Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 18 March 2024 from the hon. Members for Tooting, Putney, Wimbledon, Mitcham and Morden, Richmond Park and Twickenham on children's cancer services in the South East.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have received the hon. Members’ correspondence of 18 March, and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations she has made to NICE on the availability of Enhertu.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department meets regularly with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to discuss a range of issues, including access to medicines. The NICE has recommended Enhertu, also known as trastuzumab deruxtecan and made by Daiichi Sankyo, for use through the Cancer Drugs Fund, for the treatment of HER2-positive metastatic or unresectable breast cancer. It is available to eligible National Health Service patients in England, in line with the NICE’s recommendations.
The NICE is currently evaluating Enhertu for the treatment of HER2-low metastatic or unresectable breast cancer. Following negotiations between NHS England and the company, which concluded without a commercial agreement to make it available at a cost-effective price for the NHS, the NICE published final draft guidance on 5 March 2024, that does not recommend it as an option for this indication. The NICE remains open to further discussions with NHS England and the company, and currently expects to publish final guidance on 15 May 2024.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 3.64 of the NHS Long Term Plan, published in January 2019, what steps she is taking to ensure that every person diagnosed with cancer will have access to (a) personalised care, (b) a needs assessment, (c) a care plan and (d) health and wellbeing information and support.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ensuring every person diagnosed with cancer has access to personalised care and support is a key priority for the Government. The NHS Long Term Plan for cancer states that where appropriate, every person diagnosed with cancer will have access to personalised care, including needs assessment, a care plan, and health and wellbeing information and support. NHS England is committed to ensuring that all cancer patients have access to a Holistic Needs Assessment and Personalised Care and Support Planning, ensuring care is focused on what matters most to each person. Additionally, End of Treatment Summaries are being introduced, which aims to empower people to manage the impact of their cancer after treatment. Health and wellbeing information and support is provided from diagnosis onwards, and includes access to NHS Talking Therapy services for anxiety and depression. This is alongside wider work to improve psychosocial support for people affected by cancer, such as through local partnerships with cancer support charities.
NHS England and the integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and ensuring that the healthcare needs of local communities in England are met, including for cancer patients. NHS England provides access to a personal health budget, which is an amount of National Health Service money that is allocated to support the health and wellbeing needs of a patient, if eligible. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/what-is-a-personal-health-budget/
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 March 2024 to Question 17965 on Stepping Hill Hospital: Repairs and Maintenance, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the state of repair of buildings at Stepping Hill hospital on capacity in (a) Stockport and (b) Greater Manchester.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been waiting more than 12 months for (a) knee and (b) hip replacement surgery in the North East as of 29 April 2024.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of vaping on fertility.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Department's press release entitled One-off payments of up to £3,000 for over 27,000 health workers, published on 25 March 2024, what steps her Department is taking to ensure parity between clinical and recently insourced nonclinical staff for those payments.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The non-consolidated payments agreed as part of the Agenda for Change pay deal covered staff directly employed by National Health Service organisations, such as staff on permanent and fixed term contracts, as set out in Annex 1 of the handbook on Agenda for Change terms as of 31 March 2023. Those who joined the NHS after 31 March 2023 were ineligible for the award, regardless of profession. The recent funding agreed did not change individuals’ eligibility, and the scope of the pay award remains the same.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure the (a) experiences and (b) specialist needs of young people with cancer are reflected in the work of the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Supporting children and young people affected by cancer remains a priority for the Government. The scope of the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce, including stakeholder engagement, will be determined once the work of the taskforce begins, currently planned to start from Spring 2024.
The Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce is being set up to progress the Government’s mission to deliver world-leading cancer services. This is dedicated work focusing on cancers affecting children and young people and will explore detection and diagnosis, including improving awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer in young people, as well as genomic testing, treatment, and research and innovation.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to consult young people with cancer affected by cancer during the development of the Children and Young People Taskforce.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Supporting children and young people affected by cancer remains a priority for the Government. The scope of the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce, including stakeholder engagement, will be determined once the work of the taskforce begins, currently planned to start from Spring 2024.
The Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce is being set up to progress the Government’s mission to deliver world-leading cancer services. This is dedicated work focusing on cancers affecting children and young people and will explore detection and diagnosis, including improving awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer in young people, as well as genomic testing, treatment, and research and innovation.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full-time equivalent district nurses worked in the NHS in England in each financial year since 2009-10.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. These include staff working for hospital trusts and other core organisations, but excludes staff working for other providers such as in primary care, general practice, or social care. This data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, the human resources system for the National Health Service. The statistics, including those for district nurses, are available at the following link:
We know that district nurses will also work outside NHS trusts, for other providers of community services. We do not hold data on the number of district nurses working outside the NHS. The Nursing and Midwifery Council publishes data on the number of nurses with district nursing qualifications on the professional register across the United Kingdom, and is available at the following link:
https://www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/reports-and-accounts/registration-statistics/