Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
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 ensure that consumers have accurate information to make informed decisions when purchasing covid-19 testing services; and what measures the Government plan to implement to protect consumers from potential scammers operating in the covid-19 testing market.
Answered by Maggie Throup
In order to help consumers chose a reputable private provider for testing services, we have provided guidance which is available at the following link:
We also monitor issues raised by the public and reports from other key regulatory and oversight bodies. If we become aware that a provider is not meeting the required minimum standards and it is not corrected, we can remove their listing from GOV.UK. Where a private provider’s activities pose a potential risk to public safety, we will refer them to the appropriate enforcement body, depending on the infringement. Where necessary we will support regulatory bodies undertaking further investigation of a provider and support any legal actions or interventions.
Consumers who have been a victim of fraud can make a report directly to Action Fraud, Citizens Advice and the police. Any report received directly to UK Health Security Agency will be reviewed and intelligence will be shared with the appropriate authority.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department is making on the development of the new national stroke plan for England.
Answered by Steve Brine
A Stroke Programme Board was established in March 2018, overseeing the development of a stroke plan to address the challenges of prevention, service reconfiguration, optimising rehabilitation services, workforce development and transformative data. Subsequently the Board will lead the programme to optimise these areas of work.
The Board is co-chaired by the National Medical Director, Professor Steve Powis and Juliet Bouverie, Chief Executive Officer of the Stroke Association.
The stroke programme will include a strong focus on rehabilitation with a number of specific initiatives including improving accessible data to inform change, workforce optimisation, reduction in variation of key services such as early supported discharge and improved signposting for continued provision at six months after stroke and beyond.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department allocated to Public Health England’s Act FAST campaign in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Steve Brine
The funding allocated to the Act Face Arms Speech Time (FAST) media spend is as follows:
2015-16: £920,000
2016-17: £1.15 million
2017-18: £1.29 million
Marketing spend is defined for this purpose as advertising spend covering only the media costs (inclusive of agency commission). These figures do not include recruitment/classified advertising costs and ad hoc spend under £10,000. All figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.
All Public Health England spend over £25,000, including on public health campaigns, is published routinely and available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/phe-spend-over-25000
The campaign’s effectiveness is evaluated in a number of ways including reviewing 999 call data from regional ambulance trusts and modelling clinical outcomes. This research has shown that between the launch of Act FAST in 2009 and 2016, it is estimated that an additional 47,804 people reached hospital within the vital three-hour window and 5,365 fewer people became disabled as a result of a stroke in the period. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
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 effectiveness of Public Health England’s Act FAST campaign in saving lives and preventing serious disability.
Answered by Steve Brine
The funding allocated to the Act Face Arms Speech Time (FAST) media spend is as follows:
2015-16: £920,000
2016-17: £1.15 million
2017-18: £1.29 million
Marketing spend is defined for this purpose as advertising spend covering only the media costs (inclusive of agency commission). These figures do not include recruitment/classified advertising costs and ad hoc spend under £10,000. All figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.
All Public Health England spend over £25,000, including on public health campaigns, is published routinely and available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/phe-spend-over-25000
The campaign’s effectiveness is evaluated in a number of ways including reviewing 999 call data from regional ambulance trusts and modelling clinical outcomes. This research has shown that between the launch of Act FAST in 2009 and 2016, it is estimated that an additional 47,804 people reached hospital within the vital three-hour window and 5,365 fewer people became disabled as a result of a stroke in the period. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the progress made by sustainability and transformation partnerships in reconfiguring acute stroke services.
Answered by Steve Brine
A number of areas across the country including London, Greater Manchester and Northumbria, have taken an active lead on the improvement of acute stroke services through service reconfiguration. Many sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) are beginning to follow suit, with the significant opportunities being highlighted by the NHS Rightcare Stroke Pathway which collates key evidence along with indicative examples of best practice commissioning.
