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Written Question
Dementia: Finance
Tuesday 27th February 2024

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government is on target to double dementia funding by 2024/25.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is dedicated to supporting research into dementia, and has committed to doubling the funding for dementia research to £160 million per year by the end of 2024/25. The Government’s responsibility for delivering dementia research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation.

In 2022/23, the most recent year we have data for, we estimate that total Government spend on dementia research was £96.9 million. Spend is dependent on the number and quality of applications received, as well as the volume of research that requires infrastructure support, therefore research spend can only be calculated retrospectively after the end of the financial year.

The Government is making significant progress towards meeting the commitment and has instigated momentous new programmes of work, for instance investing almost £50 million over five years into the NIHR’s Dementia Translational Research Collaboration Trial Network, which will expand the United Kingdom’s early phase clinical trial capabilities in dementia, speeding up the development of new treatments. A new Clinical Trials Delivery Accelerator focused on dementia was also announced in the Autumn Statement 2023, with up to £20 million of funding to help innovation reach National Health Service patients even faster. Many new initiatives and research projects will begin to spend in 2024/25.


Written Question
Dementia: Finance
Tuesday 27th February 2024

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the additional £95 million investment in dementia care has been allocated.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission was launched in August 2022 with £95 million of Government funding. There is now more than £120 million of committed funding to the mission, which will be invested into three key pillars. The first pillar centres on biomarkers and experimental medicine, and will receive £50 million of the funding for the mission, with the intention of securing match funding from industry partners. As part of this pillar, Innovate UK launched a Small Business Research Initiative competition, with the aim of accelerating innovations in clinical biomarker tools and technologies for dementia, where organisations could apply for a share of £6 million of funding out of the allocated £50 million. These technologies will enable the discovery, validation, and implementation of a suite of decision-enabling biomarkers to help transform clinical trials and precision therapies. The competition closed on 4 September 2023, and the recipients awarded a portion of the £6 million will be announced soon.

The second pillar will focus on clinical trial infrastructure and innovation, with two recently announced initiatives to support its delivery. The first of these initiatives is the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s Dementia-Translational Research Collaboration Trials Network, with almost £50 million of funding over five years. This will expand the United Kingdom’s early phase clinical trial capabilities for dementia, speeding up the development of new treatments. The second initiative is the Clinical Trials Delivery Accelerator, focused on dementia, also named the Dementia Accelerator. This was announced in the Autumn Statement 2023, in response to Lord O’Shaughnessy’s independent review into commercial clinical trials in the UK, with up to £20 million of additional funding.

The third pillar will be focused on end-to-end implementation, specifically on aligning translational research, clinical practice, and regulatory frameworks to prepare health-systems for new dementia medicines. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NHS England, the Department, the devolved administrations, and the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission are already working closely together to plan for the implementation of new dementia medicines, should they gain approval in the UK.


Written Question
NHS Learning Support Fund: Pharmacy
Wednesday 21st February 2024

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason Master of Pharmacy courses are not included in the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Learning Support Fund (LSF) is available broadly to those courses which were eligible for the NHS Bursary prior to the 2017 reforms, and therefore, subjects such as pharmacy are outside of the scope of the LSF arrangements. There are no immediate plans to make changes to the LSF scheme design.

The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare students under close review. At all times the Government must strike a balance between the level of support students receive, and the need to make best use of public funds to deliver value for money.


Written Question
NHS Learning Support Fund: Pharmacy
Wednesday 21st February 2024

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include Masters of Pharmacy courses in the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Learning Support Fund (LSF) is available broadly to those courses which were eligible for the NHS Bursary prior to the 2017 reforms, and therefore, subjects such as pharmacy are outside of the scope of the LSF arrangements. There are no immediate plans to make changes to the LSF scheme design.

The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare students under close review. At all times the Government must strike a balance between the level of support students receive, and the need to make best use of public funds to deliver value for money.


Written Question
Liver Diseases: Screening
Tuesday 23rd January 2024

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

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 increase access to FibroScan testing for liver fibrosis through Community Diagnostic Centres.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are currently plans for 12 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) to offer FibroScan testing, of which six are operational. A further six CDCs plan to offer this service by the end of March 2024.

The CDC core diagnostic tests offer is based on the recommendations in the Sir Mike Richards Review, and decisions on what tests are offered outside of the core requirements of CDCs is taken at a local level based on need.

The Government is working with the National Health Service to support earlier diagnosis of liver disease and identifying patients at risk. This includes plans for upgrading laboratory digital capabilities as part of the £2.3 billion diagnostics transformation programme, to ensure that labs across the country have the capability to offer Intelligent Liver Function Tests, that can effectively and quickly identify patients at high risk of advanced fibrosis.

The Government is also working with the NHS to deliver and consider the result from the pilot of the community liver health check programme, which is due to deliver 22,000 FibroScans per year to communities at particular risk of liver disease. From June 2022 to September 2023, over 26,500 FibroScans were delivered through the pilots, and 8% of people scanned have already been enrolled into liver surveillance programmes. The programme is being delivered across 19 areas by Hepatitis C Operational Delivery Networks to FibroScan patients at high risk of cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis, utilising 40 FibroScan machines.

NHS England is reviewing existing liver diagnosis pathways as part of its wider diagnostic transformation work, to determine what the best approach should be to identify patients at an earlier stage of liver disease, through a liver pathway starting in primary care and involving pathology labs and CDCs. This will include a combination of blood tests and FibroScans.


