Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
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 increase public awareness of (a) which medicines are known to have teratogenous effects and (b) the risks of taking teratogenous medicines during pregnancy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The product information for each medicine possibly associated with teratogenic effects includes details about the nature and severity of the risk. The product information is intended to support and not replace the discussion between a healthcare professional and their patient regarding their treatment options.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency continuously monitors the safety of medicines, including their use during pregnancy, ensuring the product information reflects what is known about each medicine.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to respond to Questions (a) 58600 and (b) 58602 tabled by the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton on 10 June 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member's written parliamentary questions. I issued responses to the hon. Member on 4 and 6 of August 2025.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on (a) the numbers of Palestinians detained without charge or trial, (b) the conditions of Israeli detention centres and (c) the treatment of prisoners under international law.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply concerned by reports of the mistreatment of detainees. The UK continues to reiterate calls for Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities and we continue to raise this with the Israeli government as a priority. The UK reaffirms our support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities. We believe it is critical that the ICRC is given regular access to detainees to deliver on their independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the level of awareness amongst medical professional of (a) youth sudden cardiac death, (b) the symptoms of cardiac conditions in the young and (c) the referral pathways for people who have lost a relative under the age of 35 to a cardiac condition.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department expects National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on the use of electrocardiograms for young people presenting with certain symptoms to be followed.
To stop sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young people, the current consensus is to focus on the rapid identification and care of people who are likely to be at risk of SCD due to a family link or because they have had symptoms, and to train people to carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation and to use defibrillators.
NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for specialised inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification in line with the national service specification methods review process. NHS England is working with a broad range of stakeholders as part of this review including National Health Service clinical experts, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice, and the British Heart Foundation. The Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf
These documents describe the service model and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients. They cover all paediatric cardiac activity, including both surgery and cardiology, taking place in the Specialist Children’s Surgical Centres, which are Level 1 services, the Specialist Children’s Cardiology Centres, Level 2 services, and the Local Children’s Cardiac Centres, Level 3 services, including activity undertaken by the specialist centres on an outreach basis, where it is delivered as part of a provider network, with the aim of ensuring that all patient care is of a consistently high quality.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will issue guidance on health screening for people who have had a family member die from sudden cardiac death under the age of 35.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages), which covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and mandated guidelines and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. Further information on the Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf
Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and is delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs). The NHS GLHs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (the Test Directory), which includes tests for over 7000 rare diseases with an associated genetic cause and over 200 cancer clinical indications, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing. Further information on the Test Directory is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/national-genomic-test-directories/
A robust and evidence-based process and policy is in place to routinely review the Test Directory to ensure that genomic testing continues to be available for all patients for whom it would be of clinical benefit, while delivering value for money for the NHS. Further information on this process is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/genomics/the-national-genomic-test-directory/
Genomics has an important role to play in diagnosing and supporting the treatment and management of a number of cardiac conditions. The Test Directory sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing, as well as the genomic targets to be tested and the method that should be used, and this includes genomic testing for a number of conditions which affect the heart, such as testing for familial hypercholesteremia, cardiomyopathies, Long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, and others.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
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 misdiagnoses of people under the age of 35 with cardiac symptoms.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for specialised inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification in line with the national service specification methods review process. NHS England is working with a broad range of stakeholders as part of this review including National Health Service clinical experts, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice, and the British Heart Foundation. The Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf
These documents describe the service model and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients. They cover all paediatric cardiac activity, including both surgery and cardiology, taking place in the Specialist Children’s Surgical Centres, which are Level 1 services, the Specialist Children’s Cardiology Centres, Level 2 services, and the Local Children’s Cardiac Centres, Level 3 services, including activity undertaken by the specialist centres on an outreach basis, where it is delivered as part of a provider network, with the aim of ensuring that all patient care is of a consistently high quality.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterparts on the killing of (a) medical workers and (b) journalists in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Gaza remains the deadliest place for humanitarians, and we continue to urge that humanitarian workers must be protected, and medical and aid workers must be able to do their jobs safely.
