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 lipoedema on commonly associated co-morbidities, including hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold centrally collected data on the average time taken to diagnose lipoedema in England. Diagnosis is typically made clinically in primary or specialist care, and timelines can vary depending on individual presentation, awareness of the condition among healthcare professionals, and local referral pathways.
Responsibility for service design and care pathways sits with integrated care boards, which assess and meet the needs of their local populations. Clinicians are expected to draw on available evidence and guidance when diagnosing and managing lipoedema to ensure that care is informed by the best available knowledge, supports consistent clinical decision‑making, and reflects current understanding of this relatively under‑recognised condition. This helps promote safe, effective, and patient‑centred care while allowing clinicians to exercise judgement based on individual need.
Training curricula and continuing professional development are set by independent professional regulators and bodies, and it is for clinicians to maintain their knowledge and skills in line with the needs of their patients.
Clinicians can access a range of relevant education and training through existing professional development routes, including from the Royal College of General Practitioners, and condition-specific training provided by organisations like Lipoedema UK. These resources support clinicians in recognising and managing lipoedema.
Lipoedema is a relatively under‑researched condition, and evidence on co‑existing conditions is still emerging. Clinicians are expected to take a holistic, patient‑centred approach, considering co‑morbidities where present.
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 develop a national clinical pathway for the diagnosis and management of lipoedema.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold centrally collected data on the average time taken to diagnose lipoedema in England. Diagnosis is typically made clinically in primary or specialist care, and timelines can vary depending on individual presentation, awareness of the condition among healthcare professionals, and local referral pathways.
Responsibility for service design and care pathways sits with integrated care boards, which assess and meet the needs of their local populations. Clinicians are expected to draw on available evidence and guidance when diagnosing and managing lipoedema to ensure that care is informed by the best available knowledge, supports consistent clinical decision‑making, and reflects current understanding of this relatively under‑recognised condition. This helps promote safe, effective, and patient‑centred care while allowing clinicians to exercise judgement based on individual need.
Training curricula and continuing professional development are set by independent professional regulators and bodies, and it is for clinicians to maintain their knowledge and skills in line with the needs of their patients.
Clinicians can access a range of relevant education and training through existing professional development routes, including from the Royal College of General Practitioners, and condition-specific training provided by organisations like Lipoedema UK. These resources support clinicians in recognising and managing lipoedema.
Lipoedema is a relatively under‑researched condition, and evidence on co‑existing conditions is still emerging. Clinicians are expected to take a holistic, patient‑centred approach, considering co‑morbidities where present.
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 adequacy of training on lipoedema provided to healthcare professionals.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold centrally collected data on the average time taken to diagnose lipoedema in England. Diagnosis is typically made clinically in primary or specialist care, and timelines can vary depending on individual presentation, awareness of the condition among healthcare professionals, and local referral pathways.
Responsibility for service design and care pathways sits with integrated care boards, which assess and meet the needs of their local populations. Clinicians are expected to draw on available evidence and guidance when diagnosing and managing lipoedema to ensure that care is informed by the best available knowledge, supports consistent clinical decision‑making, and reflects current understanding of this relatively under‑recognised condition. This helps promote safe, effective, and patient‑centred care while allowing clinicians to exercise judgement based on individual need.
Training curricula and continuing professional development are set by independent professional regulators and bodies, and it is for clinicians to maintain their knowledge and skills in line with the needs of their patients.
Clinicians can access a range of relevant education and training through existing professional development routes, including from the Royal College of General Practitioners, and condition-specific training provided by organisations like Lipoedema UK. These resources support clinicians in recognising and managing lipoedema.
Lipoedema is a relatively under‑researched condition, and evidence on co‑existing conditions is still emerging. Clinicians are expected to take a holistic, patient‑centred approach, considering co‑morbidities where present.
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 the average time taken is for patients in England to receive a diagnosis of lipoedema.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold centrally collected data on the average time taken to diagnose lipoedema in England. Diagnosis is typically made clinically in primary or specialist care, and timelines can vary depending on individual presentation, awareness of the condition among healthcare professionals, and local referral pathways.
Responsibility for service design and care pathways sits with integrated care boards, which assess and meet the needs of their local populations. Clinicians are expected to draw on available evidence and guidance when diagnosing and managing lipoedema to ensure that care is informed by the best available knowledge, supports consistent clinical decision‑making, and reflects current understanding of this relatively under‑recognised condition. This helps promote safe, effective, and patient‑centred care while allowing clinicians to exercise judgement based on individual need.
