Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 variation between Integrated Care Boards in the availability of Xonvea; and whether he plans to issue further advice or guidance to Integrated Care Boards to help improve access.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of access to medication to treat nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, and hyperemesis gravidarum. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on antenatal care includes guidance on the advantages and disadvantages of the range of pharmacological treatments for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy to support shared decision making.
Whilst no specific assessment has been made, the Department recognises that there is currently regional variation in the availability of certain medicines like Xonvea between integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs are responsible for developing local formularies setting out the use of medicines for their local populations, informed by national guidance on clinical effectiveness. This can lead to variation with different local areas taking different decisions to reflect the needs of their local population.
This is why we are progressing the Single National Formulary (SNF), as announced in our 10-Year Health Plan which set out a commitment to move towards a SNF for medicines within the next two years. Over time, an SNF is expected to replace local formulary processes and will be designed to help address inequity and variation in the use of approved medicines; helping to ensure every patient has equitable access to medicines, and that the same medicines are available to patients in an equitable way, in all parts of the country. Work is already underway to deliver the SNF through a phased approach. NHS England will work collaboratively with key stakeholders including NICE and industry throughout the implementation.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
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 the time taken for kidney transplants for people with Polycystic Kidney Disease.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is the organisation responsible for organ donation services in the United Kingdom, including management of the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR) and the transplant waiting list.
NHSBT is working to reduce the kidney transplant waiting list, including for patients with polycystic kidney disease, by promoting living donation and ODR registration, as well as taking action to increase donation consent rates. Current activity includes: high profile year-round campaigns including Living Donation Week, Organ Donation Week, and World Kidney Day, in partnership with a wide range of charities and community groups; year-round national and regional media and public relations, focusing particularly on the need for more Black and Asian organ donors to reduce current inequities in access to transplants; and funding Community Grants Programmes and partnering with trusted community organisations to support leaders with expertise in organ donation in delivering culturally and religiously sensitive messaging.
The Organ Donation Joint Working Group, formed jointly between NHSBT and the Department, recently published recommendations to improve organ donation consent rates, increase societal action for organ donation, and increase the pool of potential donors in its report published on 21 January 2026. The report is available at the following link:
https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/38066/odjwg-report.pdf
Asked by: Jeremy Hunt (Conservative - Godalming and Ash)
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 the NHS online hospital on levels of regional variation in gynaecology waiting times.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Women’s health issues, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis, fibroids, polycystic ovary syndrome, adenomyosis, or pelvic infection, will be among the conditions available for referral to NHS Online from 2027.
NHS Online will be unconstrained by geographical boundaries, able to better align clinical capacity with patient demand, and will help tackle deep rooted inequalities in the healthcare system by ending the postcode lottery of care and waiting times, including for women’s health issues. Once referred by their general practitioner, patients can be seen quickly by National Health Service specialists online. Remote consultations, follow-ups, and condition management can be delivered digitally. Streamlined pathways will shorten delays between referral and treatment and help patients start their care sooner.
NHS Online will help to reduce patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years, four times more than an average trust, while enhancing patient choice and control over their care.
NHS Online is undertaking a detailed equality health impact assessment to assess the impacts of the service, and is working with patients and carers to ensure that these are addressed. Patient choice remains central to care. NHS Online will enhance patient choice with in-person care always available for those who prefer and for those whose care needs require it.
Before NHS Online goes live, the NHS will learn from existing research on patient experience of online care over the last five years and build it into the programme as it develops. The programme is being developed with a commitment to patient partnership in design and delivery. We will be working with marginalised groups, including through the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise sector, which represents communities who share protected characteristics or that experience health inequalities, with further information avaiable at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/hwalliance/
Inclusion will be a core priority as the organisation evolves.
Asked by: Jeremy Hunt (Conservative - Godalming and Ash)
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 the NHS online hospital on women’s health inequalities.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Women’s health issues, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis, fibroids, polycystic ovary syndrome, adenomyosis, or pelvic infection, will be among the conditions available for referral to NHS Online from 2027.
NHS Online will be unconstrained by geographical boundaries, able to better align clinical capacity with patient demand, and will help tackle deep rooted inequalities in the healthcare system by ending the postcode lottery of care and waiting times, including for women’s health issues. Once referred by their general practitioner, patients can be seen quickly by National Health Service specialists online. Remote consultations, follow-ups, and condition management can be delivered digitally. Streamlined pathways will shorten delays between referral and treatment and help patients start their care sooner.
NHS Online will help to reduce patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years, four times more than an average trust, while enhancing patient choice and control over their care.
NHS Online is undertaking a detailed equality health impact assessment to assess the impacts of the service, and is working with patients and carers to ensure that these are addressed. Patient choice remains central to care. NHS Online will enhance patient choice with in-person care always available for those who prefer and for those whose care needs require it.
