Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings Ministers within his Department have had with Novo Nordisk in the past (a) 3, (b) 6 and (c) 9 months.
Answered by Will Quince
Ministerial meetings with external organisations are routinely published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with representatives of charities supporting people who are vulnerable to Covid-19 on the transition of responsibility for the delivery of post-exposure treatments for Covid-19 from Covd-19 Medicine Delivery Units to Integrated Care Boards.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England is working closely with local health systems and supporting integrated care boards (ICBs) to develop service delivery plans which ensure continued timely access to assessment and treatment for COVID-19 that meet the needs of their local populations. To support the transition away from pandemic-specific arrangements NHS England is regularly engaging with charities, patient groups and other stakeholders to understand where national and local action may be required to ensure transition readiness. The NHS will continue to communicate to people most vulnerable to COVID-19 about available clinical interventions, including vaccination and treatments, as well as testing and public health advice.
ICBs are responsible for the continued delivery of COVID-19 treatments, including where appropriate transitioning the delivery of community-based COVID-19 treatments away from COVID-19 Medicine Delivery Units to routine care pathways by the end of this month. ICBs have the flexibility to create a routine patient access pathway that best meets local needs and circumstances, including for immunocompromised patients.
ICBs are responsible for their own plans and commissioning schedules. This information is not held centrally by the department.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
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 provide information to people vulnerable to Covid-19 on the transition of responsibility for delivering post-exposure treatments for Covid-19 from Covid-19 Medicine Delivery Units to Integrated Care Boards.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England is working closely with local health systems and supporting integrated care boards (ICBs) to develop service delivery plans which ensure continued timely access to assessment and treatment for COVID-19 that meet the needs of their local populations. To support the transition away from pandemic-specific arrangements NHS England is regularly engaging with charities, patient groups and other stakeholders to understand where national and local action may be required to ensure transition readiness. The NHS will continue to communicate to people most vulnerable to COVID-19 about available clinical interventions, including vaccination and treatments, as well as testing and public health advice.
ICBs are responsible for the continued delivery of COVID-19 treatments, including where appropriate transitioning the delivery of community-based COVID-19 treatments away from COVID-19 Medicine Delivery Units to routine care pathways by the end of this month. ICBs have the flexibility to create a routine patient access pathway that best meets local needs and circumstances, including for immunocompromised patients.
ICBs are responsible for their own plans and commissioning schedules. This information is not held centrally by the department.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Integrated Care Boards have produced plans for transitioning responsibility for the delivery of post-exposure treatments for Covid-19 from Covid-19 Medicine Delivery Units.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England is working closely with local health systems and supporting integrated care boards (ICBs) to develop service delivery plans which ensure continued timely access to assessment and treatment for COVID-19 that meet the needs of their local populations. To support the transition away from pandemic-specific arrangements NHS England is regularly engaging with charities, patient groups and other stakeholders to understand where national and local action may be required to ensure transition readiness. The NHS will continue to communicate to people most vulnerable to COVID-19 about available clinical interventions, including vaccination and treatments, as well as testing and public health advice.
ICBs are responsible for the continued delivery of COVID-19 treatments, including where appropriate transitioning the delivery of community-based COVID-19 treatments away from COVID-19 Medicine Delivery Units to routine care pathways by the end of this month. ICBs have the flexibility to create a routine patient access pathway that best meets local needs and circumstances, including for immunocompromised patients.
ICBs are responsible for their own plans and commissioning schedules. This information is not held centrally by the department.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
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 12 May 2023 to Question 184919 on Allergies: Health Services, for what reasons no specific assessment has been made.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made on the regional availability of allergy care in England as the majority of these services are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs have a statutory responsibility to provide a comprehensive health service to their local populations subject to local prioritisation and funding, including access to specialist medical services for people with allergy where appropriate.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
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 13 June 2023 to Question 188215, whether his Department has made an estimate of the minimum number of doses of Semuglutide and Tirzepatide that it will need to operate the pilot.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
This is still to be determined. Further details will be shared in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of supply levels of (a) ozempic, (b) trulicity, (c) victoza, (d) Rybelsus and (e) Tresiba 100 FlexTouch Pen.
Answered by Will Quince
Medicine supply issues are caused by a wide range of factors as the production of medicines is complex and highly regulated and materials and processes must meet rigorous safety and quality standards. The Department has well-established processes in place to manage disruption to supply.
There are supply issues with GLP-1 receptor agonists, including semaglutide (Ozempic and Rybelsus), dulaglutide (Trulicity) and liraglutide (Victoza) in the United Kingdom, which are licensed for treating patients with type 2 diabetes. The Department has issued Medicine Supply Notifications for Ozempic (semaglutide injection) and Trulicity (dulaglutide injection), advising healthcare professionals not to initiate new patients and to use these medicines for their licensed indications. Additional Medicine Supply Notifications will also be issued soon for Victoza (liraglutide injection) and Rybelsus (semaglutide tablets) advising healthcare professionals on how to manage patients requiring these medicines.
There is a supply disruption affecting Tresiba FlexTouch (insulin degludec) pens in the UK, which are licensed for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in adults, adolescents and children from the age of one years old. The Department has issued a Medicine Supply Notification, advising healthcare professionals not to initiate new patients on Tresiba FlexTouch pens and to use Tresiba Penfill cartridges as an alternative.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 7 June 2023 HCWS831 on Public Health Update, when he plans to start the pilot.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The start date is still to be determined. The aim is to be ready to start the pilots as close as possible to when these weight loss drugs are launched in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of local authorities have a specialist stop smoking service open to all smokers.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There is no official data on whether local authorities have a specialist stop smoking service open to all smokers.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer on 17 May 2023 to Question 185507 on HIV Infection: Prescription Drugs, when his Department expects to publish its response to the Task and Finish Group recommendations on improving PrEP delivery.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group is currently working to develop a roadmap, based on the PrEP Access and Equity Task and Finish group’s recommendations, to help guide our efforts to improve equitable access to PrEP for key populations. We will consider our response to the recommendations in due course.