Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mitigate the current shortage of the psychotropic medication Olanzapine, Risperidone and Haloperidol following the sudden departure of two generic manufacturers from the UK market.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware that there have been supply constraints with olanzapine 210 milligram, 300 milligram, and 405 milligram powder and solvent for prolonged release suspension for injection. We worked with manufacturers to uplift production, and the issues were resolved in February 2024. We worked with NHS England to issue national communications containing advice on how to manage patients whilst there was a disruption to supply. We are not aware of any supply issues affecting oral presentations of olanzapine, or of any supply issues with any risperidone or haloperidol products.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the shortage of the psychotropic medication Olanzapine, and what steps they are taking to ensure that such shortages do not affect the health and safety of patients, and wider public safety.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware that there have been supply constraints with olanzapine 210 milligram, 300 milligram, and 405 milligram powder and solvent for prolonged release suspension for injection. We worked with manufacturers to uplift production, and the issues were resolved in February 2024. We worked with NHS England to issue national communications containing advice on how to manage patients whilst there was a disruption to supply. We are not aware of any supply issues affecting oral presentations of olanzapine, or of any supply issues with any risperidone or haloperidol products.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they expect integrated care boards in England to be able to identify how much money they spend on children’s hospices; and, if not, what action they will take.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government does not hold information regarding the amount of money each integrated care board (ICB) spends on children’s hospices. There is currently no plan to take any action to ensure that ICBs can identify how much money they spend specifically on children’s hospices.
At a national level, NHS England supports palliative and end of life care for children and young people through the Children and Young People’s hospice grant. The grant provided approximately £17 million in 2021/22, £21 million in 2022/23 and £25 million in 2023/24 directly to children and young people’s hospices. NHS England has confirmed that it will be renewing the grant for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million grant funding for children’s hospices using the same prevalence-based allocation approach as in 2022/23 and 2023/24. NHS England is reprioritising budgets for 2024/25, in light of the revised assessment of financial position and, whilst it is holding funding aside for the children and young people’s hospice sector, it cannot confirm further details, including the distribution mechanism, until 2024/25 financial planning is concluded.
Additionally, in line with the NHS Long Term Plan commitment, NHSE has provided approximately £8.5 million match-funding to participating ICBs and formerly clinical commissioning groups between 2022/23 and 2023/24 that committed to invest in children and young people’s palliative and end of life care, including hospices, giving a total investment of £17 million for that period.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy for providing in-patient accommodation for trans women in NHS hospital wards in England; and what steps they are taking to protect trans women in hospital from potential discrimination.
Answered by Lord Kamall
NHS England and NHS Improvement’s current guidance concerning the placement of transgender people in hospital wards states that this should be done in accordance with their presentation, such as the way the person dresses and the pronouns they use. NHS England is reviewing this guidance and the Department will ensure that any revised guidance takes account of relevant equalities legislation.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking (1) to remedy any buprenorphine shortage, and (2) to ensure that in the long term there is consistent and adequate supply of this medication, that it is available across the country and is not subject to unpredictable price fluctuations.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
We are aware that there was a short-term supply issue which may have affected the availability in May 2018. This was because one of the main suppliers experienced delays in delivery, resulting in a short term out of stock period. Although supplies continued to remain available from other suppliers, we are aware that some may have struggled to support the increase in demand at short notice. The delivery issues were resolved quickly and the overall supply of buprenorphine tablets improved shortly afterwards.
Since this period, the Department has remained in regular contact with all United Kingdom licensed suppliers of buprenorphine and has been working closely with them to monitor their supply position. Based on these conversations, we have been assured that the available supplies are sufficient to meet the usual UK requirements for this drug. The Department continues to monitor this very closely to ensure that there is consistent and adequate supply of this medication across the country.
The Department is aware that since this short-term supply issue, the market price has increased. This increased purchase price is reflected in the reimbursement price paid to pharmacies, to ensure that supplies remain available to patients. The market for buprenorphine has generally been competitive and we expect the supply situation to improve over the coming weeks which is likely to result in an increasingly competitive market.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support future patient access to new and clinically-effective medicines for glioblastoma multiforme.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
A number of drugs currently being developed for potential use in the treatment of glioblastoma have been referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for the development of technology appraisal guidance. New arrangements for the assessment and adoption of cancer drugs were introduced in 2016 that are designed to ensure that patients benefit from rapid access to the most promising new cancer drugs. Under these arrangements, wherever possible, NICE aims to publish draft guidance on cancer drugs before the product receives a marketing authorisation for use in the United Kingdom, and drugs recommended in draft NICE guidance will be eligible for Cancer Drugs Fund funding from the time that the drug receives a marketing authorisation.
