Medical Student Places
Debate between Lord Evans of Rainow and Lord Sandhurst
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
Every year, approximately 4% of all doctors registered with the General Medical Council—roughly 300,000 doctors on the register—relinquish their licence to practise. The vast majority go on to work in the NHS after completing their foundation programme training. GMC analysis shows that 93% of doctors enter speciality or GP training and are working as a doctor in the UK within three years of completing the foundation programme. The noble Baroness refers to Australia specifically. It is my understanding that for a newly qualified doctor who has spent several years working hard to qualify, it is quite an attractive place to practise as a doctor, but they do come back to the United Kingdom.
Lord Sandhurst (Con)
My Lords, last year it was reported that 25% of doctors drop out after two years’ foundation training. After five years, the drop-out rate in total is 40%. So increasing the number of students is not the answer, or any part of it. Is not the crucial thing to ensure that young doctors are encouraged to remain in training? That may mean more care in selecting them in the first place, but it also means making it better for them while they are training.
Metastatic and Secondary Breast Cancer
Debate between Lord Evans of Rainow and Lord Sandhurst
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
I am most grateful to the noble Baroness, and I pay tribute to her long-standing work on this subject. Data is very important, as it allows us to look at best practice in the various areas of the United Kingdom and how we can learn from that. It is all about the quality of data.
The Royal College of Surgeons began scoping for the audit commissioned by NHS England in October 2022. Key stakeholders will be consulted over the scoping period to determine the audit’s quality improvement goals. The scoping period concludes in September 2023 and a state of the nation report will be published in September 2024.
The noble Baroness will welcome that Cancer Focus Northern Ireland announced a £60,000 commitment to fund a two-year research audit into secondary breast cancer in Northern Ireland in February 2023. We look forward to the findings of this audit to see where we can improve our services here in England.
Lord Sandhurst (Con)
My Lords, do the Government plan to publish a further strategy to reduce waiting lists?
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
The Government and the NHS are committed to delivering the elective recovery plan, published in February 2022, and we are making good progress. The Government will publish a major conditions strategy, setting out a strong and coherent policy agenda that sets out a shift to integrated, whole-person care, including for cancers. The major conditions strategy will apply a geographical lens to each condition and address regional disparities in health outcomes in an interim report to be published this summer.
Drugs: Supply and Availability
Debate between Lord Evans of Rainow and Lord Sandhurst
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
The noble Lord raises a very important point. The Government are always keen to engage with the development community on a case-by-case basis. As we have discussed from this Dispatch Box in the past, there are moneys available. It is very important that we all work closely together to make sure that those medicines of the future are made available for the population.
Lord Sandhurst (Con)
My Lords, do the Government intend to take steps in response to the January report by the Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership to address the decline in medicines manufacturing and employment in the United Kingdom?
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
The Government recognise the valuable role that medicines manufacturing plays in the UK economy. It enables us to capitalise on our world-class research and development, create jobs and, significantly, create growth. Life science pharmaceutical manufacturing was responsible for more than £20 billion of exports in 2021. Our Life Sciences Vision set out the Government’s ambition to create a globally competitive environment for manufacturing investment. Last March, we launched the £60 million life sciences innovative manufacturing fund to encourage manufacturing investment in the UK. We will announce the fund’s winners later this year.
Secondary Metastatic Breast Cancer
Debate between Lord Evans of Rainow and Lord Sandhurst
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
The target within the cancer workforce plan of more than 4,000 staff members for 2016 and 2021 was exceeded by 226, with an annual growth rate of the cancer workforce of 3% to 4%. The Government have committed to publishing an NHS long-term workforce plan for the next 15 years, covering doctors, nurses and other key professionals. This should be published in spring 2023. In 2023-24, NHS England will continue to make investments in education and training to increase capacity in the cancer and diagnostics workforce, building on the £81 million invested in 2022-23.
Lord Sandhurst (Con)
My Lords, earlier questions have indicated the importance of accurate data. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that data is collected to find out the number of patients living with metastatic breast cancer today?
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
My Lords, up-to-date and accurate data is critical to finding a cure for this terrible disease. The National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service works closely with hospital trusts to determine sources of data that can be used to complete the cancer outcomes and services dataset, and works with the software suppliers of cancer management systems to ensure that data items can be recorded. Compliance and data standards are monitored by local integrated care boards, otherwise known as ICBs.
HIV Transmission
Debate between Lord Evans of Rainow and Lord Sandhurst
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
The noble Baroness raises a very important point. PrEP is now being commissioned as a routine service, and PrEP funding has been fully included within the public health grant, which will benefit over 80,000 people at the highest risk of HIV. But I do agree that having access through GPs would be helpful.
Lord Sandhurst (Con)
My Lords, what is the Department for Education doing or planning to do in schools by way of sex and relationship education to prevent young people getting HIV and sexually transmitted diseases?
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
I thank my noble friend for that question. The Prime Minister is also concerned about reports that inappropriate materials are being used to teach sex and relationship education to young people. As the Prime Minister has set out, we are clear that the materials used must be factual and age appropriate. We have brought forward a review of the statutory guidance and will conduct a consultation on it later this year, as planned and in line with the usual process. The review will look at whether we should place clearer limits on the content being taught to children, depending on their age.