Asked by: Lee Pitcher (Labour - Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to extend eligibility for NHS lung screening programmes to include people with a history of occupational exposure to (a) asbestos, (b) coal dust and (c) other hazardous substances.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme is offered to people between the ages of 55 and 74 years old who are current smokers or have previously been smokers. This is in line with the recommendation made by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) in 2022.
The UK NSC recognised that there are other causes of lung cancer such as air pollution and occupational exposure to inhaled carcinogens but as 72% of lung cancer is largely attributable to age and smoking status, the benefits of screening would have the most impact in this cohort of people.
When appraising the viability of a targeted screening the UK NSC takes into consideration the feasibility of identifying the cohort of people eligible for targeted screening. This would be necessary if the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme were to be extended to these groups.
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), welcomes any new published peer reviewed evidence which suggests the case for a new or modified screening programme via its annual call, of which details are available at the following link:
Asked by: Lee Pitcher (Labour - Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme)
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 help increase the supply of Creon; and what support his Department is providing to patients who are not able to use alternative medicines.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to engage with suppliers of Creon and other pancreatic enzyme replacement therapies (PERT) to boost production to mitigate the supply issue. The supplier of Creon expects to receive increased quantities for 2025. Suppliers of alternative PERT and specialist importers of unlicensed medicines continue to supply increased volumes to assist in covering the gap in the market. The Department has issued management advice to healthcare professionals which directs clinicians to unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable, and which includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure local mitigation plans are implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a webpage to include the latest update on PERT availability and easily accessible prescribing advice for clinicians.