Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 open one of the new seven day Community Diagnostic Centres at St Mark's Hospital in Maidenhead.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
St Marks Hospital is currently hosting temporary activity for Slough Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) in Maidenhead whilst the permanent site at Upton Community Hospital in Slough is being completed. All diagnostic activity will move to Upton Hospital later in 2025 once the new CDC is constructed, where it is expected that Slough CDC will be open 12 hours per day, 7 days a week.
The Elective Reform Plan, published on 6 January 2025, sets out that we will extend the minimum standards for all community diagnostic centres, to open 12 hours per day, 7 days a week as well as delivering additional CDC capacity in 2025/26 by expanding a number of existing CDCs and building up to five new ones.
CDCs intend to provide a broad range of elective diagnostics in the community and closer to home, reducing pressure on hospitals and giving patients quicker and more convenient access to tests. Therefore, where feasible, the National Health Service has and will endeavour to locate CDCs in the community rather than in acute settings. This supports one of the Government’s key strategic shifts, namely moving care from the hospital to the community.
Capital investment agreed at Spending Review 2025 and announced in the Autumn Statement will be allocated to local systems by NHS England, and details on this will be released as part of upcoming capital planning guidance. The investment will support a range of initiatives, including supporting systems to deliver against the Government's ambition to return to the 18-week constitutional standard.
NHS England will work with local systems to identify the most appropriate locations for investments, including new CDCs, and expansions of existing CDCs. A key factor they will consider is that new CDCs are positioned in a location which addresses local need and will address health inequalities.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 potential impact of proposed changes to employer National Insurance contributions on the number of available GP appointments.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Primary care providers, including general practices (GPs), are valued independent contractors who provide nearly £20 billion worth of National Health Services. Every year we consult with each sector both about what services they provide, and the money providers are entitled to in return under their contract. As in previous years, the issue of National Insurance contribution changes will be dealt with as part of that process. We will shortly begin discussions on the annual GP Contract.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 reduce waiting lists for heart care treatments, in the context of recent statistics published by the British Heart Foundation on trends in the number of premature deaths from heart and circulatory diseases.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission. The waiting list at the end of July stood at 7.62 million patient pathways, with 417,864 incomplete pathways waiting for treatment for cardiology.
We will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments per week, including in cardiology services, as a First Step in our commitment to ensuring patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks.
We will be supporting NHS Trusts to deliver these through innovation, sharing best practice to increase productivity and efficiency, and ensuring the best value is delivered.
This government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients across all specialities, including cardiology, are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 potential merits of providing access to Enhertu on the NHS for cancer patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS in England are taken by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the basis of an evaluation of a treatment’s costs and benefits. NICE’s methods are internationally respected, and have been developed through extensive work with industry, academics and the public to ensure they appropriately capture the costs and benefits, and best reflect social values. These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is important that they are made independently and on the basis of the available evidence.
We understand that despite NICE instigating an exceptional pause in the process to allow for commercial negotiations to take place with the companies, Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca, a deal to enable patient access to this treatment on the National Health Service in England has not been reached.
We know NICE’s announcement has come as a blow to many women and their families. We understand that NICE and NHS England have already sought to apply as much flexibility as they can in their considerations of Enhertu for HER2 LOW breast cancer and have made it clear to the companies that their pricing of the drug remains the main obstacle to access.
Within 16 weeks of the publication of final guidance, companies can also request a rapid review to consider new patient access scheme proposals, with the aim of establishing a pricing agreement that would improve cost-effectiveness and enable patient access to high-cost medicines. This Government wants to see a deal reached to make Enhertu available. NICE and NHS England remain open to considering an improved offer from the companies through the rapid review process, and we strongly encourage the companies to come back to the table.