Training curricula and continuing professional development are set by independent professional regulators and bodies, and it is for clinicians to maintain their knowledge and skills in line with the needs of their patients.
Clinicians can access a range of relevant education and training through existing professional development routes, including from the Royal College of General Practitioners, and condition-specific training provided by organisations like Lipoedema UK. These resources support clinicians in recognising and managing lipoedema.
Lipoedema is a relatively under‑researched condition, and evidence on co‑existing conditions is still emerging. Clinicians are expected to take a holistic, patient‑centred approach, considering co‑morbidities where present.
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 extend the 2024-25 NHS pay settlement for staff aligned to Agenda for Change to social enterprises delivering NHS-funded services; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of excluding such organisations on workforce retention, pay parity and service sustainability.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This specific assessment has not been made.
Independent organisations commissioned by the National Health Service in England, such as general practices or social enterprises, are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment, including the pay scales that they use. It is for them to determine what is affordable within the financial model they operate.
Where such organisations choose to dynamically link to any of the national contracts, including Agenda for Change, those staff will be contractually entitled to receive the same uplifts in pay and associated terms and conditions as staff employed in NHS organisations.
The 2024/25 pay award was consolidated and funding has been issued. There are no plans to revisit the funding or to issue additional guidance.
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, in relation to the staff survey conducted by the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation team that closed on 9 March 2026, a) how many total responses were received, b) how many NHS trusts in England were represented in the results, and c) what the breakdown of responses was by profession or clinical speciality.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Baroness Amos launched a call for evidence for those who work in the maternity and neonatal pathway, which closed on 9 March. The National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation team has received more than 8,500 responses from across 124 trusts. A breakdown for responses by profession or clinical speciality is not available as evidence is still being analysed.
Baroness Amos has advised that the independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation will publish its final report and recommendations in June.
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require all publicly accessible defibrillators to be registered on the Circuit network.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
According to the British Heart Foundation, there are now over 110,000 registered defibrillators in the United Kingdom, which is an increase of 30,000 since September 2023.
The Government does not currently have plans to bring forward such legislative proposals. Local communities obtaining automated external defibrillators do so on a voluntary basis and introducing legal requirements could disincentive this voluntary action.
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 plans he has to publish a national strategy for palliative and end of life care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.
We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. I am pleased to confirm the continuation of circa £26 million, adjusted for inflation, for the next three financial years, 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive, to be distributed again via integrated care boards. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.
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 he has made of the adequacy of the level of funding allocated by his Department for research and innovation for (a) less survivable and (b) other cancers.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), with cancer as one of its largest areas of spend reflecting its high priority.
An example of this is the NIHR investing £2.4 million into the miONCO-Dx trial, which seeks to develop a blood test designed to detect 12 different cancers, that could transform how cancer is diagnosed in the National Health Service.
The NIHR is also funding a new artificial intelligence (AI) powered radiology analysis service, designed to develop and evaluate the use of AI in medical imaging to improve the detection of cancers. The use of this technology will help to speed up response times and provide more accurate diagnoses and better-targeted treatments, ultimately improving outcomes for patients.
Whist no assessment has been made specifically on the adequacy of the research into less survivable cancers, the NIHR continues to welcome further high-quality proposals from researchers to inform approaches to prevention, treatment, and care in relation to less survivable cancers.
Furthermore, the Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with rare cancers, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how the NHS will improve diagnosis and outcomes for all cancer patients in England, including for rare and less common cancers.
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 encourage research into detection (a) tools and (b) tests for the early detection of (i) pancreatic and (ii) other less survivable cancers.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Cancer is one of the largest areas of spend at over £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.
These investments are pivotal to informing our efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment, and outcomes. An example of this investment is Imperial College London’s research on breath tests to detect less survivable cancers, including pancreatic cancer. Further information on the research is available at the following link:
https://imperialbrc.nihr.ac.uk/2023/06/05/imperial-led-uk-cancer-breath-tests-reach-final-stages/
Another example of Government investment was the launch of the NIHR’s national Brain Tumour Research Consortium in September 2024, which is bringing together researchers from a range of different disciplines and institutions with the aim of making scientific advances in how we prevent, detect, manage, and treat rare and less-survivable brain tumours in adults and children.
The NIHR welcomes further high-quality proposals from researchers to inform approaches to prevention, treatment, and care in relation to less survivable cancers. Furthermore, the Government is committed to ensuring that all patients have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. The Government supports the Rare Cancers Bill and its ambitions to incentivise clinical trials and access to innovative treatments for rare cancers.
The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how the National Health Service will improve diagnosis and outcomes for all cancer patients in England, including for less common cancers.