Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to reduce levels of mental health conditions of people living with HIV.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving the quality of life for people living with HIV, which includes providing support for mental health conditions. As set out in the NHS England Roadmap, specialised HIV inpatient and outpatient services have been identified as key areas for greater integrated care systems leadership by NHS England and integrated care boards (ICBs). This will allow local systems to simplify and strengthen HIV care pathways with other services through effective local partnerships, including psychosocial support and mental health and counselling services, for a more holistic approach to care.
NHS England has now approved plans to fully delegate the commissioning of appropriate specialised services, including specialised HIV services, to ICBs in the East, the Midlands and the North West regions of England from April 2024. NHS England will also continue to jointly commission appropriate specialised services with ICBs, including specialised HIV services, in the South West, South East, London and the North East and Yorkshire regions of England for a further year. This will help support a smooth transition of commissioning responsibility by April 2025.
The national service specification sets out the requirement for agreeing pathways which define responsibility for meeting the non-HIV needs of patients and identify shared care, including clinical psychology and psychological support services. The NHS Talking Therapies Programme has also developed an e-learning module for Talking Therapies staff on HIV, which is available at the following link:
https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/breaking-barriers-in-hiv-care/
This will enable therapists to support people with anxiety and depression related to the experience of having HIV. As per the NHS Talking Therapies Pathway for People with Long-term Physical Health Conditions and Medically Unexplained Symptoms, from 2018/19 all NHS Talking Therapies services were commissioned to establish pathways for people living with long-term physical health conditions, as a key mechanism to ensure the delivery of increased access to psychological therapies.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has taken recent steps to (a) raise awareness of HIV among those living in care and (b) provide support for those living with HIV and in care.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The HIV Action Plan is the cornerstone of our approach in England, to drive forward progress and achieve our goal to end new HIV transmissions, AIDS, and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030. A key principle of our approach is to ensure that all populations benefit equally from improvements made in HIV outcomes, including those living in care.
As set out in the NHS England Roadmap, adult specialised HIV inpatient and outpatient services have been identified by NHS England as key areas for greater integrated care systems leadership and integrated care boards (ICBs). Integrating the commissioning of HIV treatment services with ICBs will allow local systems to simplify and strengthen HIV care pathways with other services through effective local partnerships, including psychosocial support and mental health services, for a more holistic approach to care including links with social services.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding HIV opt-out testing to (a) GP surgeries and (b) other clinical settings.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the HIV Action Plan, NHS England has expanded opt-out HIV testing in 34 emergency departments in local areas in England with extremely high HIV prevalence, as well as the whole of London, including some areas with high HIV prevalence. This programme began in 2022 and is funded by NHS England until the end of March 2025. In the first 21 months, the programme has preliminarily identified 685 people newly diagnosed with HIV and 384 people previously diagnosed with HIV, but not in care.
Given the success of the programme, the Department has committed an additional £20 million for new research, which will involve an expansion and evaluation of opt-out blood borne virus testing, including HIV, in 47 additional emergency departments in local areas with high HIV prevalence across England. Funding will support 12 months of testing for each emergency department, to begin in April 2024, but it is at the discretion of individual sites when the testing will commence.
Decisions on whether to continue offering opt-out HIV testing in emergency departments in local areas with high and extremely high HIV prevalence will be based on the outcomes of the current opt-out HIV testing programme and research project, as well as available funding.
There are currently no plans to assess the merits of opt-out HIV testing in general practice (GP) or other clinical settings, but HIV testing is already offered and recommended in some circumstances in a range of clinical settings, including GP surgeries, in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s testing guidance. This guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to continue opt-out testing for HIV in emergency departments.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the HIV Action Plan, NHS England has expanded opt-out HIV testing in 34 emergency departments in local areas in England with extremely high HIV prevalence, as well as the whole of London, including some areas with high HIV prevalence. This programme began in 2022 and is funded by NHS England until the end of March 2025. In the first 21 months, the programme has preliminarily identified 685 people newly diagnosed with HIV and 384 people previously diagnosed with HIV, but not in care.
Given the success of the programme, the Department has committed an additional £20 million for new research, which will involve an expansion and evaluation of opt-out blood borne virus testing, including HIV, in 47 additional emergency departments in local areas with high HIV prevalence across England. Funding will support 12 months of testing for each emergency department, to begin in April 2024, but it is at the discretion of individual sites when the testing will commence.
Decisions on whether to continue offering opt-out HIV testing in emergency departments in local areas with high and extremely high HIV prevalence will be based on the outcomes of the current opt-out HIV testing programme and research project, as well as available funding.