Before NHS Online goes live, the NHS will learn from existing research on patient experience of online care over the last five years and build it into the programme as it develops. The programme is being developed with a commitment to patient partnership in design and delivery. We will be working with marginalised groups, including through the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise sector, which represents communities who share protected characteristics or that experience health inequalities, with further information avaiable at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/hwalliance/
Inclusion will be a core priority as the organisation evolves.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, i) what metrics his Department will use, and ii) over what timeframe, to judge whether the reforms to NHS England deliver (a) improved productivity, (b) reduced bureaucracy, and (c) better patient outcomes.
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 set out his objectives for the wider health and care system through the 10-Year Health Plan which sets ambitious targets for the wider health and care sector to deliver the three big shifts: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. The reforms to NHS England, and the wider health and care landscape, are a key component in delivering on this vision for a transformed National Health Service. As such, these reforms will be primarily judged and assessed against the extensive targets set out in this plan. Further information on the plan is available at the following link:
Work is also continuing at pace to develop specific metrics and targets for the new Department of Health and Social Care that is being created. As is the case for any Government department, we will also develop specific metrics and targets for the new Department of Health and Social Care, which will be shared with Parliament and published.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
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 reasonable adjustments for disabled doctors and medical students in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made. Employers have a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 to consider and make reasonable adjustments for employees who have a disability, taking advice from their local occupational health and human resources department.
The NHS Workforce Disability Equality Standard sets out metrics to enable organisations to understand the experiences of disabled staff and to develop and publish an action plan. Year on year comparison enables trusts to demonstrate progress against the indicators of disability equality.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce protections for (a) whistleblowing patients and (b) patient safety advocates.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no plans to bring forward legislation to strengthen protections for patients who raise concerns and patient safety advocates.
National Health Service patients should not experience negative consequences if they raise concerns. The NHS Constitution pledges that patient complaints will not adversely impact future treatment. Patients can raise concerns or provide feedback through channels such as the NHS complaints process, Patient Advice and Liaison Service, and the Friends and Family Test, and can also share experiences of care with the Care Quality Commission. Independent advice and support are available for them from the Independent Complaints Advocacy Service.
Through implementation of the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, we will reform the NHS complaints process and strengthen the patient voice by setting clear standards for the quality of responses to complaints and ensure the NHS listens carefully and compassionately, taking forward learnings to ensure high quality care.
Patient safety advocates in the NHS may include Patient Safety Specialists and Freedom to Speak Up Guardians who as workers in the NHS are protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA). They may also include Patient Safety Partners (PSPs) who are usually lay people and include patients, carers, or members of the public who work with NHS organisations to improve patient safety by contributing directly to governance, decision making, and safety improvement activity. As lay people, PSPs are not covered by PIDA.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have issued any formal guidance for (1) public communications, (2) educational settings, and (3) healthcare pathways, that distinguishes emotional distress from diagnosable mental health conditions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has not issued formal guidance as such. The Every Mind Matters campaign is the National Health Service’s national platform for mental health and wellbeing, and it offers advice and information to help people look after their mental health, including managing stress, low mood, and improving sleep. The aim is to guide the public to understand how they can manage their own mental health, and when they may need to seek support.
In educational settings, Mental Health Support Teams work in schools and colleges to offer early intervention for mild-to-moderate issues. They also support the whole school community to build a culture of mental wellbeing through training for staff, educating parents, and developing a whole-school mental health approach. This approach focuses on prevention and improving overall emotional wellbeing, as well as building awareness of when a child or young person may need to access to specialist services.
There is a range of guidance available to healthcare pathways on mental health, such as the NHS Talking Therapies guidance on the pathway for people with long term conditions and medically unexplained symptoms. Primary care services can act as the first point of contact for people with a mental health need, supporting with identifying and managing diagnosable mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Primary care also plays a role in coordinating care and helping service users to navigate mental health support in their local area.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how access to GP and primary care services differs between areas of high and low deprivation; and what steps they are taking to address unequal access and capacity.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practices (GPs) serving more deprived areas receive on average 9.8% less funding per needs adjusted patient than those in less deprived communities, despite having greater health needs and significantly higher patient-to-GP ratios.
We recognise the importance of ensuring funding for core services is distributed equitably between practices across the country. This is why we are currently reviewing the way GP funding is allocated across England, via the Carr-Hill formula. The review will look at how health needs are reflected in the distribution of funding through the GP Contract.
To further improve access and capacity, we have invested £1.1 billion in GPs, and £160 million of this has been to expand the GP workforce, by recruiting 2,000 more GPs since October 2024.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of GP appointments relating to mental health concerns result in a formal diagnosis, clinical treatment or a referral; and how that proportion has changed over the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made regarding the proportion of general practice appointments relating to mental health concerns resulting in a formal diagnosis, clinical treatment, or a referral.