Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
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 reduce diagnostic waiting times for people with suspected young onset dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the spending review settlement in 2021/22, £17 million was allocated to the National Health Service to address dementia waiting lists, and to increase the number of diagnoses, which had been adversely impacted by the pandemic. NHS England will share learning on the impact of this funding and examples of good practice with dementia clinical networks, by the end of Summer 2024.
However, the dementia diagnosis rate is not calculated for patients aged under 65 years old. This is because the numbers of patients known to have dementia in the sample population age groups comprising the zero to 64 years old age range, is not large enough for reliable estimates to be made.
The Primary Care Dementia Data publication does include a monthly count of the number of patients aged 65 years old and under who do have a dementia diagnosis on their patient record, which is expressed as a raw count, and as a percentage of registered patients aged zero to 64 years old.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
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 increase the rate of diagnosis for people who develop symptoms of dementia before the age of 65.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the spending review settlement in 2021/22, £17 million was allocated to the National Health Service to address dementia waiting lists, and to increase the number of diagnoses, which had been adversely impacted by the pandemic. NHS England will share learning on the impact of this funding and examples of good practice with dementia clinical networks, by the end of Summer 2024.
However, the dementia diagnosis rate is not calculated for patients aged under 65 years old. This is because the numbers of patients known to have dementia in the sample population age groups comprising the zero to 64 years old age range, is not large enough for reliable estimates to be made.
The Primary Care Dementia Data publication does include a monthly count of the number of patients aged 65 years old and under who do have a dementia diagnosis on their patient record, which is expressed as a raw count, and as a percentage of registered patients aged zero to 64 years old.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
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 adequacy of levels of age-appropriate support offered by Integrated Care Boards for people with young onset dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is committed to delivering high quality care and support for every person with dementia at every age, and central to this is the provision of personalised care.
The Dementia Well Pathway includes diagnosing well, living well, supporting well, and dying well, and highlights that services need to be integrated, commissioned, monitored, and aligned with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s standards for each component of the pathway. It makes it clear that the needs, wishes, and preferences of each individual, including those with young onset dementia, should be taken into account when planning and providing their care.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to provide (a) guidance and (b) resources to support Integrated Care Systems in developing a designated care pathway for people with young onset dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is committed to delivering high quality care and support for every person with dementia at every age, and central to this is the provision of personalised care. The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines.
The Dementia Well Pathway includes diagnosing well, living well, supporting well, and dying well, and highlights that services need to be integrated, commissioned, monitored, and aligned with the NICE’s standards for each component of the pathway. It makes it clear that the needs, wishes, and preferences of each individual should be taken into account in planning and providing their care.
Guidance on dementia care in hospital is referenced in The Dementia Care Pathway, and signals that commissioners should continue to actively engage in local system leadership. An improvement agenda should be developed jointly with key partners, including healthcare providers, social care, local government, and the voluntary and independent sectors. Additionally, on 24 January 2024, the Government announced that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy covering six conditions, including dementia.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to (a) improve published national primary care data on young onset dementia and (b) ensure that young onset dementia is included in the national dementia diagnosis target rate.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Young onset dementia (YOD), defined as dementia diagnosed under the age of 65.
The dementia diagnosis rate is not calculated for patients aged under 65 years old. This is because the numbers of patients known to have dementia in the sample population age groups comprising those aged between zero and 64 years old are not large enough for reliable estimates to be made.
The dementia diagnosis rate for patients aged 65 years old and over is calculated and published monthly via the Primary Care Dementia Data publication, which is available at the following link:
This publication does include a monthly count of the number of patients aged 65 years old and under who do have a dementia diagnosis on their patient record; this is expressed as a raw count and as a percentage of registered patients aged between zero and 64 years old.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
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 decoupling the age at which an individual can claim their NHS Pension from the State Pension Age.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Pension Scheme is generous, and provides good pensions for retirement. A new reformed scheme was introduced in 2015, to ensure the costs are sustainable for the future. The reforms included linking scheme retirement age to an individual’s state pension age, in response to people living healthier, longer lives.
Individuals can claim their National Health Service pension earlier than their state pension age, although their benefits will be reduced in value, to account for the fact that they are being paid for longer. This reduction is waived when the scheme accepts a claim for early retirement on ill-health grounds. Where an NHS pension is claimed after state pension age, the reverse applies, and the value of benefits will be increased. The scheme also offers a partial retirement option, which allows staff to draw down all or part of their pension, and continue working in a more flexible way.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on tackling shortages of Ezetimibe.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is aware of supply issues affecting several Ezetimibe suppliers. We are engaging with these suppliers to address the issues, and are working with alternative suppliers to ensure supplies remain available.
The medicine supply chain is highly regulated, complex, and global. Supply disruption is an issue which affects the United Kingdom, as well as other countries around the world. There can be a variety of causes, including manufacturing issues, problems with access to raw ingredients, and sudden spikes in demand.
Whilst we can’t always prevent supply issues, the Department has well-established tools and processes to manage them, in order to mitigate risks to patients. We work closely with the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure patients continue to have access to suitable medicines when supply is disrupted.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with stakeholders on tackling shortages of atorvastatin.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There have been supply issues with atorvastatin, but as a result of our work to manage those issues, including engaging with alternative suppliers to cover supply gaps in order to meet demand, they have now been resolved.
The medicine supply chain is highly regulated, complex, and global. Supply disruption is an issue which affects the United Kingdom, as well as other countries around the world. There can be a variety of causes, including manufacturing issues, problems with access to raw ingredients, and sudden spikes in demand.
Whilst we can’t always prevent supply issues, the Department has well-established tools and processes to manage them, in order to mitigate risks to patients. We work closely with the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure patients continue to have access to suitable medicines when supply is disrupted.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on tackling shortages of Etoricoxib.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is aware that a supplier of etoricoxib 60 milligram tablets is experiencing a supply issue. We have been working with that supplier to address the issue, and resupply is expected in early May 2024. We have worked with alternative suppliers to ensure they can cover the gap in the market in the meantime.
The medicine supply chain is highly regulated, complex, and global. Supply disruption is an issue which affects the United Kingdom, as well as other countries around the world. There can be a variety of causes, including manufacturing issues, problems with access to raw ingredients, and sudden spikes in demand.
Whilst we can’t always prevent supply issues, the Department has well-established tools and processes to manage them, in order to mitigate risks to patients. We work closely with the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure patients continue to have access to suitable medicines when supply is disrupted.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is for publishing a response to the Hughes Report on compensation for patients damaged by sodium valproate, published 7 February 2024.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report, and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations, and will respond substantively in due course.