There are currently no plans to assess the merits of opt-out HIV testing in general practice (GP) or other clinical settings, but HIV testing is already offered and recommended in some circumstances in a range of clinical settings, including GP surgeries, in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s testing guidance. This guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help introduce optimally staffed alcohol care teams in hospitals with high rates of alcohol dependence-related admissions.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS England alcohol programme aims to establish optimal Alcohol Care Teams (ACTs) in acute hospitals to improve the care provided to people who have alcohol-use disorders, mainly those who are alcohol dependent. NHS England has nationally funded the rollout of ACTs in areas of greatest need, alongside the commissioning of a quality improvement network, research evaluation, and a range of direct implementation support initiatives.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to ensure that living well with HIV is prioritised in local commissioning by integrated care boards.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
HIV services are open access, and any adults with a diagnosis of HIV can self-refer. Any service diagnosing HIV in adults can refer to any specialised HIV service provider.
As set out in the NHS England Roadmap, adult specialised HIV inpatient and outpatient services have been identified by NHS England as key areas for greater integrated care systems (ICS) leadership and integrated care boards (ICBs). Integrating the commissioning of HIV treatment services with ICBs will allow local systems to simplify and strengthen HIV care pathways with other services through effective local partnerships, including psychosocial support and mental health services, for a more holistic approach to care.
The Service Specification for Adult HIV services (2013) sets out the standards of care that HIV providers are expected to meet. Services are expected to support people living with HIV to live well by collaborating with other health, social care, and community providers. Since most people living with HIV on suppressive antiretroviral therapy have a near normal life expectancy and may develop additional needs associated with an increased risk of other long-term conditions, providers are expected to ensure that people have access to relevant screening and assessment for long-term conditions, and are sign-posted to non-HIV services where appropriate.
ICBs are responsible for developing a plan for meeting the health needs of the population, managing the National Health Service budget, and arranging for the provision of health services in the ICS area.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of NHS supplies of (a) Methylphenidate, (b) Lisdexamfetamine, (c) Guanfacine and (d) other Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder medications.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Shortages of medicines for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) including methylphenidate, lisdexamfetamine, and guanfacine have primarily been driven by regulatory issues at key manufacturing sites and capacity constraints at third party manufacturing sites, compounded by steady increases in demand. These issues have resulted in global supply disruptions. The Department has been working closely with the respective manufacturers and some issues including shortages of guanfacine have now been resolved. However, we know that there continue to be disruptions to the supply of some other medicines, which should resolve by April 2024.
We have well-established processes to manage supply issues and continue to work with the respective manufacturers and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that the supply disruptions are resolved as soon as possible.
We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine shortages can be and we want to assure patients that we are working with the respective manufacturers to resolve the issues with ADHD medicine supply in the United Kingdom as soon as possible and to help ensure patients are able to access these medicines in the short and long term.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the global supply of (a) Methylphenidate, (b) Lisdexamfetamine, (c) Guanfacine and (d) other Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder medications.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Shortages of medicines for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) including methylphenidate, lisdexamfetamine, and guanfacine have primarily been driven by regulatory issues at key manufacturing sites and capacity constraints at third party manufacturing sites, compounded by steady increases in demand. These issues have resulted in global supply disruptions. The Department has been working closely with the respective manufacturers and some issues including shortages of guanfacine have now been resolved. However, we know that there continue to be disruptions to the supply of some other medicines, which should resolve by April 2024.
We have well-established processes to manage supply issues and continue to work with the respective manufacturers and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that the supply disruptions are resolved as soon as possible.
We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine shortages can be and we want to assure patients that we are working with the respective manufacturers to resolve the issues with ADHD medicine supply in the United Kingdom as soon as possible and to help ensure patients are able to access these medicines in the short and long term.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce the medication initiation waiting time for people who receive a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder through Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
With respect to referral and treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), healthcare professionals, commissioners and providers should have due regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline NG87: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management. This guideline, updated in September 2019, aims to improve recognition and diagnosis, as well as the quality of care and support for people with ADHD. The guideline also covers considerations on pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for ADHD.
More specifically, the guideline states that for children aged five years old and over and for adults, medication should be offered if ADHD symptoms are still causing a significant impairment in at least one domain after environmental modifications have been implemented and reviewed. The guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng87
Overall, the decision and timescale for initiating medication should be a clinical decision based on the individual patient.
We are aware of current disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of ADHD. The Department has been working closely with the respective manufacturers to ensure that the supply disruptions are resolved as soon as possible.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
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 increasing the maximum funding available through the Disabled Facilities Grant to take account of increases in the cost of living.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local areas already have discretion to make grants above the current upper limit on a case-by-case basis, or in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. As with all aspects of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), the Government will continue to keep the upper limit under review.
The paper entitled Next steps to put People at the Heart of Care, published in April 2023, announced a further £102 million of funding for housing adaptation support, including £50 million in 2023/24 and £52 million in 2024/25. This is in addition to the £573 million per year which is already available for the DFG. The increase will enable local areas to fund supplementary services that are agile and help people stay independent, support hospital discharge, and make minor adaptations.