Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evaluations have been conducted on NHS-developed electronic health record systems in Leeds, Birmingham and Southampton; what benefits and risks have been identified in comparison to commercial systems developed by EPIC, Cerner and Infosys; and whether they plan to replace the NHS-developed systems with these commercial solutions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England carried out an evaluation of National Health Service-developed electronic health record (EHR) solutions in late 2022, the findings of which were endorsed at the NHS England Digital, Data and Technology Committee in March 2023. The review found that while NHS-developed EHR systems have some benefits, the lack of appetite for their adoption in neighbouring organisations was a limiting factor in their broader use, at a time when sharing EHRs across organisations is being encouraged. The review concluded that there was no current basis to replace NHS-developed solutions, except where, through local decision making, it was deemed appropriate to do so.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expand longitudinal studies, like AlzEye, which use linked healthcare datasets, to enhance public health efforts in detecting early signs of neurological and systemic diseases through non-invasive tests such as retinal scans.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a society where every person, including those with neurodegenerative conditions, receives high-quality, compassionate continuity of care, with their families and carers supported. Through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Department is also investing in research on novel means of detecting neurodegenerative diseases. For example, the NIHR has invested almost £11 million to fund six projects to improve diagnosis in dementia until 2028.The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including neurological and systemic diseases.
To improve secure access to linked health datasets across the National Health Service in England, the Government and NHS England are investing in a network of Secure Data Environments in England at a national and regional level, through the data for Research and Development programme. The Data for R&D Programme also funds the NHS DigiTrials service, which supports both clinical trials and cohort studies to recruit and follow up on consented participants, supporting the Our Future Health Study to recruit over 1.5 million participants.
The Government is supporting the work of studies of patients who have consented to share their detailed health information for longitudinal research; the Secretary of State has announced his intention to direct NHS England to improve the way data can be made to studies where patients have consented to share it for research.
There is currently no NHS screening programme for the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases; therefore, there are no plans to facilitate the integration of eye scan technology into screening for dementia.
The UK National Screening Committee’s (UK NSC) last review in 2019 recommended not to screen for dementia as the there were no screening tests which could find people with dementia before they show symptoms, and there was no evidence that current treatments for dementia were effective.
The UK NSC has commissioned an evidence map to determine the volume and type of evidence available on the accuracy of screening tests used to detect mild cognitive impairment and/or any type of dementia, as well as pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions offered to treat asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic adults with either condition.
The ability of optometrists to detect neurodegenerative conditions is not yet fully developed and therefore there are no plans in place to encourage collaboration between optometrists and general practitioners to streamline early diagnosis of such conditions.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they plan to provide to facilitate the integration of eye scan technologies, like those used in the AlzEye study, into routine NHS screening programmes for the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a society where every person, including those with neurodegenerative conditions, receives high-quality, compassionate continuity of care, with their families and carers supported. Through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Department is also investing in research on novel means of detecting neurodegenerative diseases. For example, the NIHR has invested almost £11 million to fund six projects to improve diagnosis in dementia until 2028.The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including neurological and systemic diseases.
To improve secure access to linked health datasets across the National Health Service in England, the Government and NHS England are investing in a network of Secure Data Environments in England at a national and regional level, through the data for Research and Development programme. The Data for R&D Programme also funds the NHS DigiTrials service, which supports both clinical trials and cohort studies to recruit and follow up on consented participants, supporting the Our Future Health Study to recruit over 1.5 million participants.
The Government is supporting the work of studies of patients who have consented to share their detailed health information for longitudinal research; the Secretary of State has announced his intention to direct NHS England to improve the way data can be made to studies where patients have consented to share it for research.
There is currently no NHS screening programme for the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases; therefore, there are no plans to facilitate the integration of eye scan technology into screening for dementia.
The UK National Screening Committee’s (UK NSC) last review in 2019 recommended not to screen for dementia as the there were no screening tests which could find people with dementia before they show symptoms, and there was no evidence that current treatments for dementia were effective.
The UK NSC has commissioned an evidence map to determine the volume and type of evidence available on the accuracy of screening tests used to detect mild cognitive impairment and/or any type of dementia, as well as pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions offered to treat asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic adults with either condition.
