Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to help improve diagnosis of Aortic Dissection.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
NHS England Specialised Commissioning has a published service specification for cardiac surgery, to support national standards, which include this highly serious condition.
It is recognised that survival rates for emergency interventions are better when care is delivered by a surgeon supported by interventional specialists undertaking higher volumes of these procedures. This point was also highlighted in the Cardiac Surgery Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) 2018 document, and the NHS England Specialised Cardiac Improvement cardiac surgery work stream is taking forward the GIRFT recommendations, which will also look at how pathways of care for this and other specialised cardiac conditions can be improved by better network working across providers.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
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 frequency of CT scanning in relation to aortic dissection; and what plans he has to increase the speed of access to that service.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
It is recognised the demand for cardiothoracic CT scanning procedures has increased considerably in recent years, for a number of indications.
The NHS Long Term Plan has identified the need to undertake an assessment of the capacity and demand for CT, including workforce implications.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what specialist aortic surgery facilities there are in the UK; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing more specialist aortic surgery centres.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
There are currently 28 specialised cardiac surgery centres in England.
NHS England and NHS Improvement has advised that the Specialised Cardiac Improvement Programme includes a workstream on cardiac surgery, but this and previous work has not identified the need for additional surgical centres. The aim is to further develop networked centres to increase access to surgeons who have developed and can maintain particular expertise in aortic dissection surgery.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
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 establishing additional specialist blood pressure clinics.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The number of individuals with resistant hypertension, requiring highly specialist input, is small and there are specialist clinics across the country.
NHS England and NHS Improvement has advised that the vast majority of people with hypertension will be satisfactorily managed in primary care, often with support from hospital specialists across cardiology, renal medicine, and clinical pharmacology.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
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 increase (a) access and (b) referral rates for genetic services.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Building on the 100,000 Genomes Project and existing genetic services, NHS England announced in October 2018 that over the next 18 months, work to mobilise the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) would get underway, providing consistent and equitable care for the country’s 55 million population.
Investment for genomics was included as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, setting out commitments over the next five years to:
- Sequence 500,000 whole genomes by 2023/24, as part of a Government commitment to sequence 1 million whole genomes;
- Extend the use of molecular diagnostic testing and routine offering whole genome sequencing to seriously ill children who are likely to have a rare genetic disorder, children with cancer, and adults suffering from certain rare conditions or specific cancers;
- Link and correlate genomics, clinical data and data from patients, providing routes to new treatments, diagnostic patterns and information to help patients make informed decisions about their care; and
- Increase the number of people identified with familial hypercholesterolaemia (inherited high cholesterol) from 7% to 25% over the next five years.
The NHS Genomic Medicine Service will be supported by an informatics system that is being developed in partnership with Genomics England. When fully operational, the informatics system will enable NHS England to monitor the number of genomic tests being carried out across the country and benchmark activity.