Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
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 6 July 2023 to Question 905961 on Gynaecology, if his Department collates statistics on the number of people who have undergone (a) virginity testing and (b) hymenoplasty.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Department does not hold statistics on the number of people who have undergone virginity testing and hymenoplasty.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
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 (a) awareness among and (b) training for primary healthcare professionals of the different clinical indicators presented by (i) women and (ii) men with aortic stenosis.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Department does not provide information on Aortic Stenosis. Local services in the National Health Service are responsible for providing information to patients on ways to reduce their risk of heart disease including Aortic Stenosis, including reference to the NHS website.
NHS England have considered research that has evidenced that women tend to present symptoms of Aortic Stenosis at an older age than men. Both men and women exhibit the same symptoms of aortic stenosis, with dizziness and breathlessness more common in women.
NHS England have recently published an adult breathlessness pathway tool for clinicians working in Primary Care. This will help support diagnosis of chronic breathlessness which is a more common symptom of Aortic Stenosis in women.
NHS England have developed and published a new heart failure and heart valve disease e-learning for healthcare (e-LfH) course for primary care and community and enable health care professionals to better recognise the symptoms of Aortic Stenosis in both men and women, and to diagnose, manage, and support heart failure and heart valve disease patient.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what action his Department is taking to improve the (a) information on and (b) resources for aortic stenosis provided to (i) women and (ii) primary healthcare professionals.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Department does not provide information on Aortic Stenosis. Local services in the National Health Service are responsible for providing information to patients on ways to reduce their risk of heart disease including Aortic Stenosis, including reference to the NHS website.
NHS England have considered research that has evidenced that women tend to present symptoms of Aortic Stenosis at an older age than men. Both men and women exhibit the same symptoms of aortic stenosis, with dizziness and breathlessness more common in women.
NHS England have recently published an adult breathlessness pathway tool for clinicians working in Primary Care. This will help support diagnosis of chronic breathlessness which is a more common symptom of Aortic Stenosis in women.
NHS England have developed and published a new heart failure and heart valve disease e-learning for healthcare (e-LfH) course for primary care and community and enable health care professionals to better recognise the symptoms of Aortic Stenosis in both men and women, and to diagnose, manage, and support heart failure and heart valve disease patient.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
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 help support local authorities to develop interventions to safeguard against female genital mutilation.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Data on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is collected in the FGM Enhanced Dataset by National Health Service healthcare providers in England. This dataset presents a national picture of the prevalence of FGM in England and supports work in the NHS to prevent and treat FGM. It is therefore a valuable information source supporting the identification, commissioning and management of FGM services locally.
The Home Office’s FGM Team provides a range of resources for frontline professionals. This consists of an FGM resource pack, which includes a section for local authorities, a free e-learning course, statutory multi-agency guidance and a range of communications materials.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a timeline for the start and anticipated finish date for the review into NICE guidelines on diagnosis and management of Endometriosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently conducted a surveillance review of its endometriosis guideline. On 3 November 2022, NICE confirmed that it will update the sections on diagnosing endometriosis, surgical management and surgical management, if fertility is a priority. NICE will also explore mental wellbeing and support for those with suspected or confirmed endometriosis during scoping of the update. The expected publication date of the updated guideline will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) gynaecology specialist nurses with expertise in endometriosis and (b) gynaecologists with expertise in (i) diagnosing and managing endometriosis and (ii) training and skills in laparoscopic surgery were working in the NHS as of 2 November 2022.
Answered by Will Quince
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of cancelled operations in Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough Constituency in the past 12 months.
Answered by Will Quince
This information is not collected in the format requested.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the potential merits of introducing guidelines on nonpharmacological ways to manage chronic pain related to endometriosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
There have been no recent discussions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body responsible for determining whether its published guidelines require updating in light of new evidence or emerging issues. NICE recently reviewed its guideline on endometriosis and published a surveillance review on 3 November 2022 which states that it will update the sections on diagnosing endometriosis, surgical management and surgical management if fertility is a priority. NICE will also further explore the topic of mental wellbeing and support for people with suspected or confirmed endometriosis during scoping of the update.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
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 fertility preservation for endometriosis patients is given parity with those who have ovarian removal for (a) cancer and (b) other causes.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for funding decisions for health services in England, based on the clinical needs of the local population. We expect ICBs to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines, ensuring equal access to fertility treatment and preservation in England.
NICE’s fertility guidelines currently includes those people with cancer who wish to preserve fertility. NICE is reviewing its fertility guidelines and will consider whether its recommendations for access to National Health Service-funded treatment and preservation are still appropriate. We expect that this review will be published in 2024.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
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 maternity healthcare for women with endometriosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
NHS England is committed to ensuring all women have a personalised care and support plan in place to explore the management of their health and wellbeing. These plans aim to identify and agree the appropriate personal maternity care for women with endometriosis.