Oral Answers to Questions

Jane Ellison Excerpts

Tuesday 5th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Maggie Throup (Erewash) (Con)]

16. What plans the Government have to lead the international response to the recommendations of the final report of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, published in May 2016.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Jane Ellison)]

The O’Neill AMR review is galvanising global awareness, as I have seen for myself, and it is greatly to the Prime Minister’s credit that he showed the foresight to commission it. The UK continues to play a global leadership role on antimicrobial resistance. We co-sponsored the World Health Organisation’s 2015 global action plan on AMR, we created the Fleming fund to help poorer countries to tackle drug resistance, and we are now championing action, including taking forward the O’Neill review’s recommendations, through the United Nations, the G7, and the G20.

[Andrea Jenkyns]

I recently met biotech firm Matoke Holdings, which has developed a new technology—reactive oxygen technology. It has found that this technology forms the basis of a whole new generation of antibiotics that has been proven to combat multi-resistant bacteria, including MRSA. This is an incredibly exciting development. Will my hon. Friend and her team agree to meet Matoke Holdings to hear about the new technology and the pace at which it has developed? What are the Government doing to support research into new antibiotics?

[Jane Ellison]

My hon. Friend will be aware that a key focus of the O’Neill review was how to incentivise the development of new antimicrobials. It is scary to think that there has not been a new class of antibiotics for some decades now. The Government are funding an extensive AMR research programme. Matoke Holdings has been in contact with the Department, and we are in the process of arranging a meeting to discuss reactive oxygen technology in the coming weeks. My ministerial colleague the Under-Secretary of State for Life Sciences has indicated that he would also be happy to have such a meeting.

[Maggie Throup]

I recently hosted a parliamentary drop-in session to highlight the benefits of C-reactive protein testing as a way of reducing the number of antibiotics inappropriately prescribed in primary care. Will the Minister agree to look again at the case for rolling out CRP testing as standard across primary care as part of the Government’s strategy to tackle antimicrobial resistance?

[Jane Ellison]

My hon. Friend is right to champion these new technologies. In fact, the Department has already invested in research into CRP. We look forward to seeing what that brings and, in due course, to seeing how it might move forward. It is very much already on our radar.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

There is an impending public health issue in this regard, not least with strains of gonorrhoea, for example, that are starting to show resistance to antibiotics. A number of doctors are incredibly concerned about this. What more can be done to incentivise research and development to ensure that this public health concern does not become a public health crisis?

[Jane Ellison]

The hon. Gentleman, who knows a great deal about these matters, is right. Incentivising discovery is absolutely at the heart of the O’Neill review. O’Neill has made a series of recommendations about unblocking the drugs pipeline, and we will respond to that in full. It is a critical issue. In the meantime, conservation of the antibiotics we have and sensible prescribing is critical to making sure that, as the hon. Gentleman says, drug-resistant strains of gonorrhoea, for example, do not take hold.

[Chris Leslie (Nottingham East) (Lab/Co-op)]

This is an incredibly important issue on which I urge the Minister to communicate with the public more effectively, because inappropriate use of antibiotics could have severe effects. Some of the medical interventions that are reliant on antibiotics, whether gut surgery, joint replacements, caesarean sections or chemotherapies, could become too dangerous to perform if we do not get this right.

[Jane Ellison]

That is exactly right. Things we take for granted now could become risky procedures again. Globally, old diseases could make a comeback because of drug resistance—diseases such as TB which, around the world, people are winning the battle against. This is why it is so important to pay tribute to the Prime Minister’s foresight in commissioning the independent review and taking this issue global. The Government, along with the chief medical officer, are championing this at an international level, but, at the same time, we are not resting closer to home, where we are working with GPs and so on to deal with the prescribing issue. However, it is a big challenge and the hon. Gentleman is right to highlight it.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

Is my hon. Friend aware that there is strong evidence that herbal medicine can help treat conditions currently treated by antibiotics, but there is a desperate need for more research? Is she also aware that homeopathic medicine can do the same, particularly with upper respiratory tract infections, and that homeopathic treatments are now the second largest medical system in the world, according to the World Health Organisation?

[Jane Ellison]

The Government are always interested in anything that can be proven to be cost-effective and efficacious.

[Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington) (Lab)]

Millions of people around the world are dying annually from resistant infections. In the light of that and the positive correlation between antibiotic resistance rates and antibiotic consumption, urgent action needs to be taken. What steps and cross-departmental work is the Minister taking to address the findings of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance and to reduce the unnecessary use of antimicrobials in agriculture?

[Jane Ellison]

There is consensus on the importance of this issue. It is worth highlighting the work that the Government are doing internationally, through the creation of the Fleming fund, in which we are investing £265 million, to help poorer countries to tackle drug resistance and to make sure that we have proper monitoring systems in place. Without a baseline to understand where we are even starting from, it is very difficult. We will respond more fully to all the issues highlighted by the hon. Lady when we respond formally to the O’Neill review, but it goes without saying that we are trying to take this work forward internationally and we are working towards further meetings at the United Nations this autumn.

[Chris Green (Bolton West) (Con)]

2. What assessment his Department has made of the uptake of the Target antibiotics toolkit among NHS commissioners and GPs.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Jane Ellison)]

Continuing with the same important theme, it is excellent to see Parliament taking such a close interest in antibiotic resistance. In England, 60% of clinical commissioning groups reported reviewing the Target toolkit, which has been designed to help GPs in particular, in a primary care survey in November 2014. A patient safety alert went to providers and commissioners in 2015, highlighting the importance of programmes such as Target. The House might be interested to know that the Target programme gives GPs help in understanding how to deal with the pressure from patients, because a lot of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing comes from the pressure from patients to walk away with an antibiotic script. Work is being done, but we know that we have more to do.

