Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she (a) has made and (b) plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of funding options to ensure the sustainability of T1DE services beyond the pilot phase.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Evaluation by the National Health Service of the initial Type 1 Diabetes with Disordered Eating service (T1DE) pilot sites, in London and Wessex, demonstrated a mean reduction in HbA1c of between 2.3% to 2.5%. Assuming that this level of reduction is maintained, the lifetime quality-adjusted life year gain of these services was estimated at 1.49, which would be cost effective up to a net lifetime cost of £29,800-£44,800.
In response to these initial evaluation findings, NHS England expanded the T1DE programme, supporting provision of new services in an additional five sites from September 2022, expanding coverage to more areas of the country. It is expected that these services will generate further evaluation data to consolidate these early findings, which can be used to inform national and local policy decisions.
NHS England is drawing on learning from existing T1DE services, other emerging evidence and the findings of the recent parliamentary inquiry, to ensure all areas of the country are supported to improve care for those identified as having T1DE. The emergence of these future plans are subject to future spending review settlements for the NHS and level of funding from the NHS England budget allocated to T1DE.
NHS England are also working closely with the first wave of pilot sites including London to ensure that the newer services can benefit from their learning and experience when considering local funding options in advance of March 2025, when the national funding for the five new sites will come to an end.
NHS England is assisting integrated care boards to develop local funding arrangements through the provision of evaluation data, a national programme of support workshops, and an online platform to share learning and good practice.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the cost-benefit analysis of the T1DE pilot schemes carried out by NHS England.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Evaluation by the National Health Service of the initial Type 1 Diabetes with Disordered Eating service (T1DE) pilot sites, in London and Wessex, demonstrated a mean reduction in HbA1c of between 2.3% to 2.5%. Assuming that this level of reduction is maintained, the lifetime quality-adjusted life year gain of these services was estimated at 1.49, which would be cost effective up to a net lifetime cost of £29,800-£44,800.
In response to these initial evaluation findings, NHS England expanded the T1DE programme, supporting provision of new services in an additional five sites from September 2022, expanding coverage to more areas of the country. It is expected that these services will generate further evaluation data to consolidate these early findings, which can be used to inform national and local policy decisions.
NHS England is drawing on learning from existing T1DE services, other emerging evidence and the findings of the recent parliamentary inquiry, to ensure all areas of the country are supported to improve care for those identified as having T1DE. The emergence of these future plans are subject to future spending review settlements for the NHS and level of funding from the NHS England budget allocated to T1DE.
NHS England are also working closely with the first wave of pilot sites including London to ensure that the newer services can benefit from their learning and experience when considering local funding options in advance of March 2025, when the national funding for the five new sites will come to an end.
NHS England is assisting integrated care boards to develop local funding arrangements through the provision of evaluation data, a national programme of support workshops, and an online platform to share learning and good practice.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of targeted awareness campaigns for young people on the five main warning signs and symptoms of cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce has been set up to progress the Government’s mission to deliver world-leading cancer services. This dedicated work focusing on cancers affecting children and young people will explore detection and diagnosis, including improving awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer in young people, as well as genomic testing and treatment, and research and innovation.
NHS England is focused on accelerating earlier and faster cancer diagnosis to achieve the NHS Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of people at an early stage by 2028. NHS England’s comprehensive strategy includes raising awareness of cancer symptoms, tackling barriers to help-seeking, and encouraging people to get checked. Targeted awareness campaigns such as Help Us, Help You are a crucial component of this work. The campaigns address specific symptoms, including those linked to common, rare, and less-common cancers, cancer screening, and the fear-related barriers to seeking help from the National Health Service across all cancer types.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve awareness of the (a) signs and (b) symptoms of cancer in young people.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce has been set up to progress the Government’s mission to deliver world-leading cancer services. This dedicated work focusing on cancers affecting children and young people will explore detection and diagnosis, including improving awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer in young people, as well as genomic testing and treatment, and research and innovation.
NHS England is focused on accelerating earlier and faster cancer diagnosis to achieve the NHS Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of people at an early stage by 2028. NHS England’s comprehensive strategy includes raising awareness of cancer symptoms, tackling barriers to help-seeking, and encouraging people to get checked. Targeted awareness campaigns such as Help Us, Help You are a crucial component of this work. The campaigns address specific symptoms, including those linked to common, rare, and less-common cancers, cancer screening, and the fear-related barriers to seeking help from the National Health Service across all cancer types.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with (a) NICE and (b) NHS England on encouraging the adoption of new treatments for (i) sickle cell disease and (ii) beta-thalassaemia.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department regularly discusses a range of issues with colleagues in NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), related to patient access to new treatments.
