Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
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 increase the use of fibrosis assessments in primary and community care to help improve the identification of high-risk groups for liver cancer surveillance.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community Liver Health Checks are being funded across 12 areas to identify patients with cirrhosis and advanced fibrosis, both of which are risk factors for hepatocellular carcinomas. These pilots will ensure that more people at high risk of HCC are referred onto, and continue to engage with, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended 6-monthly liver surveillance by ultrasound. Many of the patients identified by this route will also receive lifestyle advice and support which aims to reduce future cancer incidence. From June to November 2022, over 4,000 fibroscans have been delivered through the pilots, from which 494 people have been found to have cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of liver cancer patients were diagnosed at stages 3 and 4 in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This data is not held centrally in the format requested.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on access to multidisciplinary Parkinson's care in the UK.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There have been no specific discussions.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the 10 Year Cancer Plan for England.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following the call for evidence for a 10-year cancer plan, we more than 5,000 submissions. We are currently reviewing these responses.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
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 potential risks for public health of GMO food and feed being placed on the UK market without any food safety assessment taking place.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
All genetically modified food and feed products must receive an extensive risk assessment under the regulatory framework. This involves a detailed assessment of whether the foods could be toxic, the nutritional value and whether the products could cause allergic reactions. These products will only enter the food chain if judged to not present a risk to human health, animal health or the environment, not mislead consumers and not have less nutritional value than existing equivalent products.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
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 with the devolved Administrations to improve eye health care across the UK.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The provision of eye care services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter. In England, free eye tests and optical vouchers are provided to contribute towards the cost of glasses, with over 12 million National Health Service sight tests provided in 2021/22. NHS England has recently appointed a National Clinical Director for eye care to oversee the post pandemic recovery and long term transformation of optical services.
We are supporting research into diagnosis, prevention and treatment of eye conditions, including a £20 million award to the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR) Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre for vision research. Through the NIHR, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland work on a range of topics and the devolved administrations co-fund several research programmes.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to mandate Auditory Verbal therapy on the NHS Clinical Pathway.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are no current plans to do so.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of Auditory Verbal therapy as an early intervention for deaf children under five years old.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No recent assessment has been made. ‘Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A framework for clinical commissioning groups’ was published in July 2016. This framework supports former clinical commissioning groups and from July 2022, integrated care boards in England to maximise value for local populations and provide consistent, high quality and integrated care. It also addresses inequalities in access and outcomes between hearing services.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including liver disease assessments in NHS health checks for people aged 40 and over.
Answered by James Morris
During a NHS Health Check, the alcohol use disorder identification test (AUDIT) is used to assess alcohol consumption. The national guidance for the NHS Health Check states that individuals with an AUDIT score of 16 or more should be referred for a liver disease assessment. The 2021 evidence-based review of the NHS Health Check programme recognised the benefit of including increasingly common conditions, such as mental and musculoskeletal ill-health. There are no current plans to include liver disease assessments in the NHS Health Check programme.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of late presentation and diagnosis of liver disease on the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Answered by James Morris
No specific assessment has been made. We would expect general practitioners to use professional judgement in diagnosing liver disease and refer patients as appropriate.
Between 2015 and 2020, hepatitis C-related mortality from end stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma has reduced by 20%. NHS England’s cancer programme is working with the hepatitis C elimination programme to deliver 11 community liver health check pilots. These pilots aim to support earlier detection and diagnosis of liver cancer by identifying and referring people with cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis into a liver surveillance pathway.