Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
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 ensure that diabetes patients in (a) Scunthorpe and (b) England receive the eight health checks recommended by Diabetes UK.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Recovery of routine diabetes care following the pandemic is a key priority for the NHS England Diabetes Programme. Transformation funding between 2020/21 and 2022/23 has supported recovery, as such that rates of routine care delivery are now almost back to the pre-pandemic level. Services in the National Health Service are asked to continue this upward trajectory, with a particular focus on ensuring that people from socio-economically deprived areas receive their annual reviews.
Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) is responsible for commissioning diabetes clinical services for the Scunthorpe area and has an established Diabetes Clinical Network. This network operates across the entirety of the Humber and North Yorkshire geographical area.
The latest National Diabetes Audit 2023-24 Quarterly Report, January 2023 to September 2023 was published on 11 January 2024. The proportion of patients with type 1 diabetes completing all eight care processes at Humber and North Yorkshire ICB is 27.0%, above the England average of 25.3%. The proportion of patients with type 2 diabetes completing all eight care processes at Humber and North Yorkshire ICB is 37% above the England average of 30.5%.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress her Department has made on the publication of the final Major Conditions Strategy.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following publication of our initial report, Major Conditions Strategy: Case for change and our strategic framework, in August 2023, we have continued to develop the strategy, informed by the call for evidence and ongoing engagement. Our intention is to publish the Major Conditions Strategy early this year.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
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 17 October 2023 to Question 200545 on Hepatitis and HIV Infection and to the Emergency department bloodborne virus opt-out testing: 12-month interim report 2023, published by the UK Health Security Agency on 9 November 2023, what recent progress she has made on expanding the programme to all areas with a high prevalence of HIV.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 9 November, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) published an evaluation of the first year of the bloodborne virus (BBV) opt-out testing in emergency departments in local areas with extremely high HIV prevalence. Findings show that the programme has made a significant contribution to BBV testing in England with more than half the number of tests done in the programme compared to BBV tests in other settings.
We continue to assess available evidence alongside data on progress towards our ambitions to end new HIV transmissions, AIDS- and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030 to decide on further expansion of the programme.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of adding cystic fibrosis medication to the prescription charge exemption list.
Answered by Will Quince
There are no current plans to review or extend the prescription charge medical exemptions list to include cystic fibrosis. Almost 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in England and there are arrangements in place to help those with the greatest need.
Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension. Those with cystic fibrosis or another long-term condition may therefore meet the eligibility criteria for prescription charge exemptions and be in receipt of free prescriptions.
To support those who do not qualify for an exemption of prescription charges, the cost of prescriptions can be capped by purchasing a prescription pre-payment certificate, which can be paid for in instalments. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.
Additionally, people on a low income who do not qualify for an exemption from prescription charges can also seek help under the NHS Low Income Service, which provides help with health costs on an income-related basis.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the opt-out (a) HIV and (b) hepatitis testing programme.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Provisional data from NHS England indicates that the opt-out testing programme has helped find more than 550 cases of undiagnosed or untreated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and more than 1,900 cases of undiagnosed or untreated hepatitis during its first year. A 12-month public health evaluation report will be published by the UK Health Security Agency in October.
We will be assessing all this evidence alongside the data on progress towards our ambitions to end new HIV transmissions and AIDS- and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030 to decide whether we further expand the programme. We will be sharing evidence as it emerges to support other areas of the country to make the case for implementing the same approach locally.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
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 the survival rate for pancreatic cancer; and whether policies on increasing the survival rate will be included in the Major Conditions Strategy.
Answered by Will Quince
Early diagnosis is key to improving survival rates for pancreatic cancer. The Department is working with the National Health Service to improve diagnosis and treatment for those with cancer. The Elective Recovery Plan, published on 8 February 2022, set out the ambition that 75% of patients who have been urgently referred by their general practitioner for suspected cancer will be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days by March 2024.
The pancreatic cancer clinical audit, led by the Royal College of Surgeons, began in 2021, with the first outcomes expected in 2023/24. A key aim of the audit is to support NHS services to stimulate improvements in cancer detection, treatment and outcomes for patients, including improving survival rates.
