Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
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 extend fracture liaison services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Fracture Liaison Services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which are well-placed to make decisions according to local need.
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.
Officials continue to work closely with NHS England to explore a range of options to provide better quality and access to these important preventative services.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
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 NHSE informs ICBs, practitioners and Regional Pharmacists about amendments to the liothyronine (T3) section in the guidance document entitled Items which should not routinely be prescribed in primary care.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Regional chief pharmacists have been informed of the changes made to the liothyronine section, including Armour Thyroid and liothyronine combination products, of the ‘items that should not be prescribed in primary care’ policy guidance via email. They have been asked to cascade this information through their integrated care board’s regional networks.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to make weight loss medications available to people living with obesity who are unable to afford them privately and who fall below the weight threshold required for NHS prescription as a result of using the medication.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our 10-Year Health Plan highlights the risk that these medicines will be accessed by those who can pay over those with the highest clinical need. The plan makes a commitment to expand access on the National Health Service through innovative industry partnerships, delivering weight loss services and treatments to patients. Continuing to make these medicines more widely available on the NHS will help reduce inequalities in access.
NHS access is being prioritised for those with the highest clinical need first. NHS England has worked with clinical experts, integrated care boards, patient and public representatives, healthcare professionals, charities, and royal colleges on its prioritisation approach, which is set out in its interim commissioning guidance and available at the following link:
We do not currently have plans to make these medicines available to those who have fallen below the weight threshold required for NHS prescription as a result of using the medication privately. For patients prescribed these medicines by the NHS, they will continue to receive these medicines for as long as clinically appropriate.
For those not currently eligible for weight loss medications, there are a variety of weight management services provided by the NHS and local government. These range from multi-component behavioural programmes to specialist services for those living with severe obesity and associated co-morbidities.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
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 potential implications for his policies of the report by the Patient Safety Commissioner entitled The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
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 potential merits of compensating (a) people and (b) families of people with Foetal Valproate Syndrome.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken with the British Dental Association to make changes to the dental contract.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability.
Ministers meet regularly with external stakeholders on a variety of topics, including, but not limited to, dentistry. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly in arrears on the GOV.UK website.
We are continuing to meet the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for National Health Service dental patients.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he last met with the British Dental Association.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability.
Ministers meet regularly with external stakeholders on a variety of topics, including, but not limited to, dentistry. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly in arrears on the GOV.UK website.
We are continuing to meet the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for National Health Service dental patients.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's timeline is for publishing its plan for Fracture Liaison Services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Fracture Liaison Services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which are well-placed to make decisions according to local need.
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on creating a treatment pathway for children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in the NHS.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including treatment pathways and support for foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. The Department asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to produce a quality standard in England for FASD to help providers and commissioners improve both diagnosis and support for people affected by FASD. This includes guidance on individualised management plans, which help to coordinate care across a range of healthcare professionals, as well as education and social services, to improve outcomes. The quality standard also covers support during pregnancy to improve awareness and prevent the disorder. The quality standard was published in March 2022, and is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs204
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of in-community support for children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including treatment pathways and support for foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. The Department asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to produce a quality standard in England for FASD to help providers and commissioners improve both diagnosis and support for people affected by FASD. This includes guidance on individualised management plans, which help to coordinate care across a range of healthcare professionals, as well as education and social services, to improve outcomes. The quality standard also covers support during pregnancy to improve awareness and prevent the disorder. The quality standard was published in March 2022, and is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs204