Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has held discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the impact of the Windsor Framework on any proposed UK wide smoking ban in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, introduced on the 5 November 2024, has been developed in partnership with the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive, as well as with other departments across the wider Government. We intend the smoke-free generation policy to apply United Kingdom-wide.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 vaginal mesh implant procedures do not result in removal surgery.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A national pause was introduced in 2018 for the use of vaginally inserted mesh to treat prolapse and the use of a retropubic sub-urethral mesh sling to treat stress urinary incontinence. Conditions were put in place for this pause, and NHS England continues to monitor the progress on meeting these conditions.
In response to the recommendations from the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety review, the Department and the National Health Service have taken steps to improve the collection and monitoring of outcome data. The Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Stress Urinary Incontinence registry will be launched in early 2025. NHS England is extending the registry to be United Kingdom-wide and improving the recording of patient outcomes and experience. The Department has also commissioned, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, a £1.56 million study to develop a patient reported outcome measures for prolapse, incontinence, and mesh complication surgery. This will improve collection of short- and long-term data on patient outcomes.
To provide support for women who have experienced complications from pelvic mesh implants, NHS England has established nine specialist mesh centres across England. These ensure that women in every region of England with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need, including pain management and psychological support. As health is a devolved matter, these centres do not cover Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 the UK Rare Diseases Framework, published on 9 January 2021, on reducing the time it takes to diagnose rare diseases.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases. The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities collaboratively developed with the rare disease community, including helping patients get a final diagnosis faster. We remain committed to delivering under the framework and will publish an England action plan in 2025.
People living with rare diseases often face long diagnostic odysseys, the time between symptoms first presenting and people receiving a definitive diagnosis. This can seriously affect patients’ mental and physical health, and has significant cost implications for the National Health Service. Under action 17, in 2023 we worked with National Institute for Health and Care Research to commission research to measure the diagnostic odyssey. The research project is expected run for two years, concluding in 2026. This research is a crucial step in establishing a baseline time to diagnosis. This baseline will enable us to better understand the impact of interventions designed to help patients get a final diagnosis faster.
Additionally, Genomics England has been allocated Department funding to explore the feasibility of using whole genome sequencing to screen for a defined set of genetic conditions in newborns, through an ethically approved research study. The Generation Study is evaluating the feasibility of using whole genome sequencing to screen up to 100,000 babies for over 200 rare conditions. The Generation Study will explore whether whole genome sequencing can diagnose rare diseases earlier and improve outcomes for newborn babies.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to reduce the minimum age for bowel screening to 50 by the end of 2025.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for delivering the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening programme, including planning for the age extension in the programme from 60 down to 50 years old.
The age extension for bowel screening is already underway. NHS England started in April 2021 with the 56-year-old cohort and, based on modelling and clinical advice, has planned to gradually reduce to the age of 50 years old by 2025. This has been done to ensure that screening centres could manage any required increase in colonoscopy capacity.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding he plans to allocate for brain tumour research in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Research is crucial in tackling cancer. The Department spends £1.5 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), with cancer being the largest area of spend at over £121.8 million in 2022/23. The NIHR spends more on cancer than any other disease group, reflecting its high priority.
Brain cancer remains one of the hardest to treat cancers in both adults and children and we urgently need more research to inform our efforts, which is why in September, the NIHR announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. This includes a national NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, to ensure that the most promising research opportunities are made available to adult and child patients, and a new funding call to generate high quality evidence in brain tumour care, support, and rehabilitation. Further information on the new research funding opportunities is available at the following link:
https://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/new-funding-opportunities-novel-brain-tumour-research-launched
The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome applications for research into any aspect of human health, including brain tumours. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards 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: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 the Major Conditions Strategy on outcomes for people with dementia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The plans to publish a final major conditions strategy were paused following the announcement of the general election. We are developing a 10-year plan to radically reform the National Health Service and build a health service that is fit for the future. As part of this work, we will consider how best to meet the needs of people with dementia.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to offer bowel cancer screening to people aged 50.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service in England has been gradually reducing the age for bowel screening from 60 years old down to 50 years old, since 2021/22. The extension to 50 years old is expected to be completed by 2025.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 help promote Urology Awareness Month in September 2024.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has a number of existing partnerships to help promote awareness of urology conditions. NHS England is partnering with P-Wave on a campaign targeted at men, specifically focussing on blood in urine as a possible symptom of cancer. The partnership has seen more than 430,000 P-Wave urinal mats distributed around the United Kingdom since its launch, with the awareness message appearing in pubs, workplaces, and sporting and music venues. Further information is available at the following link:
NHS England is also partnering with major supermarkets to increase awareness of various health conditions, including urological conditions, via messaging on products like toilet paper. There is a specific focus on lower cost products reaching members of the public from lower socio-economic groups, supporting the National Health Service drive to reduce health inequalities.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS have received any complaints about politically motivated advantageous NHS treatment in the Birmingham area in (a) August and (b) September 2024.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not collected centrally. The annual release of National Health Service complaints data includes breakdowns of complaints by subject area, region, and integrated care systems area.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8936 on Streptococcus: Screening, when he expects to receive the response of the UK National Screening Committee's findings on the outcome of the Group B Streptococcus trials.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded the GBS3 trial. It is looking at whether testing all pregnant women for Group B Streptococcus and giving them antibiotics reduces the risk of infection in newborn babies, compared to the current strategy in place in the United Kingdom. The current strategy in the UK is to offer antibiotics during labour to women who are considered at raised risk of their baby developing a Group B Streptococcus infection.
Recruitment to the trial ended in May 2024. The researchers are analysing the data, and a report is expected in Summer 2025. The UK National Screening Committee Secretariat is in close and regular contact with the researchers. The committee will review its recommendation considering the evidence from the trial, after the report is presented.