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 plans he has to increase the availability of spirometry testing in primary care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is continuing to support the restoration of local spirometry services and is enhancing capacity through community diagnostic centres (CDCs). These initiatives provide structured pathways for general practitioners (GPs) to refer patients for essential respiratory diagnostic tests such as spirometry, ensuring faster access to these services for individuals with suspected respiratory conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). By equipping primary care with the tools and pathways for earlier and more accurate diagnosis, this effort addresses the significant issue of undiagnosed COPD, which is estimated to affect 2.1 million people in England. These measures are designed to strengthen the collaboration between primary and secondary care, increasing capacity to meet diagnostic demands effectively.
As part of Phase 2 of the GP Direct Access scheme, launched in December 2023, the National Health Service aims to achieve earlier detection and diagnosis of COPD so that patients access timely interventions and optimal treatment, improving patient management and outcomes. The guidance recommends that general practice teams refer patients for spirometry for the diagnosis of COPD.
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 assessment he has made of the adequacy of ambulance waiting times over the 2024-25 Christmas and new year period.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ambulance response times have been below the high standards that patients should expect in recent years. The Government has committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve performance and achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution, including ambulance response times.
The following table shows the national ambulance response time performance in December 2024 for Category 1, 2, 3 and 4 incidents, in hours, minutes and seconds:
Category of incident | December 2024 national average | NHS constitution standard |
Category 1 – average response time | 00:08:40 | 00:07:00 |
Category 1 – 90th centile response time | 00:15:25 | 00:15:00 |
Category 2 – average response time | 00:47:26 | 00:18:00 |
Category 2 – 90th centile response time | 01:41:40 | 00:40:00 |
Category 3 – 90th centile response time | 07:21:03 | 02:00:00 |
Category 4 – 90th centile response time | 08:15:44 | 03:00:00 |
Source: NHS England Ambulance Quality Indicators (https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/)
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 assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in levels of people diagnosed with dementia over the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national target is for 66.7% of people estimated to be living with dementia to receive a formal diagnosis. The latest dementia diagnosis rate reported by NHS England for the end of November 2024 was 65.8%.
The target had been met consistently at the national level from July 2016 until end of March 2020, when it dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as memory services were reduced in capacity and general practitioner referrals into these services decreased significantly. At a national level, the dementia diagnosis rate is now gradually recovering due to sustained efforts.
NHS England continue to monitor the monthly dementia diagnosis rate and analyse trends at national, regional, and integrated commissioning board (ICB) level. This provides a clear direction for ICBs to support delivery of timely diagnoses within local systems and enable access to appropriate post diagnostic support.
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 assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency guidance on the use of medicinal cannabis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Rules around the electronic prescribing of cannabis-based medicines are no different to other drugs regulated in Schedule 2 to 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.
In England, the NHS Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) enables the electronic transmission of prescriptions for Schedule 2 to 5 controlled drugs. As part of the robust system of governance and restrictions around the most addictive and harmful drugs, all private healthcare provider prescriptions for Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs cannot be transmitted by electronic means and must be issued on a paper FP10PCD prescription form. All paper copies of private prescriptions of Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs must be submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority. NHS England Controlled Drug Accountable Officers have a statutory duty to monitor the management and use of controlled drugs in the National Health Service and private healthcare.
Similar legislative and governance arrangements are in place in Northern Ireland concerning the management and use of controlled drugs. All private prescribing of Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs must be issued on a paper PCD1 prescription form, which, once dispensed, are submitted to the Business Services Organisation, in line with requirements in the Misuse of Drugs (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2002. There is currently no electronic transmission of prescriptions in primary care in Northern Ireland.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) does not provide guidance on the use of medicinal cannabis. The MHRA provides guidance on manufacturing, importing, distributing, and supplying unlicensed medicines, which includes cannabis-based products for medicinal use in humans.
Current guidelines on the prescribing and use of cannabis-based medicinal products, specifically guideline NG144, are published on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence website, which is available at the following link:
The guidelines have been endorsed by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland as applicable within Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence develops its guidance independently and keeps its published guidelines under active surveillance, so that it is able to update its recommendations in light of any significant new evidence.
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 in the UK have been diagnosed with sepsis in the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is a lack of reliable estimates of the incidence and prevalence of sepsis, due to the inconsistency in the definitions used to describe sepsis, and the differences in coding between professionals and organisations in the United Kingdom.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes data on the number of death registrations where sepsis was the underlying cause of death, and where sepsis was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, for England and Wales between 2001 and 2023. According to the ONS, in 2023, the number of deaths registered where sepsis was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate in England and Wales was 26,203. The ONS has not yet published the number of death registrations for sepsis for 2024. The published ONS data for deaths involving sepsis is available at the following link:
The Department continues to work with NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency to improve our understanding of sepsis data and to monitor trends in infection incidence and deaths from sepsis, which are complex and multifactorial.
