Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
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 health outcomes for people living with COPD.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
To enable faster diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and earlier access to treatment, access to spirometry tests in community diagnostic centres is growing and will continue to do so as more sites come online.
Pulmonary rehabilitation is a key intervention to improve the health of people with COPD. NHS England has published commissioning standards for pulmonary rehabilitation and COPD, setting out the benchmarks for high-quality services. This includes reducing health inequalities and ensuring equitable access.
In addition, smoking is the number one preventable cause of COPD. The landmark Tobacco and Vapes Act will help deliver our ambition for a smoke-free United Kingdom.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
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 using the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme to improve the earlier diagnosis of chronic respiratory diseases, including COPD.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme is designed to detect lung cancer at an earlier stage in people at high risk of developing the disease.
The Government is advised on all screening matters by the independent UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). At its most recent review in June 2022, the UK NSC recommended targeted lung cancer screening for people aged 55 to 74 years old who are at high risk of developing lung cancer. The modelling that informed this recommendation did not include chronic respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
NHS England has introduced a national Incidental Findings Protocol to ensure clinically significant incidental findings are referred for appropriate investigation and follow-up through established National Health Service pathways.
In April 2026, the UK NSC concluded a three-month public consultation on screening for COPD. The outcome of this consultation will be published in due course. In addition, the UK NSC's annual open call for new evidence and proposals for screening programmes is currently open until 30 September 2026, providing an opportunity for individuals and organisations to submit proposals supported by evidence.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of additional men expected to be eligible for prostate cancer screening each year under the UK National Screening Committee’s recommended criteria, when taking into account those men already known to genetic services through BRCA testing pathways.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The UK National Screening recommendation was for a targeted screening programme, involving prostate-specific antigen testing every two years, for men aged 45 to 61 years old who have a pathogenic, or able to cause disease, BRCA2 variant with a family history of breast, ovarian, pancreatic, or prostate cancer.
It is estimated that approximately 1,500 men in England will be eligible for the targeted prostate cancer screening programme. Based on similar programmes for people with genetic risk factors, uptake is expected to be high.
The intention is to use the National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Register (NICPR), to identify men with a known BRCA2 gene variant. Individuals are added to the NICPR as their gene variants are identified, and this is usually through cascade screening or as the result of having cancer and their tumour being genotyped. No estimate has been made of the additional numbers that may be identified using this method.
The Department is not undertaking analysis of the costs associated with identifying additional BRCA variant carriers. The committee did not recommend proactively identifying more men with a BRCA variant, as this would constitute a separate screening programme. The committee recommended that the best method of identifying men with a BRCA2 gene variant should be evaluated over time.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects the Department’s analysis of the costs associated with identifying additional BRCA variant carriers to be completed.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The UK National Screening recommendation was for a targeted screening programme, involving prostate-specific antigen testing every two years, for men aged 45 to 61 years old who have a pathogenic, or able to cause disease, BRCA2 variant with a family history of breast, ovarian, pancreatic, or prostate cancer.
It is estimated that approximately 1,500 men in England will be eligible for the targeted prostate cancer screening programme. Based on similar programmes for people with genetic risk factors, uptake is expected to be high.
The intention is to use the National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Register (NICPR), to identify men with a known BRCA2 gene variant. Individuals are added to the NICPR as their gene variants are identified, and this is usually through cascade screening or as the result of having cancer and their tumour being genotyped. No estimate has been made of the additional numbers that may be identified using this method.
The Department is not undertaking analysis of the costs associated with identifying additional BRCA variant carriers. The committee did not recommend proactively identifying more men with a BRCA variant, as this would constitute a separate screening programme. The committee recommended that the best method of identifying men with a BRCA2 gene variant should be evaluated over time.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
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 help ensure that the Trauma and Orthopaedic waiting lists are improved in line with elective reform targets.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing waiting lists, including for trauma and orthopaedic (T&O) services, is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission. As set out in the Plan for Change, we are committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment. We are on track, hitting our first interim target of 65% in March 2026.
Since July 2024, performance in T&O services has improved, as the waiting list has reduced by 7,016 and the percentage of T&O pathways waiting within 18 weeks has increased by 3.0%. Despite this improvement, T&O performance against the 18-week standard, at 59.1%, remains below the national average, of 65.0%. We know that to meet our target of 92% we must see significant improvements across all specialties, including T&O, and we know that there’s more to do to drive that improvement.
The Elective Reform Plan sets out the productivity and modernisation efforts needed to reach the 92% standard by March 2029. This includes expanding the number of surgical hubs, where T&O is a key specialty, over the next two years to increase surgical capacity and deliver faster access to common procedures. Also, through the Getting It Right First Time programme, we are also supporting trusts to improve pathways, including through best practice guidance and multidisciplinary support for hip and knee replacement services.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
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 help ensure that people with arthritis are signposted to holistic support at the point of diagnosis.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
We are supporting better care for patients with arthritis through the Getting It Right First Time Programme (GIRFT) for Rheumatology. The GIRFT rheumatology programme is supporting the National Health Service to deliver care more equitably across England and closer to patients’ homes, and improve services nationally.
