Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on the location of a breast cancer screening site in Merton; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of using a breast cancer screening van until a suitable site has been located.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
NHS England has made a commitment to improving access to breast cancer screening in Merton. The South West London Breast Screening Services (SWLBSS) have been working with the London Borough of Merton to find a suitable location for an additional centre in their footprint.
Discussions are ongoing, chaired by the London Borough of Merton and attended by the SWLBSS team. A suitable site has yet to be found. Other issues, such as funding and staffing, are being discussed.
Interim measures have been considered, such as deploying a mobile screening van, along with their feasibilities. A number of screening facilities are currently available in neighbouring areas, including at St George’s and Queen Mary’s Hospitals.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
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 merits of making Tranexamic Acid (TXA) a Schedule 19 Drug.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Discussions on the administration of tranexamic acid (TXA) formed part of the Manchester Arena Inquiry, established in 2019, to investigate the deaths of the victims of the attack on the Arena on 22 May 2017. One of the inquiry’s recommendations tasked the Department, the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care, the College of Paramedics, and the National Ambulance Resilience Unit to undertake a review into whether frontline ambulances should carry intramuscular TXA.
Intramuscular TXA is available to paramedics as a route of administration, and is now advocated in national guidance. Additional work is being taken forward regarding the intramuscular route of administration. This work is currently considering alternative methods using newly developed concentrated forms of TXA to achieve more rapid administration, and whether this could be used safely by wider group of responders.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that local stop smoking services offer the option of a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-approved non-pharmaceutical method to help smokers quit.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government is providing local stop smoking services an additional £70 million this year to support smokers to quit. It will also provide an additional £70 million next year for stop smoking services.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published recommendations for providers of stop smoking services. The guidelines suggest that the most effective way of successfully stopping smoking is through behavioural support therapy combined with either varenicline, nicotine replacement therapy, or nicotine-containing e-cigarettes. Further information on the NICE’s recommendations for providers of stop smoking services is available at the following link:
Local stop smoking services currently offer the option of non-pharmaceutical methods to help smokers quit, alongside behavioural support. According to the 2023/24 annual Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services in England, 20,641, or 11%, of those accessing services and setting a quit date used no pharmaceutical products in their attempt to quit smoking.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
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 improve breast cancer screening in (a) London and (b) Wimbledon constituency.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
NHS England has developed a national improvement plan, in collaboration with key stakeholders such as cancer alliances, to improve uptake within the breast screening programme.
The plan sets out the priorities, interventions, and the monitoring of impacts and outcomes to be achieved to improve uptake, through: expanding access; data and analytics; reducing inequalities; contracting; communication; and IT developments.