Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to support UK-based NHS suppliers with increases in costs and supply chain pressures.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS Supply Chain (NHSSC) has robust measures in place to monitor supply chains and works closely with markets to ensure continuity of supply, so that the National Health Service has the medical devices and clinical consumables it needs to deliver care. Given the economic environment and global inflationary pressures, NHS Supply Chain recognises the challenges that suppliers are facing and is committed to working with them within the bounds of contractual agreements, to secure value for money for taxpayers and maintain availability.
An established process exists for all price increase requests. These are evaluated by NHSSC on a case-by-case basis in line with the terms and conditions of awarded framework agreements. In order for an increase to be accepted, it needs to be justified and evidenced, and suppliers are expected to play their part in mitigating their cost pressures.
With specific reference to energy costs, the Government remains committed to supporting businesses via the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which provides a discount on the wholesale element of gas and electricity bills to ensure that eligible non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy costs over the winter period. Following an HM Treasury led review, the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme will run from April until March 2024 and continue to provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will make an assessment of the impact of the removal of healthcare products and devices from the market due to price increase applications being rejected by NHS Supply Chains on the users of those products.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS Supply Chain (NHSSC) has robust measures in place to monitor supply chains and works closely with markets to ensure continuity of supply, so that the National Health Service has the medical devices and clinical consumables it needs to deliver care. Given the economic environment and global inflationary pressures, NHS Supply Chain recognises the challenges that suppliers are facing and is committed to working with them within the bounds of contractual agreements, to secure value for money for taxpayers and maintain availability.
An established process exists for all price increase requests. These are evaluated by NHSSC on a case-by-case basis in line with the terms and conditions of awarded framework agreements. In order for an increase to be accepted, it needs to be justified and evidenced, and suppliers are expected to play their part in mitigating their cost pressures.
With specific reference to energy costs, the Government remains committed to supporting businesses via the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which provides a discount on the wholesale element of gas and electricity bills to ensure that eligible non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy costs over the winter period. Following an HM Treasury led review, the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme will run from April until March 2024 and continue to provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to support UK businesses that supply the NHS with medical devices, medical equipment and services impacted by additional costs relating to (a) production, (b) distribution and (c) energy.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS Supply Chain (NHSSC) has robust measures in place to monitor supply chains and works closely with markets to ensure continuity of supply, so that the National Health Service has the medical devices and clinical consumables it needs to deliver care. Given the economic environment and global inflationary pressures, NHS Supply Chain recognises the challenges that suppliers are facing and is committed to working with them within the bounds of contractual agreements, to secure value for money for taxpayers and maintain availability.
An established process exists for all price increase requests. These are evaluated by NHSSC on a case-by-case basis in line with the terms and conditions of awarded framework agreements. In order for an increase to be accepted, it needs to be justified and evidenced, and suppliers are expected to play their part in mitigating their cost pressures.
With specific reference to energy costs, the Government remains committed to supporting businesses via the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which provides a discount on the wholesale element of gas and electricity bills to ensure that eligible non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy costs over the winter period. Following an HM Treasury led review, the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme will run from April until March 2024 and continue to provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
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 28 June 2022 to Question 21237 on Health Services: Standards, what progress he has made on reviewing that progress against the commitments relating to cardiovascular disease and cholesterol; whether those targets will not be removed from the updated NHS Long Term Plan; and if he will publish the updated NHS Long Term Plan in January 2023 at the latest.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Progress against cardiovascular disease (CVD) commitments in 2021-22 includes 56,000 more patients identified as having a 20% or greater 10-year risk of developing CVD being treated with lipid lowering therapies; 1.1 million more people had their hypertension controlled; and 46,000 more people with atrial fibrillation were treated with an anti-coagulant compared to 2020-21.
The National Health Service’s priorities for 2023-24 are set out in the NHS operational planning guidance, detailing an ongoing commitment to the goals of the NHS Long Term Plan, including those on cardiovascular disease. There are specific objectives in the guidance for improving the management of people with hypertension and high cholesterol.
The Hewitt review is currently looking at the scope and options for national targets and how to empower local leaders to improve outcomes for their populations and the Department looks forward to considering its conclusions.
As the Secretary of State announced on 24 January, the Department is developing a strategy for major conditions, including cardiovascular disease, with an interim report due summer 2023. This will build on the commitments already made in the NHS Long Term Plan.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
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 prevent (a) high cholesterol (b) cardiovascular diseases; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of inflation on the (a) prevalence and (b) treatment of those diseases.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Department is taking steps to prevent high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease (CVD) by taking forward a programme of work to modernise the NHS Health Check and ensure that as many people as possible benefit from this prevention programme. This includes developing a national digital NHS Health Check to complement the in-person service and enable people to self-check at home.
The National Health Service’s priorities for 2023/24 are set out in the NHS operational planning guidance. This includes objectives on preventing CVD by improving the management of hypertension and CVD risk. Primary Care Networks’ service requirements also include objectives to improve hypertension case-finding and diagnosis, diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia and cholesterol management.
The Department has not assessed the potential impact of inflation on the prevalence and treatment of CVD.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations his Department has had from the radiotherapy industry during the last 12 months; and how many meetings his Department has had with representatives from that industry in that time period .
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A search of the Department’s records showed that there had been 34 correspondence cases from the radiotherapy industry, including from charities and parliamentary groups, received within the last 12 months. Ministers within the Department have met with representatives of Radiotherapy UK, along with members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Radiotherapy, on several occasions within the last 12 months.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to investigate the reasons for the increase in excess deaths over winter 2022/23.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities produces a monthly update of excess mortality statistics, which have been used to monitor excess deaths since July 2020 and adjust for age and size of the population. There are a range of different organisations producing different estimates based on different methodologies.
It is likely that a combination of factors has contributed to excess deaths over winter 2022/23, including high flu prevalence, cold, the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
We are taking steps to help reduce excess deaths, including those which involve COVID-19, and those due to other factors.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
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 access to radiotherapy treatment for cancer patients.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2016, approximately £162 million has been invested to replace or upgrade 100 radiotherapy machines, in addition to funding for National Health Service trusts to maintain existing infrastructure. In 2019/20, 11 radiotherapy networks were established in England to improve workforce resilience and increase access to specialist skills and knowledge.
In 2022/23, NHS England is undertaking a review of external beam radiotherapy capacity. This will support local systems to plan radiotherapy provision and allocate system capital allocations appropriately, based on an assessment of equipment age, capacity and demand, opportunities to improve access and service risk.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress NHS England has made on its demand capacity review into radiotherapy.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England will be completing the capacity and demand review of external beam radiotherapy capacity in 2022/23. This will support local systems to plan radiotherapy provision and allocate system capital allocations appropriately, based on an assessment of equipment age, capacity and demand, opportunities to improve access and service risk.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to encourage local authorities to include clear signposting for local veteran-specific support services including (a) mental health services and (b) bereavement support.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Local authorities are encouraged to receive updates from the National Health Service which outline initiatives in support of the armed forces community, including information on Op COURAGE. Bereavement support is commissioned locally to meet the need of the local population. NHS England has developed guidance for integrated care boards which requires commissioners to ensure there is sufficient access to bereavement support services.