As part of the GIRFT MSK Community Delivery Programme, GIRFT teams are working with health system leaders to reduce MSK community waiting times, including for patients with arthritis, and improve referral pathways to wider support services.
As part of a major transformation of the NHS under the 10-Year Health Plan, patients with MSK conditions, such as arthritis, will also soon be able to directly access community services, including physiotherapy, pain management, and orthopaedics, in the NHS App. The landmark change will deliver faster treatment for the flare up of existing conditions, including arthritis, back pain, and joint pain, while enabling general practitioners (GPs) to focus on more complex cases, reducing pressure on hospitals and freeing up GPs.
Diagnosis Connect, which was announced in July 2025, will ensure that patients are signposted to trusted charities and support organisations when they are diagnosed with a long-term condition, providing personalised advice, information, and guidance to help them manage their condition and feel more in control. This support is designed to complement, not replace, their usual NHS care. A national partnership has now been developed, with NHS England, the Richmond Group of Charities, which includes Arthritis UK, and wider voluntary, community, and social enterprise partners working together to bring this vision to life. This is being backed by a £10 million investment.
Initial testing will begin with one condition being diagnosed in primary care. This testing will provide an opportunity to demonstrate what is possible before expanding to other conditions. Following initial testing, other conditions will be added to the programme.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
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 help address variation in remission rates for inflammatory arthritis.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
We are supporting better care for patients with arthritis through the Getting It Right First Time Programme (GIRFT) for Rheumatology. The GIRFT rheumatology programme is supporting the National Health Service to deliver care more equitably across England and closer to patients’ homes, and improve services nationally.
As part of the GIRFT MSK Community Delivery Programme, GIRFT teams are working with health system leaders to reduce MSK community waiting times, including for patients with arthritis, and improve referral pathways to wider support services.
As part of a major transformation of the NHS under the 10-Year Health Plan, patients with MSK conditions, such as arthritis, will also soon be able to directly access community services, including physiotherapy, pain management, and orthopaedics, in the NHS App. The landmark change will deliver faster treatment for the flare up of existing conditions, including arthritis, back pain, and joint pain, while enabling general practitioners (GPs) to focus on more complex cases, reducing pressure on hospitals and freeing up GPs.
Diagnosis Connect, which was announced in July 2025, will ensure that patients are signposted to trusted charities and support organisations when they are diagnosed with a long-term condition, providing personalised advice, information, and guidance to help them manage their condition and feel more in control. This support is designed to complement, not replace, their usual NHS care. A national partnership has now been developed, with NHS England, the Richmond Group of Charities, which includes Arthritis UK, and wider voluntary, community, and social enterprise partners working together to bring this vision to life. This is being backed by a £10 million investment.
Initial testing will begin with one condition being diagnosed in primary care. This testing will provide an opportunity to demonstrate what is possible before expanding to other conditions. Following initial testing, other conditions will be added to the programme.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to introduce self/preferential e-rostering for doctors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want to move the National Health Service toward a culture where flexible working opportunities are much more widely available, and where employees feel supported to discuss their working patterns and options with their line manager.
Our 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how we will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it. We will do this by ensuring staff are better treated, have better training and more fulfilling roles.
The Plan will also set out how we will increase opportunities for flexible working, including through the introduction of a new set of Staff Standards which will mandate additional action employers need to take in key areas, such as flexible working.
Additionally, NHS England, in partnership with NHS Employers, Timewise, and the NHS Staff Council, developed the Think Flex First guidance to support individuals and organisations to consider flexible working options, and to put in place structures and processes to deliver future-fit workplaces. It highlights e‑Rostering as a key enabler of flexible working for clinicians, including doctors, delivering 24/7 services, ensuring flexibility is delivered consistently, fairly, and at scale within safe clinical staffing models.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps has his Department taken to help ensure that ICBs have policies in place to ensure that patients get access to cochlear implants in line with revisions made to NICE guidance in March 2019.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the number of children and adults who were fitted with unilateral and bilateral cochlear implants in each of the last eight years.
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the reasonable requirements of their local populations. This includes determining the most appropriate model of care for cochlear implants, taking account of clinical safety, access, quality, value for money, and the availability of alternative pathways. The Health and Care Act 2022 provides that each integrated care board may arrange for the provision of services or facilities as it considers appropriate for the purposes of the health service.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data does his Department hold on the number of (a) children and (b) adults who were fitted with (i) unilateral and (ii) bilateral cochlear implants in each of the last eight years for which figures are available.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the number of children and adults who were fitted with unilateral and bilateral cochlear implants in each of the last eight years.
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the reasonable requirements of their local populations. This includes determining the most appropriate model of care for cochlear implants, taking account of clinical safety, access, quality, value for money, and the availability of alternative pathways. The Health and Care Act 2022 provides that each integrated care board may arrange for the provision of services or facilities as it considers appropriate for the purposes of the health service.