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Written Question
Genito-urinary Medicine: Health Professions
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the number of sexual and reproductive health professionals in (a) post and (b) training in the context of trends in the level of sexually transmitted infection rates.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS workforce statistics show that in November 2023, there were 243 full time equivalent (FTE) consultants working in the specialty of genito-urinary medicine (GUM) in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England, and 133 FTE consultants working in the specialty of community sexual and reproductive health in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England.

NHS England is responsible for providing HIV care and in March 2024 published the NHS England national service specification for adult specialised services for people living with HIV. Specialised adult inpatient and outpatient HIV services aim to provide specialist assessment and ongoing management of HIV, and associated conditions, to support individuals to stay well, remain engaged in care, and to reduce onward transmission. The services will ensure that outcomes, wellbeing, and quality of life are maximised, that they are culturally competent, in recognition of the disproportionate number of people from diverse backgrounds who access HIV care, and that people are central to decisions about the management of their health and social care.

The Department is consulting with NHS England to reform the funding of specialist training in genito-urinary and HIV care, to increase the ability of specialists to train and then practice in areas of greatest need. We are committed to achieving no new HIV transmissions within England by 2030. As part of the plan, we are investing an additional £20 million for new research, which will involve an expansion and evaluation of bloodborne virus opt-out testing in 47 additional emergency departments in areas of England with high HIV prevalence. This is expected to deliver approximately 1.5 million more HIV tests to help us get people with the virus into care. The Department is also allocating over £3.5 million to deliver a National HIV Prevention Programme between 2021 and 2024 to raise awareness of HIV, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, and prevention strategies, targeting populations most at risk of HIV, including young people.

We continue to support the delivery of local sexual health services, providing guidance and data through the UK Health Security Agency and the Department. In March 2023 we published the Integrated Sexual Health Service Specification to support local authorities in comprehensive commissioning of services, and providing advice and guidance on managing STIs outbreaks.


Written Question
Genito-urinary Medicine and HIV Infection: Training
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of NHS England funding the training of specialists in (a) genitourinary and (b) HIV care.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The sexual and reproductive healthcare workforce is diverse as services are offered across primary care, community and sexual health clinic settings, other public health settings as well as acute and ambulatory care settings.

The Department is consulting with NHS England to reform the funding of specialist training in genitourinary and HIV care to increase the ability of specialists to train and then practice in areas of greatest need.


Written Question
Genito-urinary Medicine
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure the adequacy of (a) genitourinary and (b) HIV care for the next five years; and if she will make an estimate of the number of consultants specialising in (i) genitourinary and (ii) HIV care who will be employed in the NHS in 2029.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS workforce statistics show that in November 2023, there were 243 full time equivalent (FTE) consultants working in the specialty of genito-urinary medicine (GUM) in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England, and 133 FTE consultants working in the specialty of community sexual and reproductive health in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England.

NHS England is responsible for providing HIV care and in March 2024 published the NHS England national service specification for adult specialised services for people living with HIV. Specialised adult inpatient and outpatient HIV services aim to provide specialist assessment and ongoing management of HIV, and associated conditions, to support individuals to stay well, remain engaged in care, and to reduce onward transmission. The services will ensure that outcomes, wellbeing, and quality of life are maximised, that they are culturally competent, in recognition of the disproportionate number of people from diverse backgrounds who access HIV care, and that people are central to decisions about the management of their health and social care.

The Department is consulting with NHS England to reform the funding of specialist training in genito-urinary and HIV care, to increase the ability of specialists to train and then practice in areas of greatest need. We are committed to achieving no new HIV transmissions within England by 2030. As part of the plan, we are investing an additional £20 million for new research, which will involve an expansion and evaluation of bloodborne virus opt-out testing in 47 additional emergency departments in areas of England with high HIV prevalence. This is expected to deliver approximately 1.5 million more HIV tests to help us get people with the virus into care. The Department is also allocating over £3.5 million to deliver a National HIV Prevention Programme between 2021 and 2024 to raise awareness of HIV, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, and prevention strategies, targeting populations most at risk of HIV, including young people.

We continue to support the delivery of local sexual health services, providing guidance and data through the UK Health Security Agency and the Department. In March 2023 we published the Integrated Sexual Health Service Specification to support local authorities in comprehensive commissioning of services, and providing advice and guidance on managing STIs outbreaks.


Written Question
Fertility: HIV Infection
Monday 4th March 2024

Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is for laying secondary legislation that enables people living with an undetectable viral load of HIV to access fertility treatment.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We intend to lay secondary legislation in Spring 2024 to update the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, which will allow gamete donation for people with HIV, who have an undetectable viral load.


Written Question
Sjögren's Syndrome
Friday 1st March 2024

Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to (a) reduce the time taken to diagnose, (b) improve treatment options for managing the symptoms of and (c) support research on a potential cure for Sjögren's syndrome.

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

To reduce the time taken to diagnose conditions such as Sjögren's syndrome, NHS England has published a delivery plan for recovering access to primary care. As part of this plan, the National Health Service will deliver on the commitment of 26,000 more direct patient care staff, and 50 million more general practice (GP) appointments by March 2024.

