Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
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 improve ophthalmology services.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning secondary care ophthalmology services to meet local need. We would expect services to be commissioned in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance where it is available or best available evidence and for patients to receive treatment, in line with their clinical priority, without any undue delay at any stage of their referral, diagnosis or treatment.
Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) is a national clinical improvement programme, working with frontline clinicians to identify and reduce unwarranted variations in service delivery and clinical practice. NHS England advises the GIRFT report into ophthalmology, which will contain recommendations for service improvement, is due for publication shortly.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of cancer clinical nurse specialist vacancies in the NHS.
Answered by Jo Churchill
NHS Improvement collects vacancy data for three staff groups; doctors, nurses and ‘other staff’. These vacancy statistics are published for England and at the regional level of North, Midlands and East, London and South.
NHS Digital published the latest NHS Improvement vacancy data which can be found at the following link:
The large majority of vacancies are filled by a combination of bank and agency staff.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to tackle cancer workforce shortages in the NHS people plan.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The interim NHS People Plan, published on 3 June 2019, puts the workforce at the heart of the National Health Service and will ensure we have the staff needed to deliver high quality care. A final People Plan will be published soon after the conclusion of the 2019 Spending Review.
The Cancer Workforce Plan for England, published in December 2017 by Health Education England (HEE), set out plans to expand capacity and skills in the cancer workforce, including targeting additional training support for seven priority professions which are key to cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment, such as clinical radiology, histopathology, oncology and diagnostic and therapeutic radiography. HEE will now work with NHS England and NHS Improvement to understand the longer-term workforce implications of further development of cancer services. This work will inform the final People Plan.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
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 ensure that primary care professionals are adequately trained to spot the early signs of rheumatoid arthritis.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The Royal College of General Practitioners’ (RCGP) curriculum statement, ‘Professional & Clinical Modules’, makes clear the importance of a prompt diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
The condition is identified as a key area of clinical knowledge in the RCGP Advanced 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 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) Quality Standard ‘Rheumatoid arthritis in over 16s’, updated in July 2018, emphasises the need for early for urgent referral to a specialist rheumatologist on suspicion of rheumatoid arthritis within three weeks.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NICE Guideline CG91, what steps he is taking to ensure that people with rheumatoid arthritis have access to (a) cognitive behavioural therapy and (b) other appropriate psychological interventions.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidance ‘Rheumatoid Arthritis in Adults: management’, published in July 2018, sets out best practice on the diagnosis, treatment, care support of people living with the condition. The guidance recommends patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are managed by a multidisciplinary team and have access to non-pharmacological management including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychological support. Psychological interventions (for example, relaxation, stress management and cognitive coping skills) can be used to help adults with RA adjust to living with their condition. NICE has also published guidance on ‘Depression in adults with a chronic physical health problem: recognition and management’, which provides advice and guidance for the appropriate use of cognitive behavioural therapy in the management of a long-term condition. Both sets of guidance can be found via the following links:
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
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 effect of the planned closure of Skellingthorpe Health Centre on local provision of health services.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group has received an application from the Glebe Practice regarding the proposed closure of its branch surgery in Skellingthorpe. It will be carrying out a public consultation and an equality impact assessment will be presented to the Primary Care Commissioning Committee prior to any decision being made.
When a general practitioner practice closes, patients are informed and advised to register at other local practices of their choice within the catchment area in which they live. In some instances, and in consultation with patients and patient groups, patients are allocated to other neighbouring practices with adequate capacity. Commissioners locally will work with their practices to ensure they are only allocated a volume of patients which they have capacity to manage appropriately and effectively.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
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 to introduce blood tests for effluents in public health checks after large-scale fires.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
Public Health England has no plans to introduce blood tests for effluents in public health checks after large-scale fires.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter of the hon. Member for Lincoln of 23 January 2019 on the Health Surgery in Bracebridge Heath reference KL6342.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
I replied to the hon. Member’s letter on 1 April 2019.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when scoping is planned to start for the review of NICE technology appraisal methods set out in the 2019 voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access.
Answered by Steve Brine
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will begin scoping what will be considered in the review of its technology appraisal methods in the 2019/20 business year.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
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 adequacy of the provision of dedicated Clinical Nurse Specialists for patients with secondary breast cancer.
Answered by Steve Brine
The NHS Cancer Programme aims to improve access to cancer Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) for all cancer patients when they need it, including those with secondary breast cancer. Health Education England is also working to expand the number of CNS and develop clear CNS competencies and routes into training.