Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of regulations for the private prescription of medical cannabis at protecting patients with severe mental health conditions.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England, including private clinics that prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs). Private providers must be registered with the CQC and are inspected against standards relating to safety, quality, and safeguarding. To ensure the legislative framework remains safe and fit for purpose, my Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to undertake a comprehensive review of the 2018 changes to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations that enabled access to CBPMs.
Data on National Health Service prescriptions for unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use are withheld because the number of patients receiving these products is fewer than five nationally, creating a risk of patient identification under United Kingdom data protection legislation.
The Government recognises that some patients face significant costs when accessing unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use privately. However, the cost of treatments obtained through private prescribing arrangements is a matter between patients and providers.
The Department has not made an assessment of the average annual cost incurred by patients who obtain CBPMs through private prescriptions, nor has it made a comparison between those costs and the cost of an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
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 ensure that people diagnosed with leukaemia have adequate access to haematology specialists.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The National Cancer Plan for England, released on 4 February 2026, sets out a commitment to diagnose cancers earlier and ensure people receive timely, effective treatment.
The Government is committed to helping the NHS England detect cancers, including blood cancers, earlier and provide faster treatment to improve outcomes.
NHS England uses non‑specific symptom pathways for people presenting with symptoms such as unexplained weight loss, fatigue or general illness that do not point to a particular cancer type. These pathways are especially important for detecting blood cancers, which often present with vague or non‑specific symptoms.
In addition to ongoing investment in diagnostic capacity, including new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scanners, we will support NHS England to diagnose all cancers, including blood cancers, earlier and ensure patients can begin treatment as quickly as possible.
The Department will work to end the postcode lottery to ensure that access to the best cancer diagnosis, treatment and care is available for everyone, including leukaemia patients.
The Department is working with partners such as the Royal College of Pathologists, Cancer Alliances, and genomics programme leads to strengthen diagnostic workforce capacity across cancer services, including pathology and cancer genomics. This includes investment in new training pathways, digital pathology, and genomics education, all of which support timely and accurate diagnosis for people with blood cancers, including leukemia.
NHS England is investing in expanding specialty training posts in high-demand disciplines, including haematology, and is supporting local systems to retain and develop multidisciplinary teams. This includes increasing medical training posts in haematology and enhancing the scientific workforce supply through initiatives such as the Scientist Training Programme and Higher Specialist Scientist Training.
As of February 2026, there are 2,318 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of Haematology in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is 130, or 6%, more than a year ago. This also includes 1,082 FTE consultants, which is 51, or 4.9%, more than a year ago.
We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan later this spring to put the NHS workforce on a sustainable footing so staff can deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
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 number of emergency diagnoses for leukaemia patients.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers such leukaemia, as early and quickly as possible to improve outcomes.
To tackle late diagnoses leukaemia, the National Health Service is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.
The NHS will diagnose leukaemia earlier and will treat it faster. In April 2026, the Department announced its plan to open four new community diagnostic centres during 2026/27. The Department also announced that a further 32 existing centres will be expanded and enhanced. The 36 centres are backed by a £237 million Government investment.
To improve survival, the National Cancer Plan for England commits to reducing the number of rare cancers, such as leukaemia, diagnosed in emergency settings. The Department and NHS England will address this by publishing regular data on the number of these cancers diagnosed in emergency settings, as a proxy for late or ineffective diagnosis. Adding this to the basket of early diagnosis metrics will help incentivise systems and providers to focus on earlier diagnosis of blood cancers.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
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 expedite full blood count referrals for patients with suspected leukaemia symptoms.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The National Cancer Plan for England, published on 4 February 2026, sets out a commitment to diagnose cancers earlier and ensure people receive timely, effective treatment. The Government is committed to helping NHS England detect cancers, including blood cancers, earlier and provide faster treatment to improve outcomes.
NHS England uses non‑specific symptom pathways for people presenting with symptoms such as unexplained weight loss, fatigue, or general illness that do not point to a particular cancer type. These pathways are especially important for detecting blood cancers, which often present with vague or non‑specific symptoms.
