Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 with social care providers to ensure that the social care sector meets required staffing levels.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the scale of reforms needed to make the adult social care sector attractive, to support sustainable workforce growth, and to reduce the reliance on international recruitment. We want it to be regarded as a profession, and for the people who work in care to be respected as professionals.
Those working in social care have been ignored for too long, and so will be at the heart of our initial reforms. We will engage with the workers and trade unions to deliver a long over-due new deal for care workers, including establishing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for care professionals, learning from countries where they operate successfully.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps with the food industry to help reduce the calorie content of processed foods.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that prevention will always be better, and cheaper, than a cure, and we will take preventative public health measures to tackle the biggest killers and to support people in living longer, healthier lives.
As suppliers of what we eat and drink, the food industry has a key role to play in supporting the health of the nation. The voluntary calorie reduction programme requires businesses in all sectors to reduce the level of calories in the everyday food we buy for consumption, in or out of the home. This delivers change that will enable consumers to eat more healthily, without having to change their usual diets. Processed foods in scope of the programme include pizzas, crisps, sandwiches, and ready meals.
Retailers and manufacturers are required to reduce calorie levels by 10%, and out of home businesses, including takeaway and delivery, are required to reduce calorie levels by 20%, against a 2017 baseline. Up to 25% of all adult energy intake is consumed out of the home, and foods and dishes served in the out of home sector generally contain double the levels of calories seen in similar products purchased in supermarkets, which is why they have a higher target.
The first progress report on the voluntary programme showed generally little change in calorie levels across all sectors and categories between 2017 and 2021, so it is clear that more needs to be done. The Government recognises that we face an obesity crisis and need to act. As set out in the King's Speech, the Government will bring forward the necessary secondary legislation to ban junk food advertising to children, and to stop the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16-year-olds.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will have discussions with the Northern Ireland Health Minister on the provision of NHS dental care in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst the provision of National Health Service dental care is devolved, My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care intends to engage fully with Ministers from all four nations on matters crucial to the future of our health and social care system. My Rt hon. Friend will keep me updated on these discussions.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been admitted to hospital following a drug overdose in the last 12 months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on hospital admissions is not available in the format requested. NHS England publishes data on the number of admissions due to accidental and intentional poisoning by substance type. This information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 (a) increase public awareness and (b) reduce stigma in men about early screening for prostate cancer.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department actively supports campaigns to increase public awareness of the symptoms of prostate cancer. NHS England is running the Help Us Help You campaigns to raise awareness of cancer symptoms, including symptoms of prostate cancer, and to encourage people to come forward to see their general practitioner (GP). The Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme provides GPs with information to counsel asymptomatic men aged 50 years old and over about Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) testing for prostate cancer.
NHS England has also partnered with Cancer Alliances, charities, and local representatives to reach people through projects in the heart of their communities. Cancer Alliances have been undertaking action to alert at-risk groups about prostate cancer at a local level, where needed.
There is no current screening programme for prostate cancer in the United Kingdom. This is because of the inaccuracy of the current best test, a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. A PSA-based screening programme could harm men, as some of them would be diagnosed with a cancer that would not have caused them problems during their life. This would lead to additional tests and treatments, which can also have harmful side effects. However, we are backing groundbreaking trials to improve diagnostic processes and save thousands more lives. This includes a £42 million UK-wide TRANSFORM trial, aimed at helping find the best way of screening for prostate cancer, to which the Department is providing £16 million.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 increase the (a) survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and (b) availability of defibrillators in public and community settings.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of July 2024, there are 93,113 automated external defibrillators registered in the United Kingdom on the National Defibrillator Network, also known as The Circuit, including 73,682 in England. Going forward, the Department has asked Professor Lord Darzi to investigate the state of the National Health Service, and will then set out its 10 year plan for the NHS.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 ensure that people who are eligible for IVF treatment receive three cycles of NHS-funded treatment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards (ICBs), and are based on the clinical needs of their local population. Organisations are expected to commission fertility services in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines, which are based on the clinical evidence of the most effective treatment. The Department will be working with NHS England to support ICBs in improving the current National Health Service offer for patients.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to publish an action plan to help tackle heart disease.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Long Term Plan set an aim to prevent up to 150,000 heart attacks, strokes, and dementia cases by 2029, and activity is underway. However, we know there is more to do to tackle cardiovascular disease, including heart disease. That is why in our Health Mission to Build an NHS Fit for the Future, we have committed to reducing deaths from heart disease and strokes by a quarter within 10 years. The Department and NHS England are working together on this ambitious mission, and we will share more in due course.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 tackle rickets.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Rickets is a condition that affects bone development in children. Cases of rickets are rare in the United Kingdom, and have been relatively consistent over recent years. The most common cause of rickets is a lack of vitamin D and calcium, although in rare cases, children can be born with a genetic form of the condition.
Since it is difficult for people to get enough vitamin D from food alone, the Government advises that everyone should consider taking a daily 10-microgram vitamin D supplement during the autumn and winter. People at high risk of not getting enough vitamin D, pregnant and breastfeeding women, all children aged one to four years old, and all babies, unless they're having more than 500 millilitre of infant formula a day, should take a daily supplement throughout the year. People at high risk of not getting enough vitamin D include:
⎯ those who are not often outdoors, for example if they're frail or housebound;
⎯ are in an institution like a care home;
⎯ usually wear clothes that cover up most of their skin when outdoors; and
⎯ those who have dark skin, such as people with an African, African-Caribbean or south Asian background.
Government advice on vitamin D is communicated via the NHS.UK website and the social marketing campaigns Start4Life, Better Health, and Healthier Families. Through our Healthy Food Schemes, like Healthy Start, Nursery Milk, and the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, the Government provides a nutritional safety net to those who need it the most. Beneficiaries of our food scheme Healthy Start are eligible for free Healthy Start vitamins, which include vitamin C and D. The law also requires the addition of vitamin D to all infant formula.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of diagnosis rates for pancreatic cancer in the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will improve cancer survival rates by hitting all National Health Service cancer waiting time targets within five years, including for pancreatic cancer. We know that pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose due to the non-specific nature of its symptoms. To improve diagnosis and outcomes, NHS England is delivering a range of interventions including implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who have symptoms that do not align to a single tumour type, as is often the case with pancreatic cancer. 96 pathways are in place, and more are being introduced. NHS England is also increasing general practice direct access to diagnostic tests, alongside providing a route into pancreatic cancer surveillance for those at inherited high-risk, to identify lesions before they develop into cancer and diagnose cancers sooner.
The most recent Faster Diagnosis Standard performance for upper gastrointestinal cancers, including oesophageal cancer, stomach cancer, small bowel cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer and cancers of the biliary system, is 76% against the 75% standard for May 2024.