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 assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of restrictions on the use of electronic prescriptions for the issuing of medicinal cannabis products.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Rules around the electronic prescribing of cannabis-based medicines are no different to other drugs regulated in Schedule 2 to 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.
In England, the NHS Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) enables the electronic transmission of prescriptions for Schedule 2 to 5 controlled drugs. As part of the robust system of governance and restrictions around the most addictive and harmful drugs, all private healthcare provider prescriptions for Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs cannot be transmitted by electronic means and must be issued on a paper FP10PCD prescription form. All paper copies of private prescriptions of Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs must be submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority. NHS England Controlled Drug Accountable Officers have a statutory duty to monitor the management and use of controlled drugs in the National Health Service and private healthcare.
Similar legislative and governance arrangements are in place in Northern Ireland concerning the management and use of controlled drugs. All private prescribing of Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs must be issued on a paper PCD1 prescription form, which, once dispensed, are submitted to the Business Services Organisation, in line with requirements in the Misuse of Drugs (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2002. There is currently no electronic transmission of prescriptions in primary care in Northern Ireland.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) does not provide guidance on the use of medicinal cannabis. The MHRA provides guidance on manufacturing, importing, distributing, and supplying unlicensed medicines, which includes cannabis-based products for medicinal use in humans.
Current guidelines on the prescribing and use of cannabis-based medicinal products, specifically guideline NG144, are published on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence website, which is available at the following link:
The guidelines have been endorsed by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland as applicable within Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence develops its guidance independently and keeps its published guidelines under active surveillance, so that it is able to update its recommendations in light of any significant new evidence.
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 assessment he has made of the potential impact of the cost of electricity on people with health conditions requiring medical devices which use electricity.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department began an assessment process on patient support for at home medical equipment energy costs in August 2024 with a review of existing policy provision. This work includes consideration of the impact of the cost of running electrical medical equipment at home on vulnerable groups.
At Ministerial direction, the Department is working with the National Health Service, gathering technical data from within the health sector on use, cost and power demand of at home medical devices, to support development of costed policy options.
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 assessment he has made of trends in the level of people referred for alcohol addiction support.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities publishes adult substance misuse treatment statistics annually which includes the numbers of adults aged 18 and over in contact with drug and alcohol treatment services in England. The latest publication is available at the following link:
This publication provides an analysis of trends over time. The data over the last ten years for adults newly presenting to treatment for alcohol only and treatment for alcohol and non-opiate drugs shows that from a previous high in 2013/14 of 84,533, the number of new presentations to treatment fell year-on-year between 2014/15 and 2017/18. The number of new presentations remained relatively stable between 2017/18 and 2020/21, before rising continuously since then to a new high of 94,782 in 2023/24. This is the highest number since records began in 2008.
The most recent estimates of alcohol dependence in England from 2019/20 suggest that, of the people with alcohol dependence that could benefit from specialist alcohol treatment, in 2023/24, 80% were not in treatment.
The following table shows the above information in more detail:
Year | Numbers of adults newly presenting to treatment for alcohol only | Numbers of adults newly presenting to treatment for alcohol and non-opiates | Total |
2013-14 | 65,110 | 19,423 | 84,533 |
2014-15 | 61,404 | 18,548 | 79,952 |
2015-16 | 57,723 | 18,822 | 76,545 |
2016-17 | 52,583 | 18,716 | 71,299 |
2017-18 | 50,656 | 18,757 | 69,413 |
2018-19 | 52,393 | 20,215 | 72,608 |
2019-20 | 50,957 | 21,167 | 72,124 |
2020-21 | 52,220 | 20,849 | 73,069 |
2021-22 | 56,995 | 23,234 | 80,229 |
2022-23 | 57,802 | 24,229 | 82,031 |
2023-24 | 65,108 | 29,674 | 94,782 |
Source: National Drug Treatment Monitoring System
Information on the number of young people under 18 years old being treated for substance misuse, including alcohol, is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/alcohol-and-drug-misuse-and-treatment-statistics
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 assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the number of spirometry tests carried out in Community Diagnostic Centres.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England continues to support the restoration of local spirometry services and is enhancing capacity through community diagnostic centres (CDCs).
Spirometry tests are a minimum core test required of all standard or large CDCs. The Department does not currently hold validated data on the number of spirometry tests carried out in CDCs but, as part of guidance issued by NHS England in September 2024, CDCs are expected to perform a minimum of 80 spirometry tests a week if open five days a week, and 112 tests if open for seven days a week. The Elective Reform Plan, published on 6 January 2025, also sets out that we will extend the minimum standards for all CDCs to open 12 hours per day, seven days a week. As CDCs move to seven days, in line with expectations set out in the plan, they will increase overall activity in line with guidance.
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 recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on improving mental health provision in universities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt. Hon. friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has discussions on multiple areas across Government departments, including mental health for children and young people.