Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 men who live in areas without (a) universally accessible and (b) fully NHS funded vasectomy services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the number of men who live in areas without universally accessible and fully National Health Service funded vasectomy services.
NHS vasectomy services in England are commissioned locally by integrated care boards. In most parts of the country, vasectomy is available free of charge from the NHS.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 improve early diagnosis for prostate cancer.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Prostate cancer patients are waiting too long for a diagnosis and treatment. We will improve cancer survival rates and hit all National Health Service cancer waiting time targets so no patient waits longer than they should.
We will find the best way to screen for prostate cancer. The Department is investing £16 million towards the Prostate Cancer UK-led TRANSFORM screening trial seeking to find ways to catch prostate cancer in men as early as possible.
Furthermore, we will support the NHS to transform diagnostic services by providing approximately £1.5 billion of capital funding in 2025/26 for new surgical hubs and diagnostic scanners, to build capacity for over 30,000 more procedures and 1.25 million diagnostic tests. £70 million will be invested on new radiotherapy machines, to improve cancer treatment.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 support the national prostate cancer screening programme.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is currently no national prostate cancer screening programme. This is because it is not recommended by the UK National Screening Committees (UK NSC) due to the inaccuracy of the current best test, called the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA). A PSA-based screening programme could harm some men, as many would be diagnosed with a cancer that would not have caused them problems during their life. This would lead to additional tests and treatments which can also have harmful side effects, for instance sexual dysfunction and incontinence.
The UK NSC is carrying out an evidence review for prostate cancer screening, which includes different potential ways of screening the whole population from 40 years of age onwards, and targeted screening programmes aimed at groups of men identified as being at higher-than-average risk, such as those with a family history, carriers of the BRCA2 gene mutation, and based on ethnicity.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing (a) free and (b) reduced-price sanitary products for women with PCOS and similar conditions.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to carry out an assessment of the potential merits of providing free or reduced-price sanitary products for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and other gynaecological conditions. The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health and improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for gynaecological conditions, including PCOS.
Since 2019, the National Health Service has offered period products to every hospital patient who needs them. In January 2020, the Department for Education launched a scheme which makes free period products available for state-funded primary schools, secondary schools, and colleges in England. Since 1 January 2021, a zero rate of VAT has applied to all period products.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of the proportion of bowel cancers diagnosed at each stage in the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Health Mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future. As part of that work, and in response to Lord Darzi’s report, we have launched an extensive programme of engagement to develop a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.
Lord Darzi’s independent investigation into the NHS highlighted that there is more to be done to increase the speed at which patients are diagnosed with and treated for cancer. His report will inform our 10-year plan to reform the NHS, which will include further details on how we will improve cancer diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes.
The NHS will maximise the pace of roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) and ensuring timely implementation of new CDC locations and upgrades to existing CDCs, with capacity prioritised for cancer diagnostics.
We are committed to getting the NHS diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases. This includes bowel cancer patients in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamshire.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to encourage earlier diagnosis of bowel cancer in the Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire Integrated Care Board region.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Health Mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future. As part of that work, and in response to Lord Darzi’s report, we have launched an extensive programme of engagement to develop a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.
Lord Darzi’s independent investigation into the NHS highlighted that there is more to be done to increase the speed at which patients are diagnosed with and treated for cancer. His report will inform our 10-year plan to reform the NHS, which will include further details on how we will improve cancer diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes.
The NHS will maximise the pace of roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) and ensuring timely implementation of new CDC locations and upgrades to existing CDCs, with capacity prioritised for cancer diagnostics.
We are committed to getting the NHS diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases. This includes bowel cancer patients in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamshire.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to test people diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer for the BRCA gene mutation.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service, and 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 (NGTD), which includes tests for over 7,000 rare diseases and over 200 cancer clinical indications, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing. The NGTD is updated regularly and sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing.
Genomic testing for inherited breast cancer is covered in the NGTD under clinical indications R208 and R444, and includes testing for a range of patients with triple negative breast cancer.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to ensure that people diagnosed with (a) triple negative breast cancer and (b) the BRCA gene mutation are offered genetic counselling.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs. Individuals should discuss with their healthcare professional whether genomic testing is appropriate for them. Following review, the healthcare professional will then make a decision whether to refer the individual either directly or via an NHS Clinical Genomics Service (CGS), or other relevant clinical speciality for genomic testing. The 17 NHS CGSs, commissioned by NHS England, deliver a comprehensive clinical genomic and counselling service that directs the diagnosis, risk assessment, and lifelong clinical management of patients of all ages and their families who have, or are at risk of having, a rare genetic or genomic condition.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to ensure that people with triple negative breast cancer have access to a clinical nurse specialist at the point of diagnosis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to training the staff we need, including clinical nurse specialists, to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.
We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places, including those involved in diagnosing and treating cancer, meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.
The Government has set out plans to publish a ten-year plan to reform the National Health Service. The plan will be informed by Lord Darzi’s report and will include further details on how we will improve cancer diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes, including for breast cancer.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 ensure that there are sufficient breast cancer clinical nurse specialists.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to training the staff we need, including clinical nurse specialists, to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.
We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places, including those involved in diagnosing and treating cancer, meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.
The Government has set out plans to publish a ten-year plan to reform the National Health Service. The plan will be informed by Lord Darzi’s report and will include further details on how we will improve cancer diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes, including for breast cancer.