The NICE appraises all new licensed medicines, and its recommendations are developed independently in line with its established methods and processes, on the basis of an assessment of the available evidence, and through extensive engagement with stakeholders. NHS England is legally required to fund treatments recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with the (a) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and (b) Chancellor of the Exchequer on the application of NICE's evaluation methods to support value assessment for one-off curative treatments for which health gains are accrued over time.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Department officials regularly discuss a range of issues with colleagues in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and HM Treasury. The NICE is responsible for the methods and processes it uses to develop its recommendations, and concluded a comprehensive review of the methods and processes it uses for health technology evaluation, in January 2022. The NICE carried out the review through extensive engagement with stakeholders, including officials within the Department. The NICE introduced a number of changes that make its methods fairer, faster, more consistent, and appropriate to the evaluation of emerging new technologies, such as cell and gene therapies.
The NICE is monitoring the impact of the changes following the methods review and has committed to considering modular updates to its methods and processes in the future, including a planned update focussed on health inequalities in 2024. The NICE has been able to recommend several advanced therapeutic medicinal products, including one-off gene therapies, for National Health Service funding that are now available to NHS patients in line with NICE’s recommendations.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with NICE on developing its methodologies to ensure future access to (a) innovative one-time treatments and (b) cell and genetic therapies.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Department officials regularly discuss a range of issues with colleagues in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and HM Treasury. The NICE is responsible for the methods and processes it uses to develop its recommendations, and concluded a comprehensive review of the methods and processes it uses for health technology evaluation, in January 2022. The NICE carried out the review through extensive engagement with stakeholders, including officials within the Department. The NICE introduced a number of changes that make its methods fairer, faster, more consistent, and appropriate to the evaluation of emerging new technologies, such as cell and gene therapies.
The NICE is monitoring the impact of the changes following the methods review and has committed to considering modular updates to its methods and processes in the future, including a planned update focussed on health inequalities in 2024. The NICE has been able to recommend several advanced therapeutic medicinal products, including one-off gene therapies, for National Health Service funding that are now available to NHS patients in line with NICE’s recommendations.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on updates in the way that it assesses medicines that reduce health inequalities.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Department officials regularly discuss a range of issues with colleagues in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and HM Treasury. The NICE is responsible for the methods and processes it uses to develop its recommendations, and concluded a comprehensive review of the methods and processes it uses for health technology evaluation, in January 2022. The NICE carried out the review through extensive engagement with stakeholders, including officials within the Department. The NICE introduced a number of changes that make its methods fairer, faster, more consistent, and appropriate to the evaluation of emerging new technologies, such as cell and gene therapies.
The NICE is monitoring the impact of the changes following the methods review and has committed to considering modular updates to its methods and processes in the future, including a planned update focussed on health inequalities in 2024. The NICE has been able to recommend several advanced therapeutic medicinal products, including one-off gene therapies, for National Health Service funding that are now available to NHS patients in line with NICE’s recommendations.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of patients with type 1 diabetes use (a) finger-pricking monitoring and (b) continuous monitoring to track their glucose levels.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Standard care for type 1 diabetes involves regularly measuring blood glucose levels by self-monitoring, blood testing, or by using a continuous glucose monitor, real-time or intermittently scanned.
The NHS Long Term Plan committed that 20% of people with type 1 diabetes would benefit from life changing flash glucose monitors. Data to quarter three of 2022/23 shows that 73% of people with type 1 diabetes were prescribed flash glucose monitoring, against the 20% target. As a result of the recent National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance that also recommended that insulin dependent patients with type 2 diabetes should benefit from flash or continuous glucose monitoring devices, we are now starting to see a growth in prescribing within the type 2 diabetes patient group.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of patients with type 1 diabetes use real time continuous glucose monitoring to manage their diabetes.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Standard care for type 1 diabetes involves regularly measuring blood glucose levels by self-monitoring, blood testing, or by using a continuous glucose monitor, real-time or intermittently scanned.
The NHS Long Term Plan committed that 20% of people with type 1 diabetes would benefit from life changing flash glucose monitors. Data to quarter three of 2022/23 shows that 73% of people with type 1 diabetes were prescribed flash glucose monitoring, against the 20% target. As a result of the recent National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance that also recommended that insulin dependent patients with type 2 diabetes should benefit from flash or continuous glucose monitoring devices, we are now starting to see a growth in prescribing within the type 2 diabetes patient group.