Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 computed tomography coronary angiogram machines, including to increase the number of successful heart transplants.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to expanding access to diagnostic imaging, including computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA), through investment in new and expanded community diagnostic centres and wider imaging capacity.
Improved access to CTCA supports earlier and more accurate diagnosis of coronary artery disease and can contribute to pre-transplant assessment. In the context of heart donation, CTCA may be used selectively to assess donor heart suitability, particularly in higher-risk donors. NHS Blood and Transplant is currently progressing work to improve access to CTCA in selected donors to support safe decision-making and potentially improve organ utilisation.
The Government continues to prioritise and support access to computed tomography scanning services. Through ongoing capital investment in computed tomography assets, we have seen an 11% increase in the total number of computed tomography scanners recorded across the country, from March 2023 to March 2025. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 phased rollout of tirzepatide weight management injections, prescribed by GPs to Cohort 1 of those with the highest clinical need since 2025, for initial trial under NHS England's Prevention Programme (Obesity).
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are legally required to fund National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)-recommended medicines within three months of final approval. NICE granted a phased rollout of tirzepatide for obesity to manage National Health Service resources and establish new care pathways. Tirzepatide became subject to a legal requirement for ICBs to fund its use in specialist weight management services from March 2025, and in primary care from 23 June 2025. Access is being prioritised for those with the highest clinical need.
Publicly available prescribing data shows that prescribing of tirzepatide has increased between April and December 2025, reflecting the early stages of phased implementation in primary care. As these medicines are licensed for multiple indications, national prescribing data cannot distinguish between use for obesity and diabetes.
NHS England continues to work with clinical experts and ICBs to monitor early implementation and support local pathway development. It will update its interim commissioning guidance as planned, and NICE will review progress after three years, including whether rollout can be accelerated if system capacity allows.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 causes of prescription medicine shortages in the UK, including reported shortages of aspirin 75mg dispersible tablets and supply disruption affecting carbamazepine (Tegretol) prolonged-release tablets; and what steps he is taking to improve national medicines supply.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Medicine supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated and there are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the United Kingdom and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes, or distribution issues and regulatory issues. There are approximately 14,000 licensed medicines and the overwhelming majority are in good supply.
The Department is currently not aware of any supply issues affecting Tegretol prolonged-release tablets.
The Department is aware of a recent disruption to the supply of aspirin tablets due to manufacturing issues and knock-on increased demand. The issues have been addressed, and we are working with suppliers to aid a return to normal supply as soon as possible with stock regularly being made available for pharmacies to order.
We continue to work with manufacturers and United Kingdom distributors to maximise supply to pharmacies and hospitals across the country. The Department is closely monitoring the situation and expects supplies to return to normal in the coming weeks.
In August 2025, the Department published a policy paper, Managing a robust and resilience supply of medicines, setting out our actions to strengthen supply chain resilience, which is available at the following link:
The Department has committed to providing a published update on progress in 2026.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Departmental body is responsible for promotion of careers in dentistry; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of arrangements for promoting dentistry careers in (a) Devon and (b) other areas.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Strengthening the dental workforce is key to our ambitions. We intend to set out next steps on the dental workforce soon. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.
No specific departmental body is responsible for the promotion of dentistry careers however, the responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) across England. For the North Dorset constituency, this is Dorset ICB.
Integrated Care Boards are recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years. The scheme is designed to encourage relocation to areas with workforce challenges, to attract new workforce to the NHS, and to retain those who might have otherwise moved into private practice.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 trends in the level of regional variations in reducing NHS waiting lists.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England regularly monitor regional and trust level variation in National Health Service waiting lists to address variation in performance, so patients can expect to receive high quality care in a timely way, wherever they live. We are committed to returning to the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of all patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029. Our Reforming elective care for patients plan, published in January 2025, sets out how the NHS will reform elective care services equitably across all trusts and regions.
As an interim goal, NHS England’s Operational Planning Guidance 2025/26 has set the national ambition for 65% of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks for treatment, with every trust expected to deliver a minimum 5% improvement in performance. In the Medium-Term Planning Framework, every trust by March 2027 is expected to deliver a minimum of 7% improvement in 18-week performance or a minimum of 65%, whichever is greater.
