Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 reduce waiting times for primary breast cancer diagnosis by increasing the mammography capacity of the NHS.
Answered by James Morris
We have committed £2.3 billion to increase the volume of diagnostic activity and launch up to 160 community diagnostic centres by March 2025 to reduce waiting times for clinical tests. This investment will also increase capacity in mammography for symptomatic patients, with funding determined imaging network bids, which are currently being developed.
NHS England will ensure that 75% of patients who have been urgently referred by their general practitioner for suspected cancer will be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days by March 2024.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on developing a new ten-year plan to help tackle dementia.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We will set out plans for dementia in England shortly.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 29 March 2022 to Question 146652 on Breast Cancer: Screening, what steps his Department plans to take this year to increase uptake of breast screening in areas and amongst communities with historically lower levels of uptake.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
In 2022/23, National Health Service regional commissioners will work with Cancer Alliances and charities to develop regional uptake improvement plans. This will include incorporating the lessons learned from the successful COVID-19 vaccination programme in achieving a high uptake among disadvantaged communities.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 regular testing and post-treatment follow-up of hepatitis C in (a) drug services, (b) pharmacies and (c) sexual health services.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Community Pharmacy Hepatitis C Antibody Testing Service ensures that people who inject drugs who are not currently accessing community drug and alcohol treatment services can be tested for hepatitis C (HCV) at a participating community pharmacy. This service has recently been extended until at least March 2023. Where individuals test positive for HCV antibodies, they will be referred for appropriate further testing and treatment via the relevant NHS Operational Delivery Network.
Within drug services, a new micro-elimination criteria accompanied by guidance from NHS England encourages providers to increase rates of HCV testing and ensure engagement in treatment for any patients testing positive. The National Health Service has recently established an opt-out HCV testing pilot in sexual health services. The pilot has shown the benefit of HCV testing in sexual health services is limited, with large number of tests being required to find a small number of cases at rates no higher than observed in the general population. However, any positive tests in sexual health services are directed to clinical treatment and followed up to confirm a sustained virological response at 12, 24 and 48 weeks post-treatment.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the publication of the report by the Hepatitis C Trust and HCV Action on Reframing Reinfection in March 2022, what steps he is taking to understand and address the needs of people with complex needs who are not yet being reached, diagnosed and treated for Hepatitis C.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes an annual report which summarises the prevalence of hepatitis C infection in England and areas for action. This includes estimates of re-infection following treatment and how this should be addressed, such as annual testing for those most at risk in line with guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The latest report ‘Hepatitis C in England 2022: Working to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health problem’ is available at the following link:
NHS England’s hepatitis C elimination programme has approximately 40 elimination initiatives aimed at identifying patients, testing, prevention and treatment. The programme is now focusing on those who may be unaware that they have historically been ‘at risk’, through testing in emergency departments, antenatal services and primary care.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 access to NHS Dentistry in Carshalton and Wallington constituency.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with stakeholders, including the British Dental Association, to improve the National Health Service dental system, with negotiations are currently underway on initial measures. This aims to improve patient access, reduce health inequalities and make the NHS a more attractive place to work for dentists, including in Carshalton and Wallington. We will a provide a timetable for implementation when these negotiations conclude.
Between April and June 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked practices to deliver at least 95% of contracted units of dental activity to safely improve access for patients.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 NHS England prioritises dementia within the refreshed NHS Long Term Plan and new National Dementia Strategy; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The updated NHS Long Term Plan is expected to be published later this year and discussions on its content are continuing. We will set out plans for dementia in England for the next 10 years later this year, including on diagnosis, risk reduction and prevention and research. The strategy will include ambitions for research to develop new disease-modifying treatments.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 extent of backlogs in elective surgery at (a) the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust and (b) the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
As of March 2022, there were 44,286 patients waiting for elective treatment at the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, of which 193 waited over 52 weeks and two waited more than 104 weeks. In March 2022, there were 1,502 patients waiting for elective treatment at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, of which six waited over 52 weeks. No patients waited more than 104 weeks.
The Department is investing more than £8 billion over the next three years to increase elective activity and reduce waiting lists. This is in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available to systems in 2021/22. This funding could deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million further checks, scans and procedures and aims to deliver 30% more elective activity by 2024/25 compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his revised timetable is for the delivery of the new specialist emergency care hospital in Sutton.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The new hospitals programme is working with Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust on a plan and timetable for a new specialist emergency care hospital in Sutton.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 length of time that patients transported to the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust by ambulance (a) have to wait for an ambulance to arrive and (b) remain waiting in an ambulance before being admitted into A&E.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
No specific assessment has been made as this information is not collected centrally.
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust is improving ambulance handover times through monitoring ambulance arrivals and waiting times. Dedicated areas for patients awaiting a trolley have been established to allow ambulance crews to respond to calls. The Trust has monthly meetings with London Ambulance Service and South East Coast Ambulance Service to review handover times and a standard operating procedure to support ambulance handovers to the urgent treatment centre and same day emergency care service for appropriate patients has been established.