The ability of optometrists to detect neurodegenerative conditions is not yet fully developed and therefore there are no plans in place to encourage collaboration between optometrists and general practitioners to streamline early diagnosis of such conditions.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what strategies are in place to encourage collaboration between optometrists and GPs to streamline the early diagnosis of neurodegenerative conditions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a society where every person, including those with neurodegenerative conditions, receives high-quality, compassionate continuity of care, with their families and carers supported. Through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Department is also investing in research on novel means of detecting neurodegenerative diseases. For example, the NIHR has invested almost £11 million to fund six projects to improve diagnosis in dementia until 2028.The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including neurological and systemic diseases.
To improve secure access to linked health datasets across the National Health Service in England, the Government and NHS England are investing in a network of Secure Data Environments in England at a national and regional level, through the data for Research and Development programme. The Data for R&D Programme also funds the NHS DigiTrials service, which supports both clinical trials and cohort studies to recruit and follow up on consented participants, supporting the Our Future Health Study to recruit over 1.5 million participants.
The Government is supporting the work of studies of patients who have consented to share their detailed health information for longitudinal research; the Secretary of State has announced his intention to direct NHS England to improve the way data can be made to studies where patients have consented to share it for research.
There is currently no NHS screening programme for the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases; therefore, there are no plans to facilitate the integration of eye scan technology into screening for dementia.
The UK National Screening Committee’s (UK NSC) last review in 2019 recommended not to screen for dementia as the there were no screening tests which could find people with dementia before they show symptoms, and there was no evidence that current treatments for dementia were effective.
The UK NSC has commissioned an evidence map to determine the volume and type of evidence available on the accuracy of screening tests used to detect mild cognitive impairment and/or any type of dementia, as well as pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions offered to treat asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic adults with either condition.
The ability of optometrists to detect neurodegenerative conditions is not yet fully developed and therefore there are no plans in place to encourage collaboration between optometrists and general practitioners to streamline early diagnosis of such conditions.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many COVID-19 tests have been made available but not processed; and of those, how many relate to each pillar of the NHS Test and Trace programme.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department does not hold data in this format. There will be many instances where the National Testing Programme sends kits out that are not used immediately, for example to be held at local sites for when they are needed. Due to the way in which tests are conducted, this will only be a consideration for Pillars 2 and 4.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many COVID-19 tests have been made available but not processed as part of the NHS Test and Trace programme, broken down by the local authority area (1) to which they were sent, or (2) in which they were administered.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department does not hold data in this format. There will be many instances where the National Testing Programme sends kits out that are not used immediately, for example to be held at local sites for when they are needed.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the total cost of COVID-19 tests which have been made available but not processed since 1 January.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department does not hold data in this format. There will be many instances where the National Testing Programme sends kits out that are not used immediately, for example to be held at local sites for when they are needed.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to consult key stakeholders and external experts on future Data Protection Impact Assessments for the management, storage and handling of NHS controlled data.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Under the General Data Protection Regulations 2016, data controllers are under a legal obligation to complete Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) particularly where it involves high risk processing. All National Health Service organisations processing patient data as data controllers are therefore required to complete DPIAs and where necessary, to consult with key stakeholders to ensure risks to privacy are identified and mitigated as far as possible.
A DPIA for the NHS COVID-19 Data Store has been completed and is published on the NHS England website. The data held in the Data Store has gone through a process of pseudonymisation. Identifiable data is not held or made available to users and nor are they permitted to remove the data from the controlled area.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to carry out a Data Protection Impact Assessment on the rights and freedoms of the people whose health data is collected by the NHS; and whether any such data is protected against access by intelligence services.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Under the General Data Protection Regulations 2016, data controllers are under a legal obligation to complete Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) particularly where it involves high risk processing. All National Health Service organisations processing patient data as data controllers are therefore required to complete DPIAs and where necessary, to consult with key stakeholders to ensure risks to privacy are identified and mitigated as far as possible. It would be inappropriate for the Government to undertake a DPIA in relation to the health data held by those organisations. It is the responsibility of each of these organisations to protect the confidentiality of patients and to ensure that there is a legal basis for the disclosure of any personal information.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to competitively tender for future technology products and services that were commissioned during the first stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department and its agencies have always secured digital and technology products and services in accordance with the requirements of United Kingdom procurement laws and will continue to do so; in responding quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has made direct awards where permitted under regulation 32 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.