Asked by: Eleanor Smith (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of deaths in England with a (a) primary and (b) secondary cause of malnutrition in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
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 plans he has to increase funding for research into the causes of obesity; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR has a large programme of work to look at the causes of obesity, in addition to research on prevention and treatment. The NIHR has invested £5 million over five years in an Obesity Policy Research Unit which has a programme of work to provide robust evidence and a deeper understanding of the causes of childhood obesity, including research on marketing, food environment and behaviour change.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including obesity; it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. 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: 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, with reference to NHS England’s Commissioning Excellent Nutrition and Hydration 2015-2018 guidance, what progress he has made on the commissioning of a workforce to undertake the (a) identification, (b) prevention and (c) intervention to reduce the burden of malnutrition and dehydration.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
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 his Department has made of NICE’s ability to offer interim conditional reimbursement decisions to gene therapies that would allow for real-world evidence generation to supplement the evidence base.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
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 of the Interim NHS People Plan’s conclusions on the recruitment of dermatologists in the NHS.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
It is the responsibility of National Health Service trusts to have staffing arrangements in place that deliver safe and effective care. This includes recruiting the appropriate professionals needed to support these levels and meet local needs.
Dermatology is a highly competitive specialty training pathway and often oversubscribed. Nationally and locally there has been a 100% fill rate in dermatology training for the past four years. Since 2010, the number of full-time equivalent dermatologists (doctors at the consultant grade) has increased by 26% rising from 464 in May 2010 to 584 in May 2019.
The interim NHS People Plan, published on 3 June 2019, puts the workforce at the heart of the NHS and will ensure we have the staff needed to deliver high quality care. In advance of publishing the final People Plan, the NHS will establish a national programme board to address geographical and specialty shortages in medicine.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2019 to Question 259387, what support and guidance his Department is providing to Wolverhampton CCG and Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust on recruiting more dermatologists.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
It is the responsibility of National Health Service trusts to have staffing arrangements in place that deliver safe and effective care. This includes recruiting the appropriate professionals needed to support these levels and meet local needs.
Dermatology is a highly competitive specialty training pathway and often oversubscribed. Nationally and locally there has been a 100% fill rate in dermatology training for the past four years. Since 2010, the number of full-time equivalent dermatologists (doctors at the consultant grade) has increased by 26% rising from 464 in May 2010 to 584 in May 2019.
The interim NHS People Plan, published on 3 June 2019, puts the workforce at the heart of the NHS and will ensure we have the staff needed to deliver high quality care. In advance of publishing the final People Plan, the NHS will establish a national programme board to address geographical and specialty shortages in medicine.
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 recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the specialist dermatologist workforce in the NHS.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
It is the responsibility of National Health Service trusts to have staffing arrangements in place that deliver safe and effective care. This includes recruiting the appropriate professionals needed to support these levels and meet local needs.
Dermatology is a highly competitive specialty training pathway and often oversubscribed. Nationally and locally there has been a 100% fill rate in dermatology training for the past four years. Since 2010, the number of full-time equivalent dermatologists (doctors at the consultant grade) has increased by 26% rising from 464 in May 2010 to 584 in May 2019.
The interim NHS People Plan, published on 3 June 2019, puts the workforce at the heart of the NHS and will ensure we have the staff needed to deliver high quality care. In advance of publishing the final People Plan, the NHS will establish a national programme board to address geographical and specialty shortages in medicine.
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 increase the number of GPs with a special interest in dermatology.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
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 plans NHS England has to implement gene therapy treatments.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, the National Health Service is committed to supporting the timely introduction of the most clinically and cost effective treatments for patients. Cell and gene therapies have the potential to provide great benefits for patients, and the NHS is leading the world in creating access to these treatments.
For example, patients in England were among the first in the world to benefit from CAR T cell therapy, which uses their own immune system to fight cancers. The NHS will also now be funding voretigene neparvovec, also known as Luxturna, a revolutionary form of new treatment for blindness in children.
The NHS is working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and other partners in the Accelerated Access Collaborative to take a proactive approach in preparing for cell and gene therapies and other innovative treatments.
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 recent assessment he has made of the appropriateness of the NICE criteria for assessing a patient's access to Spinraza.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.