Asked by: Eleanor Smith (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what cancer types will be offered whole genome sequencing through the Genomic Medicine Service as part of routine care in the next five years.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, the National Health Service has committed to sequencing 500,000 whole genomes by 2023/24.
During 2019, whole genome sequencing will be available as part of routine NHS clinical care for some patients with rare disease and cancer, where there is evidence that it is clinically effective. The conditions are outlined in the National Genomic Test Directory which specifies which genomic tests are commissioned by the NHS in England, the technology by which they are available, and the patients who will be eligible to access to a test. This is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/national-genomic-test-directories/
Asked by: Eleanor Smith (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
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 consult with charities and patient organisations on whole genome sequencing.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Genomics England has consulted charities, patient groups and participants from the 100,000 Genomes Project during the development of consent materials for the use of data from whole genome sequencing in research. Genomics England has also engaged with and sought input from charities and participants as it explores how best to realise the ambition to sequence five million genomes.
The NHS Genomic Medicine Centres established by NHS England to support the delivery of the 100,000 Genomes project have engaged with patients, the public and the independent sector. In addition, as part of the development of the NHS Genomic Medicine Service, NHS England is working with charities and patient organisation to help develop patient facing materials and information that will be used to support the introduction of whole genome sequencing in the National Health Service.
The Government is committed to making the United Kingdom home of genomic healthcare and the National Genomic Healthcare Strategy, which we plan to launch in autumn 2019, will set out how the genomics community can work together to make the UK the global leader. The Government is consulting widely - including with charities and patient organisations - in the development of the National Genomics Healthcare Strategy.
Asked by: Eleanor Smith (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department is providing to (a) Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and (b) other local NHS Trusts who are exploring redesigning dermatology services towards the community; and what steps he will take to ensure patient access to dermatology services is maintained.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The commissioning and configuration of dermatology services in England is a local matter. The local National Health Service is best placed to make decisions that ensure services meet the needs of resident populations in the most appropriate way.
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning the vast majority of dermatology services. The majority of patients with dermatological disorders are managed in primary and community care. Wolverhampton CCG is currently re-procuring its community dermatology service which will encompass an extended range of services. This procurement has been undertaken with the knowledge and co-operation of Royal Wolverhampton Trust. The Royal Wolverhampton Trust is also exploring with other trusts how to make the best use of scarce dermatology staff by working with each other more closely.
Asked by: Eleanor Smith (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
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 engage frontline staff in shaping the implementation and delivery of the Workforce Strategy; and what further work is planned to examine (a) dermatology and (b) other specific specialities as part of that strategy.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The National Health Service published its interim People Plan on 3 June. It sets out a plan of action to meet the long-term challenges of supply, reform, culture and leadership, and puts NHS people at the heart of NHS policy and delivery.
In developing this plan, the NHS has engaged widely with staff, patients, employers, professional organisations, regulatory bodies, voluntary sector, academia and other experts.
In advance of publishing the final People Plan, the NHS will establish a national programme board to address geographical and specialty shortages in medicine. We expect the final People Plan to be published soon after the Spending Review.
Asked by: Eleanor Smith (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
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 the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of adequate levels of NHS staff in cancer pathology units.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
Health Education England (HEE) published the Cancer Workforce Plan for England in December 2017, which committed to the expansion of capacity and skills of the cancer workforce, including an ambition to attract and retain more cancer specialists, including histopathologists, by 2021. In 2019, 100% of specialist pathology training places, including histopathology, were filled.
Following the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan in January 2019, HEE is now working with NHS England and NHS Improvement to understand the longer-term workforce implications for the further development of cancer services.
Locally, responsibility for assessing and managing staffing levels, including specialty staff, rests with individual NHS trusts who are best placed to decide how many staff they need to provide a given service.
Asked by: Eleanor Smith (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
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 effect on patients of the decommissioning of tier three and tier four weight management services by Clinical Commissioning Groups; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Steve Brine
The requested information is not held centrally. No assessment has been made of the effect on patients of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) decommissioning tier 3 and tier 4 weight management services. CCGs have a statutory responsibility to commission services which meet the healthcare needs of their local population.
Asked by: Eleanor Smith (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Clinical Commissioning Groups include weight management services on their list of procedures of limited clinical value.
Answered by Steve Brine
The requested information is not held centrally. No assessment has been made of the effect on patients of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) decommissioning tier 3 and tier 4 weight management services. CCGs have a statutory responsibility to commission services which meet the healthcare needs of their local population.
Asked by: Eleanor Smith (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the number of people with obesity in (a) England and (b) each Clinical Commissioning Group area by (i) age and (ii) gender for each of the last five calendar years.
Answered by Steve Brine
NHS Digital has advised that obesity data for children and adults in England by age and gender for each of the last five years is available in the Health Survey for England. This information is attached. Data is not available by clinical commissioning group.
Asked by: Eleanor Smith (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time was for bariatric surgery in each NHS trust in each of the last five calendar years; and how much has each trust paid in penalties incurred as a result of those waiting lists in each of those years.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The requested data is not centrally collected.
Asked by: Eleanor Smith (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will develop a national obesity strategy for adults and children.
Answered by Steve Brine
There are no current plans to develop a national obesity strategy for adults and children. Many of the key measures in both chapters of our childhood obesity plan will have an impact on tackling obesity across all age groups. These include the soft drinks industry levy, sugar reduction and wider calorie reformulation programme, restricting promotions and calorie labelling in restaurants which will improve our eating habits and reduce the amount of sugar we consume.