[Chris Green]

I thank the Minister for her reply. Disappointingly, the most recent data show Bolton to be one of the highest prescribers of antimicrobial agents in Greater Manchester, and it is in the highest quartile nationally. Although Bolton CCG has seen reductions in antibiotic prescribing following guidance given to GPs, when will the Target antibiotics toolkit be fully implemented across all CCGs in England?

[Jane Ellison]

Public Health England is doing a huge amount of work on this. There has been a very welcome drop in prescribing in the last year and that appears in the data available for this year. That gives us encouragement. Of course, 79% of antibiotic prescribing occurs outside hospital, so my hon. Friend is right to highlight general practices. I draw his attention to Public Health England’s Fingertips portal, which allows both providers and commissioners to assess how they are doing compared with other areas locally. That is allowing us to see where we have particular problems. It varies around the country and Public Health England is leading the action being taken in that regard.

[Chris Evans (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op)]

The growth of antibiotic resistance is a massive problem worldwide, as the Minister knows. No new antibiotics have been classified for more than 25 years. This is a real problem, as antibiotic resistance increases. What are the Government doing to address the issue?

[Jane Ellison]

As I have said, it was our Prime Minister who commissioned the independent O’Neill review, showing astonishing foresight, and that review is now galvanising the discussion. I was at the World Health Assembly in Geneva in May, and the review was the talk of Geneva. Lord O’Neill presented it to many delegations from around the world and we now need to move forward. As well as working on human health, we are also looking to work with animal health organisations, as we take forward the very important recommendations on prescribing and the use of antibiotics as growth stimulators.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

3. If he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the availability of NHS services for (a) EU nationals living, studying and working in the UK and (b) UK citizens abroad.

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[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

T5. In May, the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Jane Ellison), gave me a very encouraging answer about improving the treatment and diagnosis of Lyme disease. Will she meet me and other concerned colleagues to discuss what more can be done to tackle that terrible condition?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Jane Ellison)]

I am pleased to report that the commissioning of the systematic reviews of the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease, which I mentioned at that time, is under way. We expect that work to start in the autumn, and the researchers will approach relevant stakeholders. Once that work is under way, I would be happy to organise a meeting for colleagues at which the experts leading it can brief them further.

[Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP)]

T3. Will the Secretary of State join me in welcoming the formation of the all-party parliamentary group on blood donation? Will he agree to take part in and perhaps give evidence to its inquiry into the criteria for blood donation, particularly those regarding men who have sex with men?

[Jane Ellison]

As Members will know, the Department has asked the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs—SaBTO—to review the donor selection criteria for blood donation that relate to men who have sex with men. SaBTO has approved the remit, the terms of reference and the work streams, and it is cracking on. It has a second meeting coming up later this month. The chair of the working group has written to the chair of the all-party group, welcoming its inquiry and inviting it to contribute evidence during the autumn.

[Andrea Jenkyns (Morley and Outwood) (Con)]

T7. To expand on the question asked by the shadow Secretary of State, I too would like to raise the case of my constituent Abi Longfellow who suffers from dense deposit disease and is awaiting a decision by the NHS’s specialised commissioning body. She and her family have been subjected to frequent delays and miscommunications. I first met Health Ministers, NICE and NHS England a year ago to discuss Abi’s situation. What steps will the Government take to ensure that decisions on treatments such as this are taken in a timely fashion and that families are kept updated on the progress of those decisions?

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

T4. In March, the Scottish Government made a commitment to substantially increase the financial support for the victims of contaminated blood. Initially, that will have to be administered through the current system, but the Department of Health appears to be dragging its feet. Will the Secretary of State explain the cause of the hold-up and say how he plans to expedite these payments to people with life-threatening illnesses?

[Jane Ellison]

No one is dragging their feet and we are trying to get this matter sorted out. I have had a number of discussions with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, Shona Robison, most recently last Thursday. We are working together to facilitate the increased payments, using the current scheme administrator. We want the payments to be made as quickly as possible to people who were infected in Scotland and across the UK. Officials in the Department of Health and officials in Scotland are working closely together to expedite the matter.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

T8. Community hospitals such as John Coupland in Gainsborough are very popular, yet health authorities seem intent on centralising services. Will the Secretary of State today make clear his absolute commitment to supporting local community hospitals and giving them work, and state that there will be no closures without his personal authorisation?

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[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

Will the Minister responsible for public heath confirm when a statement on contaminated blood will be made to the House, and in particular on the response to the consultation that closed in April?

[Jane Ellison]

I am not in a position to be specific about when we can make a statement, but I can give the hon. Lady and other interested Members the absolute assurance that we continue to look closely at the issue. We have read every single response that we have received. I was at a well-attended all-party group meeting on 25 May and gave people a sense of the direction of travel of our analysis. I hope to keep the House updated.

[Dr James Davies (Vale of Clwyd) (Con)]

Will the Minister confirm how he plans to implement the General Practice Forward View? Will he also confirm that sustainability and transformation plans will be returned to for further development if they fail to deliver the investment in general practice mandated by the forward view?

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[Mhairi Black (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (SNP)]

An elderly constituent of mine came to my surgery to explain that, sadly, her husband had passed away as a result of being infected with hepatitis C during the contaminated blood scandal. She has applied to the Skipton Fund four times, and has been turned down because her husband’s medical records have been destroyed since his death. Can the Minister offer any advice on how I can best move forward with this? I am also happy to meet her to give her more background information.

[Jane Ellison]

I think the latter suggestion might be the better one. I am happy to meet the hon. Lady and talk about the matter in more detail.