Written Question
Liver Diseases: Diagnosis
Tuesday 23rd January 2024

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

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 improve the diagnosis of liver disease.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are currently plans for 12 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) to offer FibroScan testing, of which six are operational. A further six CDCs plan to offer this service by the end of March 2024.

The CDC core diagnostic tests offer is based on the recommendations in the Sir Mike Richards Review, and decisions on what tests are offered outside of the core requirements of CDCs is taken at a local level based on need.

The Government is working with the National Health Service to support earlier diagnosis of liver disease and identifying patients at risk. This includes plans for upgrading laboratory digital capabilities as part of the £2.3 billion diagnostics transformation programme, to ensure that labs across the country have the capability to offer Intelligent Liver Function Tests, that can effectively and quickly identify patients at high risk of advanced fibrosis.

The Government is also working with the NHS to deliver and consider the result from the pilot of the community liver health check programme, which is due to deliver 22,000 FibroScans per year to communities at particular risk of liver disease. From June 2022 to September 2023, over 26,500 FibroScans were delivered through the pilots, and 8% of people scanned have already been enrolled into liver surveillance programmes. The programme is being delivered across 19 areas by Hepatitis C Operational Delivery Networks to FibroScan patients at high risk of cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis, utilising 40 FibroScan machines.

NHS England is reviewing existing liver diagnosis pathways as part of its wider diagnostic transformation work, to determine what the best approach should be to identify patients at an earlier stage of liver disease, through a liver pathway starting in primary care and involving pathology labs and CDCs. This will include a combination of blood tests and FibroScans.


Written Question
Continuing Care: Finance
Friday 12th January 2024

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will undertake a review of the adequacy of funding for continuing healthcare.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have no plans at this time to assess the efficacy of the NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) process or to review funding for CHC. The Government continues to work with our partners, including NHS England who are responsible for oversight of CHC delivery, to deliver CHC policy effectively.


Written Question
Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates: Regulation
Monday 8th January 2024

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of instructing the General Medical Council to regulate (a) physician and (b) anaesthesia associates on the quality of care.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Introducing statutory regulation for these roles will enhance patient safety. Regulation will provide a standardised framework of governance and assurance for clinical practice and professional conduct, to enable anaesthesia associates (AAs) and physician associates (Pas) to make a greater contribution to patient care.

The assessment of the appropriate regulatory body for PA and AA regulation was completed in 2019 following a public consultation. Most respondents to the consultation were in favour of the General Medical Council (GMC) taking on regulation.

Regulation by the GMC will mean that the organisation will have responsibility and oversight of doctors, AAs and PAs, allowing them to take a holistic approach to the education, training and standards of all three roles. This will enable a more coherent and co-ordinated approach to regulation and, by making it easier for employers, patients, and the public to understand the relationship between these roles and doctors, help to embed them in the workforce.


Written Question
Medical Equipment: Recycling
Monday 11th December 2023

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

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 increase the amount of used medical equipment that is recycled.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service report, published in October 2020, the NHS is committed to reducing its environmental impact, including by cutting its carbon emissions and increasing the reuse and recycling of medical equipment. This commitment is then applied locally, considering local priorities, through local Green Plans. NHS England also collaborates with NHS Supply Chain to increase availability of reusable products and supports local NHS organisations through the publication of guidance and resources to help with implementing changes.

As an example, the NHS has set out ambitions to expand existing walking aid refurbishment schemes. Arrangements for the return and reuse of walking aids are managed locally, to be adapted to the local context, and several NHS trusts already have local return and reuse schemes with over 200 return sites now featured on the Recycle Now website.

NHS England is supporting local NHS organisations to increase walking aid return rates, with initiatives including running a national walking aid return campaign as part of recycling week between 16 and 22 October 2023; providing guidance to trusts on setting up or enhancing reuse schemes and planning communication activities; providing visual material to help communicate locally about the schemes in a consistent way; and directly supporting trusts with their pilot schemes.

Regarding further equipment types, improving resource efficiency forms a key part of the Government’s Medical Technology Strategy, published in February 2023, where we are working with industry, the health and care sector, and academic partners to improve the extent to which we reuse, remanufacture, and recycle many different medical equipment types.

Currently, the Department do not hold centralised data on the proportion of all used medical equipment that is recycled.


Written Question
Medical Equipment: Recycling
Monday 11th December 2023

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of used medical equipment was recycled in each of the last three years.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service report, published in October 2020, the NHS is committed to reducing its environmental impact, including by cutting its carbon emissions and increasing the reuse and recycling of medical equipment. This commitment is then applied locally, considering local priorities, through local Green Plans. NHS England also collaborates with NHS Supply Chain to increase availability of reusable products and supports local NHS organisations through the publication of guidance and resources to help with implementing changes.

As an example, the NHS has set out ambitions to expand existing walking aid refurbishment schemes. Arrangements for the return and reuse of walking aids are managed locally, to be adapted to the local context, and several NHS trusts already have local return and reuse schemes with over 200 return sites now featured on the Recycle Now website.

NHS England is supporting local NHS organisations to increase walking aid return rates, with initiatives including running a national walking aid return campaign as part of recycling week between 16 and 22 October 2023; providing guidance to trusts on setting up or enhancing reuse schemes and planning communication activities; providing visual material to help communicate locally about the schemes in a consistent way; and directly supporting trusts with their pilot schemes.

Regarding further equipment types, improving resource efficiency forms a key part of the Government’s Medical Technology Strategy, published in February 2023, where we are working with industry, the health and care sector, and academic partners to improve the extent to which we reuse, remanufacture, and recycle many different medical equipment types.

Currently, the Department do not hold centralised data on the proportion of all used medical equipment that is recycled.