Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
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 ensure that hospices in England receive sustainable funding.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life. The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure that patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and hospices will have a big role to play in that shift.
We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. We are pleased to confirm that the Government has recently released £25 million for 2024/25, and that Hospice UK will distribute the money to hospices throughout England. An additional £75 million will be available from April for 2025/26.
We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding in 2025/26 to support children and young people’s hospices. This is a continuation of the funding which, until recently, was known as the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant. It will be transacted once again by the integrated care boards on behalf of NHS England. This is in line with National Health Service devolution and promotes a more consistent national approach, and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care.
I recently met with key palliative and end of life care, including hospice, stakeholders to discuss the long-term sustainability of palliative and end of life care within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
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 improve equitable access to clinical trials for brain tumour patients; and what plans his Department has to help eligible brain tumour patients to access treatments through clinical trials.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to working with the pharmaceutical industry to develop a more efficient, more competitive, and more accessible clinical research system in the United Kingdom, ensuring that all patients, including those with brain tumours, have access to cutting-edge clinical research and innovative, lifesaving treatments.
Research is crucial in tackling brain cancer, which is why the Department spends £1.5 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), with cancer being one of the largest areas of investment, at over £121.8 million in 2022/23, reflecting its high priority.
The Department is committed to ensuring that clinical trials are people-centred and more accessible, including for brain tumour patients. For example, the NIHR provides an online service called Be Part of Research which promotes participation in health and care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
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 ensure that all brain tumour centres have equitable access to (a) funding, (b) resources and (c) recognition within national frameworks.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission (TJBCM) is an independent organisation funded by 11 charities as well as by Government. The Centre of Excellence programme is community led, being designed and delivered by a committee of National Health Service professionals and scientists from centres across the United Kingdom. The centres that participate in the TJBCM Centre of Excellence initiative do so voluntarily.
All UK neuro-oncology centres are invited to apply for Tessa Jowell Centre of Excellence status, which is the main “national framework” in neuro-oncology, beyond the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines that apply to all hospitals treating brain tumours. Centres that are not awarded Centre of Excellence designation can also access support from TJBCM and through the Tessa Jowell Network, so all centres and their patients nationally can benefit from this standard-setting. The TJBCM works with every centre in the UK who seeks its support.
The TJBCM welcomes applications from any centre which provides treatment and care for patients with a brain tumour who can demonstrate how they meet the Tessa Jowell Standards of Excellence, to achieve the same high standards of treatment, care, and research. The mission works with every centre in the UK who seeks its support to develop its service, both in England and the devolved nations.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria his Department uses to determine the inclusion of tumour centres in the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure equitable access for all centres regardless of onsite surgical capacity.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission (TJBCM) is an independent organisation funded by 11 charities as well as by Government. The Centre of Excellence programme is community led, being designed and delivered by a committee of National Health Service professionals and scientists from centres across the United Kingdom. The centres that participate in the TJBCM Centre of Excellence initiative do so voluntarily.
All UK neuro-oncology centres are invited to apply for Tessa Jowell Centre of Excellence status, which is the main “national framework” in neuro-oncology, beyond the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines that apply to all hospitals treating brain tumours. Centres that are not awarded Centre of Excellence designation can also access support from TJBCM and through the Tessa Jowell Network, so all centres and their patients nationally can benefit from this standard-setting. The TJBCM works with every centre in the UK who seeks its support.
The TJBCM welcomes applications from any centre which provides treatment and care for patients with a brain tumour who can demonstrate how they meet the Tessa Jowell Standards of Excellence, to achieve the same high standards of treatment, care, and research. The mission works with every centre in the UK who seeks its support to develop its service, both in England and the devolved nations.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
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 to recognise the work of nursing apprentices in tackling the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The National Health Service workforce deserves our recognition and support. We are proud of all staff, including nursing apprentices, who have provided world-class care throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Trainee nursing staff have adapted and developed new skills and practices at pace.
Over 320 health and social care workers were recently recognised in the Birthday Honours and New Year’s honour’s list. We also want to make the NHS the best place to work. The NHS People Plan, published last July, puts the health and wellbeing at its core with a new support package for NHS staff.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has made for the roll out of the covid-19 vaccine in Buckinghamshire; and what the timetable is for that roll out.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The National Health Service (NHS) has a tried and tested track record for delivering vaccination programmes and is working with existing partners across the healthcare system to ensure the safe and effective deployment of a COVID-19 vaccine across every region of the United Kingdom.
Alongside local partners, the NHS has been working to ensure fair access and maximum uptake of the vaccine which is why it has developed three different models of delivery. Included in this are hospital hubs, local vaccination services and vaccination centres. More than 730 vaccination sites have already been established across the UK and hundreds more are opening shortly to take the total to over 1,000.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to clear the backlog of containers being used to store PPE at the Port of Felixstowe and remove that PPE to warehouse storage and free the containers to be returned to destination to carry further supplies.
Answered by Jo Churchill
We have cleared the backlog of containers containing personal protective equipment at Felixstowe and are now managing the expected flow of containers that continue to arrive.
Our United Kingdom storage network is comprised of warehousing environments and off-quay container storage facilities combined with rental containers, all of which are being utilised to enable the release of containers back to the shipping lines.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
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 work with (a) the Lily Jo Project and (b) other mental health organisations to support people affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
We continue to work closely with the National Health Service, Public Health England and a wide range of stakeholders to support people’s mental wellbeing and mental health throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the GS1 report entitled, A scan of the benefits: the Scan4Safety evidence report, published in July 2020, what recent assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing funding to enable the expansion of Scan4Safety across the acute care sector in England.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Scan4Safety pilot proved the benefits of the programme for patient safety, clinical productivity and operational efficiency. In February 2019, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care indicated that he wanted to see the programme taken up by the entire acute sector. Following the publication of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety review, and as the health and care system looks to take forward learnings on the back of the response to COVID-19, we are looking at a range of programmes, including Scan4Safety, to build on known successes. In the case of Scan4Safety this will also be considered as part of the response to the forthcoming Medicines and Medical Devices Bill.