In addition, ongoing investment in diagnostic capacity, including new magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners, the Government will support NHS England to diagnose all cancers, including blood cancers, earlier to ensure patients can begin treatment as quickly as possible.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has a guideline on suspected cancer called Recognition and referral, which aims to support the identification of children, young people, and adults with symptoms that could be caused by cancer. The guideline provides guidance on appropriate investigations in primary care, and the selection of people to refer for a specialist opinion. The guideline recommends that people with specific symptoms should be offered a very urgent full blood count to assess for leukaemia. Local National Health Service organisations are expected to take NICE guidelines fully into account in ensuring that their services meet the needs of their local populations. The NHS is held to account to deliver guidelines, which include all NICE directions, at a local and regional level.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
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 help ensure that art psychotherapy and other Allied Health Professions are recognised as a delivery partner for the 10-year Health Plan for England .
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to bring public awareness to the role Art Psychotherapists and other Allied Health Professionals have across the health and care system.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
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 help promote the role of art psychotherapists in addressing issues related to mental health and wellbeing.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
The National Health Service is expanding access to timely, high‑quality mental health support, including psychological therapies, as part of the 10 Year Health Plan shifts towards prevention, early intervention, and community‑based care. This includes continued expansion of NHS Talking Therapies and the development of new community mental health models that bring together multidisciplinary teams to deliver personalised, holistic care.
The Government has actively collaborated with Allied Health Professional (AHP) bodies, including those representing arts therapies, to enhance the emphasis on mental health and wellbeing. This partnership is reflected in the United Kingdom AHP Public Health Strategic Framework 2025 to 2030, which provides a clear vision and actions for integrating public health approaches into clinical practice.
We need a diverse workforce with the skills and expertise needed to meet a wide range of mental health needs and improve outcomes for patients. We are therefore investing in, and growing, the mental health workforce, with over 8,000 additional mental health staff recruited since July 2024. We will also publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10 Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to help ensure representation from Allied Health Professions in the Department for Health and Social Care structure that will replace NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The proposed new Department is not simply a merger of the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, where both organisations’ current functions are added together. Rather, it is a fundamental redesign of the size, shape, and role of the centre in relation to the rest of the health and care system. The proposed abolition of NHS England and associated transfer and modification of functions is subject to legislation and the will of Parliament. We will be engaging with partners inside and outside the organisations as the process to design the future Department continues.
Allied Health Professional representation will be considered during the detailed design process for the future Department and will ensure the future Department will effectively discharge its accountabilities for workforce education, training, and professional leadership for all of the clinical professions, including the Allied Health Profession.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to maternity pathways with tailored support for pregnant people experiencing homelessness.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
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 improve outcomes and survival rates after heart and lung transplants.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring timely and equitable access to heart and lung transplantation services and of improving patient outcomes.
Access to transplantation is based on nationally agreed clinical criteria, with organs allocated through a national system managed by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) to ensure equity according to clinical need. NHSBT publishes data annually on access and outcomes in its organ-specific reports, which are available at the following link:
https://www.odt.nhs.uk/statistics-and-reports/annual-activity-report/
This data shows good overall post-transplant survival rates, alongside some variation between centres. In addition, the data shows no evidence of geographical variation beyond chance for heart and lung transplantation rates, and some variation in lung registration rates. Further work is needed to understand and address unwarranted variation in access to transplantation.
Variation in patient outcomes, including longer‑term survival and listing outcomes, are reviewed through established NHSBT and NHS England clinical governance processes, including routine outcome review and centre‑specific follow‑up where indicated. The National Transplant Clinical Panel has been established to provide expert clinical interpretation of transplant outcome data to support oversight where issues of statistical variation are identified.
To improve access and outcomes, NHS England has established a national improvement programme, informed by the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Cardiothoracic Information Collation Exercise. This programme, alongside NHS England’s commissioning structures, includes work to improve referral pathways, organ utilisation, and service consistency, through strengthened peer review processes, an audit of organ acceptance practices, and work with transplant centres to support consistent decision-making. Further information on NHS England’s national improvement programme and the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Cardiothoracic Information Collation Exercise is available, respectively, at the following two links:
While progress has been made, including increases in transplant activity and reductions in waiting lists, NHS England continues to work with partners to ensure services are consistent, resilient, and able to meet patient need across the country.