Hazel Grove, Ref LS05024.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I replied to the hon. Member’s letter on 14 August 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of mental health support available to parents who have experienced baby loss in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Spending on specialist community perinatal mental health services continues to increase every year. The latest National Health Service figures show that integrated care boards spent £212 million in 2024/25, which is an increase of £18 million over the £194 million spent in 2023/24.

We recognise that more support for parents is needed and are making steady improvements. Bereavement services operating seven days a week are being set up in every area in England to support women and families who experience pregnancy loss or neonatal death. Additionally, in February 2024, the Department launched the baby loss certificate service, which is a voluntary scheme to enable parents who have experienced any pre-24-week pregnancy loss to record and receive a certificate to provide recognition of their loss if they wish to do so.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many employees in his Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Based on pro rate salary and allowances data for the Department, 92 employees earn between £100,00 and £165,999, and 11 earn £166,000 or more.

Government and the National Health Service (NHS) implement a mandatory verification of National Insurance (NI) numbers for all individuals over the age of 16 before they are provided with free healthcare services. To ensure that NHS resources are primarily utilized by those who are entitled to them.

Fund all NHS A&E departments to do finger-prick blood glucose tests on all unwell babies, toddlers, and children, even if symptoms seem minor, specific, or common, to detect undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes and early DKA, preventing life-threatening complications.

'Protect the NHS' and 'Save Lives' by continuing to fund NHS COVID boosters for Clinically Vulnerable people, including most previously shielded as CEV, rather than limiting them to over-75s, care home residents and those with severely weakened immune systems.

We urge the government to fund vouchers for those who are medically diagnosed with coeliac disease.

Require every ICB to establish one self-referral mental-health hub per 250,000 population, open 10 am–10 pm with no ID checks. Staff hubs, including lived-experience practitioners, offering same-day peer triage, one-hour support, medication reviews, and bookings into therapy or crisis teams.

We call for a National Endometriosis Registry to record, track and annually audit data on diagnosis, treatment & outcomes. We think this could help to:
Hold services to account; Reduce postcode inequality; Ensure endometriosis is treated as a chronic condition with more timely, effective care

I would like there to be funding to train all NHS staff on what to do and how to manage non epileptic seizures (NES) because they are different to epileptic seizures and we may be accused of faking because we are not epileptic.

Start with a trial using existing community NHS facilities to save on building costs. We feel more facilities are needed to treat chronic health problems at a local level. Something nearer to home.

We are calling on the Government to acknowledge and compensate late-diagnosed autistic and ADHD people failed by education, healthcare, and social care systems throughout childhood and adolescence.

We urge the Government to:
•Fund more education and mandatory training for GPs & urologists on chronic embedded UTIs
•Raise more NHS awareness so patients receive more timely, compassionate, and effective treatment

Found: AAC0378 - Autism Act 2009 Department of Health and Social Care Written Evidence

Found: AAC0377 - Autism Act 2009 Department of Health and Social Care Written Evidence

Found: announced the abolition of NHS England and the creation of a new, more streamlined Department of Health and Social Care

Found: In Spring 2024, DHSC consulted on a proposal to introduce a new requirement for providers registered

Found: We proactively engage with NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care so they are aware

Found: / Biography ( for House of Lords select committee Autism Act) (EbE carer / family representative DHSC

Found: funding for specialist behavioural and autism services while awaiting clarity from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: For example, there have been discussions with DHSC officials on effective approaches to neurodevelopmental

Found: DHSC should introduce this as part of the CQC inspection.

Found: The LGA provided local authority specific comments on an updated draft, provided by DHSC in 2024, but

Found: This was shown in the Equality in 2023: how DHSC met the public sector equality duty - GOV.UK and FCDO

Found: By aligning with Integrated Care Boards, SEND systems, DfE and DHSC aims, it bridges gaps through ethical

Found: diagnosis has been confirmed the medical profession should ensure the information goes to the LA and DHSC

Found: The proposed forthcoming merger of the Department of Health and Social care (DHSC) with NHS England

Found: : A comprehensive national strategy should be created, combining efforts from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: TDP0026] Clinks [TDP0027] Dame Carol Black [TDP0028] Lived Expert [TDP0029] Ministry of Justice & DHSC

Found: (DHSC)9 The Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (OHID) is the arm’s-length

Found: OHID=The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (a government unit within the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.  

Found: Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)

Found: The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.   

Found: The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.     

Found: requirement for these products to support the UK market, the MHRA in discussion with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: The latest guidance from NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care is not to issue any

Found: EXCELLENCE Draft guidance consultation Tirzepatide for treating type 2 diabetes The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Weight Management Unit (WMU) comments to be considered as part of DHSC response 3.

Found: Draft guidance consultation Tirzepatide for managing overweight and obesity The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: rotations are managed is now underway and is being led by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC

Found: impairment in Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy in people 12 years and over The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Alliance University of Manchester Wounds Research Group National organisations Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: impairment in Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy in people 12 years and over The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: In the Department of Health and Social Care medical technology innovation classification framework,

Found: HealthTech Alliance British Healthcare Trades Association National organisations Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: carboplatin and paclitaxel for untreated advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: impairment in Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy in people 12 years and over The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Society • Royal Society of Medicine • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: been identified for late-stage assessment (LSA) by NICE, in collaboration with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Radiographers • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association • UK Oncology Nursing Society Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Radiographers • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association • UK Oncology Nursing Society Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Society • Royal Society of Medicine • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: impairment in Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy in people 12 years and over The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association • UK Neuro-Ophthalmology Society Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Society • Royal Society of Medicine • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Pharmaceutical Society, Pharmacy’s Role in Climate Action and Sustainable Healthcare 4 Department of Health and Social Care