Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to implement automatic enrolment into stop smoking support at (a) A&E departments, (b) cancer screening appointments, (c) mental health services and (d) other NHS services (i) in Liverpool City Region and (ii) nationally.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we remain committed to ensuring all hospitals integrate smoking cessation interventions into routine care.
NHS England have already rolled out tobacco dependence treatment programmes in acute and mental health inpatient settings, and maternity services. As of March 2025, 93% of acute and mental health in-patient services and 97% of maternity services, nationally, had tobacco dependence treatment offers. In the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB), 12 out of 13 in-patient services and all seven maternity services had an offer.
As part of their allocations for 2025/26, ICBs have access to funding to support the provision of tobacco dependency treatment to smokers. Funding for future years is subject to final decisions following the recent Spending Review.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Cancer Plan will expand innovation in cancer screening to ensure people from deprived areas are encouraged to participate.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention, research, and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experiences and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next 10 years.
Reducing inequalities is a key priority for the National Cancer Plan. The plan will look at targeted improvements needed across different cancer types to reduce disparities in cancer survival and develop interventions to tackle these. This includes looking at protected characteristics, as well as inequalities related to socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and geographic location. We know that people living in deprived areas are less likely to have their cancers diagnosed at an early stage, when treatment can be more effective, and we want to reduce the gap in early diagnosis between those living in the richest and poorest areas through the National Cancer Plan.
The Lung Cancer Screening Programme has been successful at reducing the gap in early diagnosis. It has led to over 5,000 more lung cancers being diagnosed at stages 1 and 2. The National Cancer Plan will look to learn lessons from the success of this programme.
We are working closely with cancer partners as part of our engagement to inform the development of the plan, and continue to prioritise the key areas raised, including cancer screening.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 impact of expanding (a) prehabilitation and (b) rehabilitation services in cancer care on (i) NHS costs and (ii) patient outcomes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England are taking a number of steps to support systems to deliver cost-effective, lifesaving prehabilitation and rehabilitation services. Local planning for prehabilitation and rehabilitation services, and any expansion of them, is a matter for National Health Service trusts and Cancer Alliances to take forward in their local areas.
NHS England has highlighted the positive impact of efficient prehabilitation and rehabilitation on cancer outcomes and the potential to lead to cost savings. The ‘PRosPer’ Cancer Prehabilitation and Rehabilitation learning programme, launched in partnership between NHS England and Macmillan Cancer support, aims to support allied health professionals and the wider healthcare workforce in developing their skills in providing personalised care, prehabilitation, and rehabilitation in the cancer pathway.
The National Cancer Plan, to be published later this year, will look at how to improve patient outcomes across the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, including prehabilitation and rehabilitation services where appropriate.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what evidential basis the cervical screening interval was changed from three to five years; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of that interval on rates of early cancer detection.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation to change the cervical screening intervals from three to five years for women aged 25 to 49 years old was made in 2019. The evidence and consultation responses supporting the recommendation can be found at the following link:
https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/cervical-cancer/
The decision to make the changes was based on what is best for individuals. The more accurate human papillomavirus test requires less frequent screening, and changing the frequency eliminates the unnecessary over screening of the population.
The IT system supporting the national cervical screening programme was updated in July 2024, and can now enable the changes that were recommended.
A full impact assessment and equality impact assessment were considered before the changes were agreed by the Government. We will publish these shortly.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 impact of changes to the frequency of cervical screening on women from (a) underserved and (b) marginalised communities.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation to change the cervical screening intervals from three to five years for women aged 25 to 49 years old was made in 2019. The evidence and consultation responses supporting the recommendation can be found at the following link:
https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/cervical-cancer/
The decision to make the changes was based on what is best for individuals. The more accurate human papillomavirus test requires less frequent screening, and changing the frequency eliminates the unnecessary over screening of the population.
The IT system supporting the national cervical screening programme was updated in July 2024, and can now enable the changes that were recommended.
A full impact assessment and equality impact assessment were considered before the changes were agreed by the Government. We will publish these shortly.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the (a) equality impact assessment and (b) risk-benefit analysis for the decision to change cervical screening intervals.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation to change the cervical screening intervals from three to five years for women aged 25 to 49 years old was made in 2019. The evidence and consultation responses supporting the recommendation can be found at the following link:
https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/cervical-cancer/
The decision to make the changes was based on what is best for individuals. The more accurate human papillomavirus test requires less frequent screening, and changing the frequency eliminates the unnecessary over screening of the population.
The IT system supporting the national cervical screening programme was updated in July 2024, and can now enable the changes that were recommended.
A full impact assessment and equality impact assessment were considered before the changes were agreed by the Government. We will publish these shortly.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 support local initiatives in (a) Cheshire and (b) Merseyside to improve early cancer diagnosis rates in (a) deprived communities and (b) general.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that there are challenges for several different populations, particularly for people living in the most deprived areas of the country, and that this impacts early diagnosis rates.
