Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 raise (a) public and (b) professional awareness of (i) inflammatory bowel disease and (ii) other unseen disabilities in the context of access to (A) healthcare and (B) social support for people with those conditions.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Programme on gastroenterology aims to reduce variations in care, increase early diagnosis and proactive management of Crohn’s disease and colitis, and increase access to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) specialist nurses.
The National institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has also produced a range of guidance on IBD, Crohn’s disease and colitis, to support early diagnosis and effective management of these conditions. It ensures that the care provided to people with IBD is based on the best available evidence. In the last two years, the NICE has recommended four new drugs for the treatment of moderate to severe Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, including Upadacitinib, Risankizumab, Mirikizumab, and Etrasimod.
NHS England’s National Bladder and Bowel Health Project is delivering better care for people with IBD, with a focus on developing clinical pathways. NHS England commissions specialised colorectal services nationally to support the equity of access to high-quality treatment for patients with IBD requiring complex surgery. This work is supported within NHS England by the clinical leadership of the Specialised Colorectal Services Clinical Reference Group, which is made up of experts in surgery, medicine, radiology, pathology, and nursing, alongside patient and public voice representatives.
To raise awareness of IBD among general practitioners and other primary care staff, the Royal College of General Practitioners has produced an Inflammatory Bowel Disease Toolkit. The toolkit outlines when to suspect IBD, the appropriate investigative tests and diagnostic tools for IBD, how to manage a flare-up of symptoms, and how to support patients with IBD.
Under the Equality Act 2010, health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. NHS England has issued guidance for National Health Service commissioners with respect to the Reasonable Adjustments Digital Flag (the Flag). The Flag has been developed to enable health and care workers to record, share, and view, in digital records, details of the reasonable adjustments required by an individual across the NHS, wherever the person is treated. The Flag was built and launched by NHS England in September 2023, and is being implemented in phases. NHS organisations will be required to fully comply with the requirements of the Flag by 31 December 2025.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to create a cross-governmental strategy for the prevention of ill health that would include measures on tackling (a) health and (b) other lifestyle factors that affect a person's risk of developing dementia that are (i) within and (ii) not within people's control, such as air pollution.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the Government’s health mission, we will shift from sickness to prevention, to tackle ill health, prevent premature deaths, and build a fairer United Kingdom where everyone lives longer, healthier lives.
We have committed to developing a 10-year plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future. We will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with dementia care needs, with input from the public, patients, and health staff as we develop the plan.
Since 2018, dementia risk reduction has been incorporated in the NHS Health Check to increase dementia awareness and motivate people to make positive changes to reduce their risks.
We recognise that air pollution is one of the risk factors for dementia. The National Institute for Health and Care Research is supporting research to explore the link between dementia and air pollution, including a project to address how air pollution mitigation measures impact on neurological endpoints.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 improve (a) support and (b) care pathways in the NHS for people diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s National Bladder and Bowel Health Project is delivering better care for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with a focus on developing best practice clinical pathways. NHS England commissions specialised colorectal services nationally to support equity of access to high-quality treatment for patients with IBD requiring complex surgery. This work is supported within NHS England by the clinical leadership of the Specialised Colorectal Services Clinical Reference Group.
NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Programme on gastroenterology aims to reduce variations in care, increase early diagnosis and proactive management of Crohn’s disease and colitis, and increase access to IBD specialist nurses.
We have also committed more broadly to ensuring patients get the care they need as quickly as possible. Funding announced in the Autumn Budget for elective care will also support the delivery of an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments during our first year in Government, which is equivalent to 40,000 per week, across all specialties, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring that patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks. As part of this package, £1.5 billion of capital funding in 2025/26 will enable new surgical hubs and diagnostic scanners to build capacity for over 30,000 additional procedures and over 1.25 million diagnostic tests, as they come online.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 potential (a) impact of the Greater Manchester Dental Quality Access Scheme on access to NHS dental services in Greater Manchester and (b) merits of replicating that scheme in other areas.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England are aware of several local access schemes across the country and are keen to learn from all initiatives, including the Greater Manchester Dental Quality Access Scheme.
