Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 Baroness Casey on how sector stakeholders can engage with the commission on adult social care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, engages with Baroness Louise Casey regularly on a number of issues, including adult social care.
On 8 September, my Rt. Hon. Friend attended cross-party discussions, chaired by Baroness Casey, with representatives from political parties.
Over the coming months, the commission will start a national conversation by inviting members of the public, people drawing on care and support, and organisations to submit evidence and to share their stories and ideas for improvement of the existing adult social care system. The commission will set out more details in due course.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 potential impact of adult social care on supporting people of working age into the labour market.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Adult social care plays a vital role and directly supports people of working age to enter, remain in, or return to employment, and ultimately to maintain people’s independence. By ensuring individuals receive the right care in the right place at the right time, they are better able to contribute to society through employment, volunteering, or other forms of participation. To support working aged people into the labour market, earnings from employment are specifically disregarded from financial assessments, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2672/regulation/14
This is to ensure that working aged adults who are in employment are able to retain their earnings in full, and supplement their income, in addition to retaining the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) after being charged for their social care.
The Government also recognises the importance of supporting unpaid carers. Access to appropriate support, such as respite care, is important to help carers maintain their own wellbeing and avoid burnout, which can otherwise lead to withdrawal from the workforce. To support this, we are committed to reviewing the implementation of Carer’s Leave and examining the benefits of introducing paid Carer’s Leave.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 (a) help ensure that NHS skin cancer referrals are completed within the 14-day target and (b) address the backlog in Farnham and Bordon constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is supporting the National Health Service in taking steps to reduce the time taken from referral to diagnosis of cancer, including skin cancer.
As a first step, NHS England published guidance for local health and care systems and providers across England to achieve the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) titled Implementing a timed skin cancer diagnostic pathway. The FDS pathway ensures patients receive a diagnosis of cancer, or rule out cancer, within 28 days of referral, as per the cancer waiting time standard.
Since 2023/24, NHS England has been rolling out teledermatology services, which allow virtual reviews of dermoscopic images, to support achieving faster diagnosis. In providers where these have been fully implemented, improvements in workforce capacity have been seen, in some cases doubling the number of patients that can be reviewed per clinic, and improving FDS performance.
Additionally, NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) national report has provided recommendations to encourage the wider use of technology to ensure skin cancer patients get faster and more equitable access to care.
In July, a report was published by NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board (ICB), which covers services in Farham and Bordon constituency, providing an update on elective care and cancer backlogs across the ICB. The report included steps taken to address the backlog, which included:
- the trust holding weekly meetings to review long waiters, cancer patients, validation and prioritisation;
- the use of more technology to improve appointments;
- supporting patients while they wait; and
- opening a new community diagnostic centre.
The report is available at the following link:
Finally, the forthcoming National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of a pathway including from referral to diagnosis.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding has been allocated under the NHS 10-Year Plan to support cardiac screening programmes for young people.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the United Kingdom, national screening programmes are introduced based on the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which advises ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries on all aspects of population and targeted screening and which supports implementation.
The UK NSC last reviewed screening for sudden cardiac death in people under the age of 39 years old in 2019, and concluded that population screening should not be offered. Further information is available at the following link:
https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/sudden-cardiac-death/
The UK NSC is currently examining the evidence for this condition and will open a public consultation to seek comments from members of the public and stakeholders on this in due course. Further information, including on how to keep up to date on the work of the UK NSC, is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-national-screening-committee
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 the potential impact of proactive cardiac screening on preventing sudden cardiac deaths among young people.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the United Kingdom, national screening programmes are introduced based on the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which advises ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries on all aspects of population and targeted screening and which supports implementation.
The UK NSC last reviewed screening for sudden cardiac death in people under the age of 39 years old in 2019, and concluded that population screening should not be offered. Further information is available at the following link:
https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/sudden-cardiac-death/
The UK NSC is currently examining the evidence for this condition and will open a public consultation to seek comments from members of the public and stakeholders on this in due course. Further information, including on how to keep up to date on the work of the UK NSC, is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-national-screening-committee
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 access to cardiac screening for young people with no prior symptoms of heart conditions.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the United Kingdom, national screening programmes are introduced based on the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which advises ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries on all aspects of population and targeted screening and which supports implementation.
The UK NSC last reviewed screening for sudden cardiac death in people under the age of 39 years old in 2019, and concluded that population screening should not be offered. Further information is available at the following link:
https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/sudden-cardiac-death/
The UK NSC is currently examining the evidence for this condition and will open a public consultation to seek comments from members of the public and stakeholders on this in due course. Further information, including on how to keep up to date on the work of the UK NSC, is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-national-screening-committee
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to support wider access to cardiac screening provided by (a) Cardiac Risk in the Young and (b) other charities.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the United Kingdom, national screening programmes are introduced based on the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which advises ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries on all aspects of population and targeted screening and which supports implementation.