The Foreign Secretary and I have also both paid tribute to journalists risking their lives to report in Gaza. Journalists covering conflicts and medical workers in conflict zones are afforded protection under humanitarian law. The media have a right to report freely, and we urge all parties to permit journalists to carry out their crucial role. The UK remains committed to media freedom and to championing democracy and human rights around the world. Independent media is essential to a functioning society and there must be safe access for journalists to conflict situations in order to independently cover events. We continue to engage with our Israeli counterparts on these issues, including when the Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 21 July to stress the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to implement a specialist pathway for people under the age of 35 with a cardiac abnormality detected on electrocardiogram.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages), that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and mandated guidelines and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. Further information on the Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf
NHS England has published a suite of national service specifications and standards for congenital heart disease, which define the standards of care expected from all organisations funded by NHS England, to support and improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with congenital cardiac problems.
There are no plans to publish further specific information on people under the age of 35 years old with cardiac abnormalities, over and above those who would be covered by the service specifications referenced above.
Data shows that in 2022, there were 939 people under the age of 35 years old who died due to heart and circulatory conditions. Further information, including historic data and a breakdown of death by high level condition, is available on the British Heart Failure website, at the following link:
NHS England does not hold the data for the number of deaths following out of hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs). The following table shows the number of cardiac arrest patients in England receiving an organised emergency medical services response, whether resuscitation was attempted, continued, terminated, or not attempted, the number where resuscitation was commenced or continued by an ambulance service, and the number of those with survival at 30 days, from 2020 to 2024:
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Cardiac arrest patients in England receiving an organised emergency medical services response, whether resuscitation was attempted, continued, terminated, or not attempted | 93,920 | 95,093 | 99,111 | 95,227 | 96,049 |
Number where resuscitation was commenced or continued by an Ambulance Service | 30,841 | 32,486 | 34,195 | 32,031 | 32,932 |
Number of those with survival at 30 days | 2,497 | 2,783 | 2,660 | 2,943 | 3,144 |
Source: NHS England’s Ambulance Quality Indicators, available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/
Notes:
Publicly available data on OHCAs can also be found on the University of Warwick’s out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes website, at the following link:
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/research/ctu/trials/ohcao/
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of people aged 14 to 35 who die each year as a result of a primarily cardiac health condition.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages), that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and mandated guidelines and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. Further information on the Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf
NHS England has published a suite of national service specifications and standards for congenital heart disease, which define the standards of care expected from all organisations funded by NHS England, to support and improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with congenital cardiac problems.
There are no plans to publish further specific information on people under the age of 35 years old with cardiac abnormalities, over and above those who would be covered by the service specifications referenced above.
Data shows that in 2022, there were 939 people under the age of 35 years old who died due to heart and circulatory conditions. Further information, including historic data and a breakdown of death by high level condition, is available on the British Heart Failure website, at the following link:
NHS England does not hold the data for the number of deaths following out of hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs). The following table shows the number of cardiac arrest patients in England receiving an organised emergency medical services response, whether resuscitation was attempted, continued, terminated, or not attempted, the number where resuscitation was commenced or continued by an ambulance service, and the number of those with survival at 30 days, from 2020 to 2024:
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Cardiac arrest patients in England receiving an organised emergency medical services response, whether resuscitation was attempted, continued, terminated, or not attempted | 93,920 | 95,093 | 99,111 | 95,227 | 96,049 |
Number where resuscitation was commenced or continued by an Ambulance Service | 30,841 | 32,486 | 34,195 | 32,031 | 32,932 |
Number of those with survival at 30 days | 2,497 | 2,783 | 2,660 | 2,943 | 3,144 |
Source: NHS England’s Ambulance Quality Indicators, available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/
Notes:
Publicly available data on OHCAs can also be found on the University of Warwick’s out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes website, at the following link:
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/research/ctu/trials/ohcao/
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) specialist bereavement support and (b) familial screening services for the family members of a person who died from a cardiac condition under the age of 35.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages), which covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and mandated guidelines and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. Further information on the Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf
Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and is delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs). The NHS GLHs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (the Test Directory), which includes tests for over 7000 rare diseases with an associated genetic cause and over 200 cancer clinical indications, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing. Further information on the Test Directory is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/national-genomic-test-directories/
A robust and evidence-based process and policy is in place to routinely review the Test Directory to ensure that genomic testing continues to be available for all patients for whom it would be of clinical benefit, while delivering value for money for the NHS. Further information on this process is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/genomics/the-national-genomic-test-directory/
Genomics has an important role to play in diagnosing and supporting the treatment and management of a number of cardiac conditions. The Test Directory sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing, as well as the genomic targets to be tested and the method that should be used, and this includes genomic testing for a number of conditions which affect the heart, such as testing for familial hypercholesteremia, cardiomyopathies, Long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, and others.