Improving diagnosis rates and access to treatment are key priorities for the Government for all cancer types. To achieve this, we are improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlining referral routes, and increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres. In addition, we have delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, during our first year in Government as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.
The latest rapid registration data shows the 12-month early diagnosis rate reached 58.7% as of October 2024; this is 2.8% higher than pre-pandemic levels. This means approximately 7,500 more people are being diagnosed at stage 1 and 2. For Cheshire and Merseyside ICB the latest rapid registration data shows the 12-month early diagnosis rate reached 59.2% as of October 2024; this is 4.6% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The roll out of the lung cancer screening programme has driven two thirds of the national improvement and when fully rolled out the programme is expected to detect around 9,000 cancers earlier each year.
People living in deprived areas are four times more likely to smoke, and smoking causes 72% of lung cancers. Through the programme early diagnosis rates have increased for all deprivation quintiles, with biggest gains among those living in most deprived areas. We will build on recent successes, including further roll out of the lung cancer screening programme, to diagnose cancer earlier and boost survival rates.
Additionally, the recently announced National Cancer Plan, which will complement the 10-Year Health Plan and support delivery of the Government’s Health Mission, will set out further actions to improve early diagnosis.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 improve (a) one year and (b) five year survival rates for cancers of the (i) liver, (ii) lung, (iii) pancreas, (iv) oesophagus and (v) stomach in Cheshire and Merseyside.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving early diagnosis of cancer, which is integral for improving survival rates, is a priority for this government. Rapid diagnostic centres (RDCs), which are designed to speed up the diagnosis of cancer, have now been successfully rolled out across England. RDCs provide a non-specific symptom (NSS) pathway for patients who display symptoms that could indicate cancer but do not align to specific cancers. NSS pathways are very important for diagnosing cancers such as liver, pancreas, oesophagus and stomach cancers whose symptoms may not be obvious and mimic other conditions. NSS pathways complement other cancer diagnostic pathways, as well as providing elements that can be applied to existing pathways.
We set out expectations for renewed focus on cancer targets in the Elective Reform plan, published on 6 January 2025. We have asked systems and providers to identify local opportunities in both community diagnostic centres and hospital based diagnostic services to improve performance against the Faster Diagnosis Standard, to reduce the number of patients waiting too long for a confirmed diagnosis of cancer. Cheshire and Merseyside has been at the forefront of developing the new centres, with 10 across the region.
Furthermore, the Department has also committed support to the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, which targets cancers with poor survival rates. This partnership focuses on liver, pancreas, lung, brain, oesophagus, and stomach cancers, raising awareness of these less survivable cancers so more people understand their symptoms and go to see their general practitioner if they have concerns. We will build on recent successes, including roll out of the targeted lung screening programme, to diagnose cancer earlier and boost one and five year survival rates. This has already been rolled out to at least five areas of Cheshire and Merseyside and is making a real impact on early detection of lung cancer.
Finally, the recently announced Cancer Plan, which will complement the 10-Year Health Plan and support delivery of the Government’s Health Mission, will set out further actions to improve early diagnosis and transform survival rates, saving thousands of lives and putting us on a stronger footing with our international peers.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 address regional disparities in (a) funding and (b) staffing levels for the (i) diagnosis and (ii) treatment of congenital heart disease for (A) all patients and (B) paediatric services in the North West..
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ North West Regional Team provides system leadership for population health and reducing health inequalities across the North West. This includes working with local authorities and integrated care systems to develop and deliver population health programmes at a local level, supporting regional NHS England priorities and long-term planning on prevention and health inequalities.
NHS England undertook a national review of congenital heart disease from 2014 to 2016 which created a new service specification for the provision of congenital heart disease services. This new service specification identifies minimum activity levels for each centre to achieve optimum outcomes, and the review identified planning footprints for clinical networks to achieve this level of activity.
Specialised commissioners, namely NHS England and the integrated care boards, have been working with North West providers and the North West Congenital Heart Disease Clinical Network to ensure adherence to these standards within local provision. Proposals are in development to support the creation of a single networked pathway of care for patients, delivered across designated specialised healthcare services, which includes plans for staffing and workforce development to consistently deliver national standards for all patients in the North West.
NHS England works closely with the Congenital Heart Networks to support work to maintain and monitor elective congenital heart disease surgery activity, waiting lists, and waiting times across England, noting that there are interdependencies with critical care capacity. Clinical heart disease constitutes the bulk of paediatric cardiac cases.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of dentists taking new NHS patients in Southport constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 10 July 2024, there were 12 open dentistry practices in the Southport constituency, four of which were showing as ‘accepting new adult patients when availability allows’. This data is sourced from the Find a Dentist website, and is matched to constituencies based on the postcode data shown on the website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-Dentist