Asked by: Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason there is a shortage of the drug Trulicity in the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has been working with Eli Lilly to address issues with access to glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) for type 2 diabetics. Issues with the supply of Trulicity (dulaglutide) have been driven by an increase in global demand. We have worked closely with Eli Lilly during this time to try to minimise risks to patients in the United Kingdom. As a result, patients stabilised on Trulicity (dulaglutide) should be able to continue to obtain their medicine. The supply of Trulicity will be intermittent throughout 2024 and patients are advised to speak to their prescriber if they have any concerns.
We issued updated guidance to healthcare professionals, in the form of a National Patient Safety Alert, on 3 January 2024, on how to manage patients requiring these medicines.
Our guidance is clear that GLP-1RAs that are solely licensed to treat type 2 diabetes should only be used for that purpose and should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss. The General Pharmaceutical Council, General Medical Council, Health and Care Professions Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland have also issued a joint statement stressing the importance of health and care professionals meeting regulatory standards in relation to these medicines.
Asked by: Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is his policy to develop a strategy for the elimination of cervical cancer.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, we are increasing the uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) target of 90% through dedicated immunisation teams in schools where a 100% offer is made to all school-aged children eligible for these vaccinations. Annually, HPV vaccines are promoted to university students as they start the Autumn term, and NHS England are planning a further HPV awareness campaign.
The NHS Cervical Screening Programme already aligns with the WHO’s target of 70% of women screened using a high-performance test by 35 and 45 years old. Work is ongoing to improve this beyond the WHO target, through exploration into screening self-sampling via the YouScreen and HPValidate research.
A range of improvements and innovations have been brought in to help improve uptake in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. For example, in some Primary Care Network areas, appointments can now be made in any Primary Care setting, during evenings and on weekends, via integrated sexual health clinics.
There is currently no intention to publish a plan detailing these programmes.
Asked by: Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish a workforce strategy for the NHS.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government has committed to publishing a workforce plan this year, which will include independently verified forecasts for the number of healthcare professionals required in future years, taking account of improvements in retention and productivity. This plan will help ensure that we have the right numbers of staff, with the right skills to transform and deliver high quality services fit for the future.
Asked by: Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mechanisms his Department uses to measure daily covid-19 testing data; and how many tests his Department records on average each day.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Daily data on COVID-19 testing includes the numbers of new confirmed positive, negative or void test results for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and lateral flow device (LFD) tests. For PCR tests, data is recorded by the date the sample was collected from the individual and results are reported via the laboratory or facility processing the test. For LFD tests, data is also recorded by the date the sample was taken. However, LFD tests do not require laboratory processing and results are self-reported via GOV.UK or 119. Organisations may also report LFD test results directly via the Point of Care Testing portal.
The Department holds data on virus tests reported in England over a rolling seven-day average. For the latest seven-day period ending 21 June 2022, the average number of tests reported daily was 199,350.3.
Asked by: Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the application process is for research funding from the National institute for Health and Care research and UKRI.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There is no single application route for funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research and UK Research and Innovation. Application routes are specific to the relevant research funding call and may vary. The most common approach is the submission of an application to an open research call with all remits, funding criteria and application advertised publicly. Once submitted, these applications are subject to independent peer review.
Asked by: Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any of the Government's neurodegenerative research fund is being allocated to paediatric research.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government has committed to invest £375 million in neurodegenerative disease research over the next five years. The Government will provide this funding through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The NIHR and UKRI rely on researchers submitting high-quality applications to access funding, therefore details of specific allocations for paediatric research are not currently available. All applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
Asked by: Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress he has made on the proposed Sutton hospital and its timetable for development; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
A new hospital scheme for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust forms part of the Government’s commitment to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030. The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with all schemes in the programme on the timetable for delivery over the decade. We continue to discuss the development of the plans with Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. All schemes within the new hospital programme will follow the usual business case process, including being reviewed and agreed with HM Treasury.
Asked by: Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the Government will not recognise covid-19 vaccine records from Sri Lanka.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We are taking a phased approach to our inbound vaccination programme with other countries and territories, building on the success of the pilot with the United States and Europe. Vaccine certification between countries and territories varies and we are ensuring that certificates and apps meet our minimum requirements on content and that carriers are clear about the certification we will accept. Sri Lanka’s vaccine certification will be considered in the future expansion of the policy.
Asked by: Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the level of inpatient hospitalisations of people reported to be infected with the covid-19 virus who had been identified as having had that virus prior to submitting themselves for admission to hospital.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public Health England (PHE) has made no specific assessment.
However, data on the number of people who are hospitalised due to COVID-19 is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-hospital-activity/
Asked by: Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many new GPs have entered primary care in the last two years.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of March 2021, there were 536 more full time equivalent doctors working in general practice compared to March 2019.
NHS England and NHS Improvement and Health Education England are working with the profession to increase the general practice workforce in England. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encourage them to return to practice. A record 3,793 doctors accepted a place in general practitioner (GP) specialty training in 2020/21, against a target of 3,500. From 2021, the Government has committed to increasing the number of GP training places to 4,000 a year.