GPs, rheumatologists, and other specialists can prescribe a range of topical and symptomatic therapies for patients with Sjögren's syndrome on the NHS, for example to help with symptoms of oral and ocular dryness. Rheumatologists may also prescribe immunosuppressive medications, if warranted, as part of standard NHS prescribing. There is also a range of off-the-shelf products such as mouthwashes and toothpastes, and dry eye therapies, some of which may be available through prescription, or purchased independently.

If new treatments for managing the symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome do become available, this is something that can be reviewed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. NHS England has previously reviewed the evidence for using rituximab in the treatment of Sjögren's syndrome and concluded that there was not enough evidence to support the use of this treatment.

The National Institute for Care Excellence has published a Clinical Knowledge Summary on dry eye disease, which includes Sjögren's syndrome. Clinical knowledge summaries are evidence-based summaries designed to support healthcare professionals in primary care in the United Kingdom. The Department funds research on Sjögren's syndrome through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), including through the UK Musculoskeletal Translational Research Collaboration. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including Sjögren's syndrome.


Written Question
Liraglutide
Wednesday 21st February 2024

Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of off-label prescriptions of Victoza, Luraglutide, for the purpose of weight loss from private healthcare providers on the level of supply of that drug for type 2 diabetes.

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

While the position has improved, there continues to be a global supply issue with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA), including Victoza (liraglutide). We have issued updated guidance to healthcare professionals in the form of a National Patient Safety Alert on 3 January 2024, on how to manage patients requiring these medicines.

Our guidance is clear that GLP-1 RAs that are solely licensed to treat type 2 diabetes should only be used for that purpose and should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss. The General Pharmaceutical Council, General Medical Council, Health and Care Professions Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland have also issued a joint statement stressing the importance of health and care professionals meeting regulatory standards in relation to these medicines.

We know how distressing and frustrating medicine supply issues can be, and the Department will continue to help ensure that these critical medicines reach diabetes patients. If any patient is concerned about their treatment, they should discuss this with their clinician at the earliest opportunity.


Written Question
Prisoners: HIV Infection
Wednesday 21st February 2024

Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what protocols her Department has in place on the dispensing of medication to prisoners who are HIV positive.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

HIV medication is initiated by a specialist in specialist services, and prison healthcare and pharmacy teams liaise with them to ensure continuity of care. A shared care agreement would be put in place to ensure continuity of care and appropriate monitoring. Any medication listed under the National Health Service high cost commissioning list is accessed via specialist commissioning routes, and delivered directly to the healthcare team at the prison. Any medication not listed as high cost will be dispensed in the usual way, via the healthcare dispensing services.

Healthcare teams within prisons ensure the appropriate monitoring is in place, and that there is ongoing continuity in medication throughout the patient’s stay at the prison. Protocols are in place to ensure that medications will transfer with the patient either on release or when being transferred to another prison establishment.


Written Question
Abiraterone: Prostate Cancer
Monday 29th January 2024

Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which NHS bodies have a role in the consideration of Abiraterone for inclusion in the drug repurposing programme for the treatment of locally advanced high-risk non-metastatic prostate cancer; and what the remit of each body is in that process.

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

The national, multi-agency Medicines Repurposing Programme is hosted and funded by NHS England and is overseen by a steering group, including decision-making members from the Department, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and NHS England. Each of the national agencies brings a different contribution to the programme, in line with their respective regulatory and statutory responsibilities.

The programme steering group has not discussed adopting abiraterone for high-risk, non-metastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer into the repurposing programme. This is because an off-label clinical commissioning policy covering the off-label use of abiraterone in this indication is being developed by NHS England and, in this case, NHS England considers this to be the most appropriate route to support a decision on routine patient access in the National Health Service. The policy is being considered through the established process in line with the current methods, which are available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Methods-National-clinical-policies-updated-July-2020-v2.pdf


Written Question
Prostate Cancer: Drugs
Friday 26th January 2024

Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the clinical lead proposal form relating to abiraterone acetate as a treatment for advanced high risk non-metastatic prostate cancer was (a) completed and (b) sent to the Clinical Effectiveness Team (NHS England) under section A1.4 of Methods: National clinical policies.

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

The application form for a clinical policy relating to this treatment was initially received by NHS England on 29 March 2022. The policy proposition continues to be developed in line with NHS England’s document, Methods: national clinical policies.


Written Question
NHS England and NHS Improvement
Friday 26th January 2024

Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will publish the (a) dates and (b) draft agendas of meetings of committees of NHS England and NHS Improvement scheduled for 2024.

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

NHS England is required under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 to publish the agenda for its board meetings in advance, and to hold board meetings in public.

NHS England’s board has delegated some of its duties and responsibilities to Board Committees which provide regular assurance and, by exception, escalate issues that merit full board discussion and decision. A list of Board Committees is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/nhs-england-board/board-governance/

Committee activity is also summarised in the Accountability Report section of NHS England’s Annual Reports and Accounts.