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 raise awareness of blood donation events.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood services in England. In the last financial year, NHSBT delivered over 700 donor recruitment events, resulting in 17,000 new registrations and more than 8,000 blood donation appointments booked. Current activity to raise awareness of donation opportunities across England includes:
- high-profile campaigns aligned with events such as National Blood Week, World Blood Donor Day, Black History Month, Pride, and University Freshers’ Fairs. These are supported by radio, social media, billboards and bus stops, as well as through partnerships with commercial organisations, charities, and the public sector. NHSBT is also piloting advertising on TikTok to reach younger audiences who are under-represented in the donor base;
- targeted activities, including local donor recruitment events, community television, and radio advertising, and the Community Grants Programme which funds trusted local organisations to engage with communities where specific blood types are most needed. Further information on the Community Grants Programme is avaiable at the following link:
https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/how-you-can-help/get-involved/community-grants-programme/;
- direct marketing to previous donors, including phone calls, emails, and text messages, to raise awareness of local sessions and to encourage them to book appointments and return to donate; and
- a recent partnership between the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and NHSBT to encourage learner drivers, especially much needed younger people, and motorists renewing their driving licences to sign up and become regular donors.
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 improve dementia care in hospitals.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a society where every person with dementia, and their families and carers, receive high-quality, compassionate care, from diagnosis through to end of life.
That is why the Government is committed to improving dementia care and is empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including those with dementia.
We have published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for system leaders and will help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia. The tool can be found at the following link:
We will also deliver the first ever Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, which is expected this year.
The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia, it will set national standards for dementia care and redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and 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 reasonable adjustments are in place for people with disabilities to access GPs without going through telephone services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practices (GP) are independent businesses contracted by the National Health Service to deliver essential services. As part of their contract, practices must provide online consultation tools. Online consultation tools are designed to accommodate a wide range of patient needs, including improving access to people with disabilities, making it easier for patients to book appointments, request prescriptions, and register remotely.
Since 1 October, GPs now must offer online access during core hours, from 08:00 to 18:30, bringing online access in line with walk-in and access, to improve convenience and reduce phone queues.
After a decade of declining satisfaction, patient experiences with contacting their GP have improved significantly. As of December 2025, 75.2% of patients report that they find it is easy to contact their GP, a 14.3% increase since July 2024, from 60.9%
Our approach is not a one size fits all. The GP Contract is also clear that all online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a GP. This means that patients should always have the option visiting their practice in person, or telephoning.
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 children in England are epileptic.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information on the number of children in England with epilepsy. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline cites evidence that epilepsy affects about 533,000 in England and Wales, 112,000 of which are children and young people.
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 biopsy waiting times.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
From February 2026, the percentage of histopathology cases reported within ten days will be published at national, regional, integrated care board, and National Health Service trust levels. These histopathology cases will include biopsies in the overall figures, but data is not collected by test type.
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 recorded incidents there have been involving scramblers in the last three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not held in the format requested. NHS England publishes data on the cause of hospital admitted patient care activity. However, this does not distinguish between types of motorcycle vehicles. The following able shows the number of Finished Admission Episodes in each of the past three financial years specifically for injuries to motorcycle riders and pedestrians hit by motorcycles:
External cause | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
Pedestrian injured in collision with two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle | 346 | 345 | 377 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with pedestrian or animal | 99 | 90 | 115 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with pedal cycle | 19 | 38 | 42 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle | 305 | 253 | 286 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with car, pick-up truck or van | 2,990 | 3,104 | 3,211 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with heavy transport vehicle or bus | 97 | 97 | 119 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with railway train or railway vehicle | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with other nonmotor vehicle | 21 | 18 | 17 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with fixed or stationary object | 806 | 876 | 946 |
Motorcycle rider injured in noncollision transport accident | 3,634 | 3,789 | 4,057 |
Motorcycle rider injured in other and unspecified transport accidents | 802 | 812 | 884 |
Total | 8,776 | 9,079 | 9,680 |
Source: Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity, available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-admitted-patient-care-activity
Note: this may not cover all incidents in which a motorcycle rider or pedestrian is injured, as these could also be recorded under more general transport-related causes such as: “Motor- or nonmotor-vehicle accident, type of vehicle unspecified”. This also does not include any admissions due to injuries in other vehicles which were involved in a collision with a motorcycle.
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 children in the UK have Kawasaki Disease.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England holds records of hospital activity, and not the number of patients who have a particular condition. Therefore, the number indicated from hospital admissions gives an indication since Kawasaki disease is treated in hospital. Between the years 2020 to 2025, 2,188 patients aged between zero to 17 years old were admitted with a primary diagnosis of Kawasaki disease. The National Disease Registration Service does not hold data on Kawasaki disease. NHS England estimates approximately eight in every 100,000 children develop Kawasaki disease in the United Kingdom each year. The NHS England Kawasaki disease page also includes information on symptoms, diagnosis, management, as well as links for further support, and is avaiable at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/kawasaki-disease/
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 men have been prescribed GLP1 weight-loss injections on the NHS in the last 12 months.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Business Services Authority holds data on drugs that have been submitted for reimbursement from English dispensing contractors in community settings. Patient information has been captured where possible. No data about the clinical indication for a prescription can be captured.
The following table provides the total number of identified patients who were dispensed injectable medicines listed in the NHS Obesity Guidance and licenced for the use of weight loss management, between December 2024 and November 2025, regardless of where prescribed:
Products | Male patients | Female patients |
Injectable weight loss medication | 146,900 | 163,400 |
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 women have been prescribed GLP1 weight-loss injections on the NHS in the last year.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Business Services Authority holds data on drugs that have been submitted for reimbursement from English dispensing contractors in community settings. Patient information has been captured where possible. No data about the clinical indication for a prescription can be captured.
The following table provides the total number of identified patients who were dispensed injectable medicines listed in the NHS Obesity Guidance and licenced for the use of weight loss management, between December 2024 and November 2025, regardless of where prescribed:
Products | Male patients | Female patients |
Injectable weight loss medication | 146,900 | 163,400 |
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 received Gastric band surgery in each of the last three years in England and Wales broken down by male and female.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Health is a devolved matter. The Department does not hold information on gastric band and gastric sleeve surgery in Wales.
For England, the table below shows the number of gastric band and gastric sleeve surgeries undertaken between 2022 and 2025:
Financial Year | Gastric Band | Gastric Sleeve | ||||
Female | Male | Other | Female | Male | Other | |
2022-23 | 50 | 7 | 0 | 1,928 | 460 | 1 |
2023-24 | 28 | 8 | 0 | 2,443 | 568 | 18 |
2024-25 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 3,122 | 664 | 26 |
This analysis is based on Hospital Episode Statistics and includes all episodes in which a procedure for the insertion of a new gastric band or gastric sleeve is recorded. These figures do not directly represent the number of individual patients, as one person may have multiple episodes of care either within the same hospital stay or across different admissions during the year and/or over years.
Data for gastric sleeve procedures also includes episodes where the sleeve is performed as part of wider surgery for a duodenal switch.