In May, the Government announced £40 million for brain cancer research in honour of Dame Tessa Jowell. Funding will be invested through the National Institute for Health Research to support a wide range of research from early translation (experimental medicine) through clinical and on to applied research. This will support the translation of laboratory discoveries into treatments and better care for patients.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Early Access to Medicines Scheme.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Since the publication of the independent review of the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS) the Government has made a number of improvements.
Partners have worked together to provide updated guidance on the benefits and entry requirements for EAMS and are developing further guidance on collecting real world data in the scheme to support National Institute for Health and Care Excellence appraisal.
Furthermore, the EAMS task group exists to provide a forum for industry to engage with Government, the devolved administrations and arm’s length bodies regarding EAMS, as per the recommendations of the 2016 review.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether new biomarker-linked treatments for glioblastoma multiforme would be considered candidate technologies for the Accelerated Access Pathway under the Accelerated Access Review.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
As set out in the response to the Accelerated Access Review, the Accelerated Access Pathway (AAP) will focus on affordable products which can dramatically improve efficiency, fill an unmet need or make a step change in patient outcomes.
There are no restrictions on what type of products the AAP should focus on. The AAP will be launched shortly after the next meeting of the Accelerated Access Collaborative.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure any shortage of buprenorphine does not adversely affect people in treatment for opiate use; and what assessments they have carried out of the impact of any long-term buprenorphine shortages on individuals and substance misuse treatment providers.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
We are aware that there was a short-term supply issue which may have affected availability in May 2018. This was because one of the main generic suppliers experienced delays in delivery, resulting in a short-term out of stock period. Although supplies continued to remain available from other suppliers, we are aware that some may have struggled to support the increase in demand at short notice. The delivery issues were resolved quickly and the overall supply of buprenorphine tablets improved shortly afterwards. The Department has not been made aware of patients who were unable to access supplies of buprenorphine during this period.
Since this period, the Department has remained in regular contact with all United Kingdom licensed suppliers of buprenorphine and has been working closely with them to monitor their supply position. Based on these conversations, we have been assured that the available supplies are sufficient to meet the usual UK requirements for this drug. The Department continues to monitor this very closely.
As there have been no long-term shortages of buprenorphine tablets, no such assessment has been undertaken on the impact of this scenario on individuals and substance misuse treatment providers. The Department is aware that since the short-term supply issue affecting buprenorphine, the market price has increased. This increased purchase price is reflected in the reimbursement price paid to pharmacies, to ensure that supplies remain available to patients.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the availability and price of the opiate treatment medication buprenorphine; whether there is a shortage of buprenorphine; if so, what analysis they have made of the reasons of such a shortage; and whether there are mechanisms in place to monitor the long-term supply of the medication following the recent rise in deaths associated with opioid abuse.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
We are aware that there was a short-term supply issue which may have affected availability in May 2018. This was because one of the main generic suppliers experienced delays in delivery, resulting in a short-term out of stock period. Although supplies continued to remain available from other suppliers, we are aware that some may have struggled to support the increase in demand at short notice. The delivery issues were resolved quickly and the overall supply of buprenorphine tablets improved shortly afterwards. The Department has not been made aware of patients who were unable to access supplies of buprenorphine during this period.
Since this period, the Department has remained in regular contact with all United Kingdom licensed suppliers of buprenorphine and has been working closely with them to monitor their supply position. Based on these conversations, we have been assured that the available supplies are sufficient to meet the usual UK requirements for this drug. The Department continues to monitor this very closely.
As there have been no long-term shortages of buprenorphine tablets, no such assessment has been undertaken on the impact of this scenario on individuals and substance misuse treatment providers. The Department is aware that since the short-term supply issue affecting buprenorphine, the market price has increased. This increased purchase price is reflected in the reimbursement price paid to pharmacies, to ensure that supplies remain available to patients.