Local schemes are considered in the development of national policy. Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local populations, and to determine the priorities for investment.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of (i) endometriosis and (ii) adenomyosis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health and improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for gynaecological conditions. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines support healthcare professionals to diagnose and treat conditions. The NICE has published a Women’s and reproductive health guidelines, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/hub/indevelopment/gid-hub10001
In April 2024, the NICE published updated recommendations on the treatment of endometriosis when fertility is a priority, and in November 2024, published updated recommendations on the diagnosis and management of endometriosis. The NICE has also published a guideline on heavy menstrual bleeding assessment and management. This guideline contains recommendations for the diagnosis of women with suspected adenomyosis. Women's health is also embedded into the Royal College of General Practitioners’ curriculum for trainee general practitioners.
Tackling waiting lists is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission, and we are urgently looking into waiting times for gynecological issues, including for endometriosis and adenomyosis. Funding has been confirmed to support the delivery of our commitment of an extra 40,000 National Health Service operations, scans, and appointments per week, as a first step to delivering on the 18-week standard.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 the number of dentists in Hazel Grove constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments, and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Hazel Grove constituency, this is the Greater Manchester ICB.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 ensure insulin is distributed to (a) large and (b) small pharmacies across the UK.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to work with all suppliers to ensure that insulin products are distributed and available for both small and large pharmacies.
There are ongoing global supply issues with Tresiba FlexTouch 100 units per millilitre pre-filled pens and Fiasp FlexTouch 100 units per millilitre pre-filled pens. We have issued communications to National Health Service healthcare professionals, providing comprehensive management guidance, advice, and information to allow them to support their patients in the management of the supply issues.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 people diagnosed with autism are actively consulted on the support they require by (a) addressing healthcare barriers, (b) improving health outcomes and (c) implementing necessary adjustments in health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines for autism highlight the importance of working in partnership with autistic people and, where appropriate, with their families, partners, and carers. The national framework and operational guidance for all-age autism assessment pathways, published by NHS England, set out what types of support autistic people may benefit from following diagnosis.
From 1 July 2022, service providers registered with the Care Quality Commission are required to ensure their staff receive learning disability and autism training appropriate to their role, as set out in the Health and Care Act 2022. To support this, we are rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism. Over 1.7 million people have now completed the e-learning module, which is the first part of the training.
To make it easier for autistic people to use health services, NHS England has mandated the use of a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag in health records from April 2024. This shows where a disabled person needs a reasonable adjustment to their care. In addition, in June 2024, NHS England published a Health and Care Passport guidance and template. Owned by the individual, hospital passports aim to support personalised care for people with a learning disability and autistic people, enabling better informed clinical decisions and shared decision making.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 ADHD testing is accessible to children in Greater Manchester.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently considering next steps to improve access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services. It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including ADHD care pathways, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
We are supporting a taskforce that NHS England is establishing to look at ADHD service provision and its impact on patient experience. The taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD and help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand.
NHS Greater Manchester advises that it has launched a public engagement exercise to gather views on improving children and young people’s ADHD services in Greater Manchester. The engagement exercise, which runs until 29 November 2024, seeks to address several issues including long wait times, levels of ongoing support for patients, the referral and assessment process, and how services vary across Greater Manchester.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 help ensure that people diagnosed with autism at the age of 30 or later receive comparable (a) support and (b) resources to people diagnosed in childhood; and what plans he has to tackle disparities in services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently considering next steps to improve support for autistic people of all ages. It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including support services for autistic people of all ages, in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. The NICE guideline, Autism spectrum disorder in adults: diagnosis and management, aims to improve access and engagement with interventions and services, and the experience of care, for autistic adults.
On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to deliver improved outcomes in all-age autism assessment pathways. This guidance will help ICBs and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and adults referred to an autism assessment service. The guidance sets out what support should be available before an assessment and what support should follow a recent diagnosis of autism based on the available evidence. This includes setting out specific considerations for developing post-diagnostic support for adults diagnosed as autistic.