The national stroke programme will accelerate the speed of change, with significant leadership from Integrated Care System vanguards, who are particularly well placed to take a cross-system approach to improving patient-centred care in their areas.
An increasing number of STPs are also benefitting from NHS England’s specialist commissioning of regional thrombectomy centres. In addition to providing some stroke patients with access to new life-changing treatment, thrombectomy centres also support the development of streamlined acute stroke pathways, improving the quality of care for many more stroke survivors.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the second chapter of the childhood obesity strategy.
Answered by Steve Brine
Chapter two of our world-leading childhood obesity plan will set out ambitious actions that we believe will make a real difference. We will be in a position to say more shortly.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the second chapter of the childhood obesity strategy will include recommendations to improve children’s physical health.
Answered by Steve Brine
Chapter two of our world-leading childhood obesity plan will set out ambitious actions that we believe will make a real difference. We will be in a position to say more shortly.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
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 increase investment in research into rare conditions.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government supports research into common and rare diseases through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). In 2016 my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced a £816 million investment in the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres, over five years from 1 April 2017, which has been awarded to 20 leading National Health Service and university partnerships across England. Each of the 20 NIHR Biomedical Research Centres hosts the development of new, ground-breaking treatments, diagnostics, prevention and care for patients in a wide range of diseases and has considerable expertise, capacity and activity in research for rare diseases.
The NIHR Clinical Research Network is available to support the set-up and timely delivery of commercial and non-commercial studies and trials in England which would include studies on rare diseases.
Rare diseases patients also benefit from the pioneering research as part of the 100,000 Genomes Project. As of late 2017, over 2,000 researchers in 342 United Kingdom and international institutions were part of Genomics England’s Clinical Interpretation Partnership, which have been set up improve understanding of genomic medicine and its application to healthcare; improve understanding of diseases; and lead the way to developing new diagnostics and treatments.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
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 increase investment in research into trigeminal neuralgia.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department funds research mainly through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The usual practice of the NIHR and other research funders is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including on trigeminal neuralgia.
Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. The amount of NIHR funding in a disease area therefore depends on the quality and volume of scientific activity.
The NIHR Clinical Research Network is available to support the set-up and timely delivery of commercial and non-commercial studies and trials in England which would include studies on trigeminal neuralgia. The NIHR has previously funded research projects on chronic facial pain as part of the range of NIHR training schemes that support future research leaders and would welcome further applications for training awards based on research on trigeminal neuralgia.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
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 increase awareness among (a) clinicians and (b) the public of trigeminal neuralgia.
Answered by Steve Brine
General practice is where most patients with trigeminal neuralgia are likely to be first seen and the condition is identified as a key area of clinical knowledge in the Royal College of General Practitioners (GP) Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) content guide. The AKT is a summative assessment of the knowledge base that underpins general practice in the United Kingdom within the context of the National Health Service and is a key part of GPs’ qualifying exams. The AKT content guide can be found at the following link:
www.rcgp.org.uk/training-exams/mrcgp-exams-overview/mrcgp-applied-knowledge-test-akt.aspx
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced an online Clinical Knowledge Summary (CKS) on the diagnosis and treatment of trigeminal neuralgia to support clinicians in the management of the condition. In 2013, NICE also published the clinical guideline ‘Neuropathic pain in adults: pharmacological management in non- specialist settings’ which provides advice to clinicians on the management of conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia. Both the CKS and the guideline, which is also available in a format suitable for patients, can be found at the following links:
cks.nice.org.uk/trigeminal-neuralgia
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg173
NHS England has also published a commissioning policy for the use of stereotactic radiosurgery in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. This may be appropriate for some patients where pharmaceutical management does not work or is not tolerated. The commissioning policy can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/d05-p-b.pdf
Finally, NHS Choices provides information for patients and the public on a wide range of conditions, including trigeminal neuralgia. This covers causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. The NHS Choices page can be found at the following link:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/trigeminal-neuralgia/