In addition, the NHS has allocated £10 million to innovations to support earlier and more efficient diagnosis, including the PinPoint blood test and a new genetic test that can be used as a ‘liquid biopsy’ for those with suspected pancreatic cancer.
The Major Conditions Strategy will look at the treatment and prevention of cancer, covering the patient pathway. The strategy will consider a wide range of interventions and enablers to improve outcomes and experience for cancer patients.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to (a) tackle shortages of glucagon-like peptide receptor agonists and (b) ensure an adequate long-term supply.
Answered by Will Quince
There are global supply issues with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs). The Department has issued two Medicine Supply Notifications (MSNs), the first in September 2022 advising healthcare professionals not to initiate new patients on semaglutide (Ozempic) and to only use semaglutide for its licensed indications. The second was issued in June 2023 addressing all GLP-1 RA’s including Victoza (liraglutide injection) and Rybelsus (semaglutide tablets) advising healthcare professionals on how to manage patients requiring these medicines.
The Department’s guidance is clear that medicines which are solely licensed to treat type 2 diabetes, such as Ozempic, should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss. These medicines should only be prescribed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
GLP-1 RAs have also been added to the list of medicines that are subject to export and hoarding restrictions, to protect United Kingdom supply for UK patients.
The Department has well-established processes to manage supply issues and continues to work closely with national diabetes specialists, the suppliers, wholesalers, all manufacturers of these medicines and the relevant regulatory bodies and agencies to address and resolve these issues as soon as possible.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
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 (a) diagnosis times and (b) cancer treatment pathways; and whether he plans to include this in the 10-year Cancer Plan.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government worked with NHS England to publish the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care in February 2022. The Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity.
This will further be supported by the additional £3.3 billion of funding in each of the next two years announced at the Autumn Statement to support the NHS, enabling rapid action to improve emergency, elective and primary care performance towards pre-pandemic levels.
NHS England’s recent letter ‘Elective care 2023/24 Priorities’ set out the progress to date in reducing the number of patients with urgent suspected cancer waiting longer than 62 days and meeting the faster diagnosis standard for the first time in February. It also confirmed the ongoing priorities to make further progress to improve performance and long waits, prioritise diagnostic capacity and focus on cancer pathway redesign
The Government announced on 24 January that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy. Cancer will be a significant element of the new Strategy, and we will ensure that all the learning from the over 5,000 submissions to the call for evidence will be considered. This will replace the suggested 10-year cancer plan.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
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 the number of children and adolescent mental health services appointments.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The NHS Long Term Plan commits to increasing investment into National Health Service mental health services by at least £2.3 billion a year by March 2024. Part of this increased investment will enable an additional 345,000 children and young people to be able to access NHS funded mental health support, including through appointments with children and adolescent mental health services by March 2024.
To support this, our aim is to grow the mental health workforce by an additional 27,000 staff by March 2024. December 2022 figures show an increase of over 8,900, full-time equivalent staff in the mental health workforce compared to December 2021 and over 20,700 more compared to December 2010.
We are making good progress on expanding access to mental health care for children and young people year on year. 689,621 children and young people in England aged under 18 years old were supported with at least one contact in the year up to July 2022 compared to 618,537 in the year up to July 2021.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
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 reduce elective surgery treatment waiting times for children.
Answered by Will Quince
In February 2022, the National Health Service published a delivery plan setting out a clear vision for how the NHS will recover and reduce waiting times for elective services including elective surgery for children and young people.
Steps being taken include increasing capacity, seeking alternate capacity in other trusts or the independent sector, and engaging with patients to understand their choices.
To support this recovery the Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available to systems in 2021/22 to help drive up and protect elective activity.
Having virtually met our target to eliminate long waits of two years or more for elective procedures in July, we have also made significant progress in tackling waits of 78 weeks or more for elective services including elective surgery for children. NHS England will soon publish statistics that demonstrate what has been achieved to date.