The UK NSC last reviewed screening for sudden cardiac death in people under the age of 39 years old in 2019, and concluded that population screening should not be offered. Further information is available at the following link:
https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/sudden-cardiac-death/
The UK NSC is currently examining the evidence for this condition and will open a public consultation to seek comments from members of the public and stakeholders on this in due course. Further information, including on how to keep up to date on the work of the UK NSC, is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-national-screening-committee
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 young people diagnosed with heart conditions receive appropriate (a) lifestyle advice, (b) treatment and (c) follow-up care to prevent cardiac arrest.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Most cases of sudden cardiac death (SCD) are related to undetected cardiovascular disease. In the younger population, SCD is often due to congenital heart defects. Given this, genomics has an important role to play in diagnosing and supporting the treatment and management of a number of cardiac conditions. The National Genomic Test Directory sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing as well as the genomic targets to be tested and the method that should be used, and this includes genomic testing for a number of conditions which affect the heart, including, for example, testing for familial hypercholesteremia (FH), cardiomyopathies, Long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, and others. Further information on the National Genomic Test Directory is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/national-genomic-test-directories/
The 10-Year Health Plan includes a commitment to establish a genomics population health service, accessible to all by the end of the decade. Further information on the 10-Year Health Plan is available at the following link:
The genomics population health service will be key to delivering a number of other commitments in the 10-Year Health Plan, including: expanding the National Health Service whole genome sequencing programme, with a focus on risks in relation to common disease areas including cardiovascular disease; expanding genomic testing for inherited causes of major diseases to allow earlier detection and intervention, including cardiovascular disease predisposition, for example due to FH; and beginning to integrate genomic insights into cardiovascular disease prevention and care through a service evaluation, with Our Future Health implementing Integrated Risk Scores.
NHS England has published a national service specification for inherited cardiac conditions for all ages, that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease or families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. The service specification is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf
This describes the service model and mandated guidelines and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. NHS England has also published a suite of national service specifications and standards for congenital heart disease (CHD), which define the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England, to support and improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with congenital cardiac problems. The standards for CHD are available at the following link:
NHS England works closely with the Congenital Heart Networks to support work to maintain and monitor elective CHD surgery activity, waiting lists, and waiting times across England, noting that there are interdependencies with critical care capacity. NHS England’s Clinical Reference Group (CRG) has identified that there is scope for improvement in antenatal diagnosis rates for congenital heart defects, and has established a workstream to understand the causes of variation in foetal cardiology services across England. The CRG is also working closely with relevant professional organisations and charities to develop a national workforce strategy for CHD.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 the number of young sudden cardiac deaths through the 10 Year Health Plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Most cases of sudden cardiac death (SCD) are related to undetected cardiovascular disease. In the younger population, SCD is often due to congenital heart defects. Given this, genomics has an important role to play in diagnosing and supporting the treatment and management of a number of cardiac conditions. The National Genomic Test Directory sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing as well as the genomic targets to be tested and the method that should be used, and this includes genomic testing for a number of conditions which affect the heart, including, for example, testing for familial hypercholesteremia (FH), cardiomyopathies, Long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, and others. Further information on the National Genomic Test Directory is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/national-genomic-test-directories/
The 10-Year Health Plan includes a commitment to establish a genomics population health service, accessible to all by the end of the decade. Further information on the 10-Year Health Plan is available at the following link:
The genomics population health service will be key to delivering a number of other commitments in the 10-Year Health Plan, including: expanding the National Health Service whole genome sequencing programme, with a focus on risks in relation to common disease areas including cardiovascular disease; expanding genomic testing for inherited causes of major diseases to allow earlier detection and intervention, including cardiovascular disease predisposition, for example due to FH; and beginning to integrate genomic insights into cardiovascular disease prevention and care through a service evaluation, with Our Future Health implementing Integrated Risk Scores.
NHS England has published a national service specification for inherited cardiac conditions for all ages, that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease or families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. The service specification is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf
This describes the service model and mandated guidelines and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. NHS England has also published a suite of national service specifications and standards for congenital heart disease (CHD), which define the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England, to support and improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with congenital cardiac problems. The standards for CHD are available at the following link:
NHS England works closely with the Congenital Heart Networks to support work to maintain and monitor elective CHD surgery activity, waiting lists, and waiting times across England, noting that there are interdependencies with critical care capacity. NHS England’s Clinical Reference Group (CRG) has identified that there is scope for improvement in antenatal diagnosis rates for congenital heart defects, and has established a workstream to understand the causes of variation in foetal cardiology services across England. The CRG is also working closely with relevant professional organisations and charities to develop a national workforce strategy for CHD.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 improve NHS support for children and families with severe food allergies.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on schools to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions, and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. This includes allergies. The policy should also set out how staff will be supported in carrying out their role to support pupils, including how training needs are assessed and how training is commissioned and provided. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) encourages food businesses to complete the FSA’s allergen e-learning course and recommends that it is retaken annually to refresh knowledge and ensure that businesses are up to date on any changes which may have occurred. The FSA online training is free and offers practical advice to anyone wanting to learn more about food allergy.
NHS England has also produced the Healthy School Child e-learning programme, which available at the following link:
https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/healthy-school-child/
This programme is designed for healthcare professionals, including school nurses, working with children aged five to 12 years old. Module 5 of the e-learning programme includes sessions on asthma, eczema, and other allergies.