To support this improvement across all trusts, there is a robust performance management process in place. The new NHS Oversight Framework 2025/26 ensures that there is public accountability for performance and NHS England national and regional teams work with systems and providers to support improvement. There is a specific process in place to identify, intervene and support the providers whose performance on elective waiting lists is most challenged, led by NHS England national and regional team.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 13 February 2026 to question 111483, what his Department's evidential basis is for the cost estimate of £1-1.5 billion for the rebuild of North Devon District Hospital under Wave 3 of the New Hospital Programme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A range of factors were considered to produce cost estimates for schemes in the Plan for Implementation, for example, estimated size, cost per square metre, local and geographical factors, and consideration of construction-specific inflation costs. However, as pursuant to the answer on 13 February 2026 to Question 111483, these estimates are for planning purposes only, with final costs subject to the approval of a Full Business Case.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 encourage people to join the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for organ donation in the UK and manages the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR).
NHSBT encourages recording an organ donation decision on the ODR through national campaigns, including case studies from donor families, transplant recipients and patients waiting for a transplant. Where appropriate, NHSBT works with individuals with an established public profile to reach new audiences. NHSBT’s partnerships with the likes of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Association, the passport application process and the NHS App are currently the most effective routes to engaging people to record their decision.
NHSBT also partners with NHS organisations, charities, and community groups, such as the National BAME Transplant Alliance and South Asian Heritage Trust, to increase community engagement. This is supported by NHSBT’s Community Grants Programme, which supports over 30 community and faith/beliefs organisations to leverage their specialist knowledge, understanding and footprint in minority ethnic communities. More information on the Programme is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/how-you-can-help/get-involved/community-grants-programme/
In February 2026, the Organ Donation Joint Working Group, jointly formed by the Department and NHSBT, published recommendations to increase societal action for organ donation, which included actions to maximise the potential of the ODR and encourage more people to record a clear and informed organ donation decision. NHSBT is working with Government and other partners to implement the recommendations, and a five-year programme is being developed to drive further progress.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what operational savings his Department has identified from the Royal Liverpool University Hospital that may be applicable to schemes planned under the New Hospital Programme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The New Hospital Programme (NHP) continues to learn lessons from early schemes that were delivered through the programme, including the Royal Liverpool Hospital (RLH) scheme. Lessons are embedded into the standardised approach of the NHP, Hospital 2.0, to ensure we provide health infrastructure that is fit for the future.
The RLH scheme was designed without the assistance of our standardised approach, Hospital 2.0. We have learnt from the initial challenges that the scheme faced upon opening, specifically the workforce adjusting to the 100% single rooms. We have factored this into our standardised approach, ensuring that in future, digitisation and the use of technology can mitigate and support the workforce in new models of care.
The programme continues to collect data, including on workforce, to inform our standardised approach. RLH have also reported their most improved survey results since moving into their new facility and a significant reduction in hospital acquired infections.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether operational savings secured from hospitals built to Hospital 2.0 standard under the New Hospital Programme: Plan for Implementation will be redirected to support the increased maintenance costs of hospital projects delayed under Wave 2 and Wave 3 of the New Hospital Programme Review.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is investing £30 billion over five years, from 2025/26 to 2029/30, in the day-to-day maintenance and repair of the National Health Service estate.
It is for trusts and integrated care boards to manage operational budgets, as the New Hospital Programme does not redistribute operational savings.
As set out in the Government’s 10 Year Infrastructure Plan, we are also providing a further five years of funding certainty for NHS estates maintenance, providing the confidence needed for long-term investment decisions and estates strategy.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 that (a) the Programme Team of New Hospital Programme has adequate levels of staff and (b) staffing vacancies do not delay the implementation of that programme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The New Hospital Programme (NHP) is a major Government programme and recognises the need to recruit, develop, and retain people with the specialist skills necessary to deliver the programme’s objectives. We recognise that having the right level of staff is integral to delivering the programme.
The NHP remains committed to increasing its in-house resource and the programme continues to recruit into priority posts, ensuring delivery remains on track. The programme has appointed the Health Delivery Partnership, which has strengthened the capacity of the programme, giving flexibility to move teams around where expertise is required.