Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the public health effects of the (a) Welsh and (b) Scottish Government’s decision to end prescription charges.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have made no such assessment as the decision is a matter for the devolved administrations.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
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 effect of increasing the qualifying age for free prescriptions to the state retirement age on the numbers of people rationing medicines they have been prescribed.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A specific assessment has not been made.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential additional expenses that might be incurred by healthcare providers in England as a result of people not following their medicine regime in the event of the qualifying age for free prescriptions being increased to the state pension age.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of increasing the qualifying age for free prescriptions to the state pension age on levels of poverty (a) nationally and (b) by constituency.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such assessment has been made.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the National Institute for Health Care Excellence on accelerating the publication of its advice on whether Sacituzumab Govitecan, marketed as Trodelvy, is a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for scheduling the development of technology appraisal guidance on individual medicines in discussion with the manufacturer. Following discussion with Gilead, the manufacturer of sacituzumab govitecan, NICE has been able to accelerate its appraisal and now expects to issue guidance in June 2022, with draft guidance expected in April 2022.
In view of the challenge for the health system presented by the more rapid approval of Project Orbis drugs, NHS England and NHS Improvement and NICE have agreed a set of principles to allow potential interim access to drugs licensed through this route ahead of NICE’s guidance.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with people affected by metastatic triple-negative breast cancer to discuss the potential of the drug Sacituzumab Govitecan, marketed as Trodelvy, to improve (a) the quality of life and (b) the prognoses of people diagnosed with that condition.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have no current plans to do so. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently appraising Trodelvy (Sacituzumab govitecan) for the treatment of metastatic triple negative breast cancer and expects to publish guidance for the National Health Service in June 2022.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department can take to accelerate the approval of the drug Sacituzumab Govitecan, marketed as Trodelvy, by the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is aware of the importance of Trodelvy and is participating in several new schemes designed to speed up its availability.
Earlier this year, a licence application for Trodelvy in metastatic triple negative breast cancer was filed in the United Kingdom as part of Project Orbis. The United States approval is being considered and the MHRA is currently evaluating the application for Trodelvy.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
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 merits of ending prescription charges for people with long-term health conditions.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have made no such assessment.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
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 efficacy of Project Orbis.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has been participating in Project Orbis since 1 January 2021. The Project has accelerated the pathway for patients in the United Kingdom for quicker access to innovative drugs including Osimertinib (Tagrisso), a post-surgery treatment for lung cancer.
The MHRA has been involved in 11 Orbis projects since January 2021 with several close to completion. The MHRA has processed these applications within significantly shortened timelines, liaising with the United States’ Food and Drug Administration and other regulators. Project Orbis will continue to provide patients in the UK with faster access to innovative cancer treatments with potential benefits over existing therapies.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to provide (a) financial, (b) medical and (c) psychological support to people who have been wrongly diagnosed or medicated while detained under the Mental Health Act.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
We have made no such estimate.
Patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 for three months, who have not consented to treatment or believe they have been wrongly diagnosed or medicated, have the right to a second opinion from the Second Opinion Appointed Doctor service provided by the Care Quality Commission. The Government’s White Paper, Reforming the Mental Health Act, published in January 2021, includes proposals to enhance patient rights to this service.
For certain patients detained under the Act for treatment, there is a right to aftercare services, funded jointly by the responsible clinical commissioning group and local authority. These serve to help support the person when they move back into the community on discharge from hospital and aim to reduce the risk of the person becoming unwell and needing to return. Financial support may be available through personal health budgets, which support a person’s identified health and wellbeing needs and are planned and agreed between them, their representative and the local National Health Service team. They provide individuals with greater choice, control and flexibility over their care. All these services can include medical and psychological support to meet the needs of people who may have been wrongly diagnosed or medicated.