Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 diagnostic pathways for those suffering from persistent unexplained symptoms.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It's vital that the National Health Service is there when people need it, and that symptoms are investigated to provide a diagnosis promptly, to enable treatment.
That is why we are committed to fixing the front door of the NHS and improving access to general practices (GPs). We are bringing back the family doctor, and incentivising continuity of care so that patients can see the same doctor at each appointment, which can play an important role in identifying and managing health conditions. Additionally, we have announced a proposed £889 million uplift to the GP Contract in 2025/26, the largest uplift in years, with a rising share of total NHS resources going to GPs. We are also currently consulting on key proposals to improve GP access and recruitment.
Cutting waiting lists for diagnostic tests is a key priority for the Government. It is unacceptable that some patients are waiting over six weeks for a diagnostic test. Our Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, builds on the investments already made with an ambitious vision for the future of diagnostic testing. This will include more straight-to-test pathways, increasing and expanding community diagnostic centres, and better use of technology.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 reduce incidents of diagnostic bias within the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to putting patients first. It is crucial that patients receive the right diagnostic tests, at the right time, in the right place.
The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, commits to transforming and expanding diagnostic services and speeding up waiting times for tests, a crucial part of reducing overall waiting times and returning to the referral-to-treatment standard.
We have wasted no time in getting to work cutting National Health Service waiting lists and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care. We promised change, and we’ve delivered early, with a reduction in the waitlists of 160,000 pathways and over two million extra appointments provided, which includes diagnostic tests.
As part of a return to meeting performance standards, the Elective Reform Plan commits to continuing the roll out of the iRefer clinical decision support tool, which supports clinicians to facilitate appropriate diagnostic imaging referrals by using on-demand, real-time evidence-based guidance to improve health and healthcare delivery. This will support the reduction of diagnostic bias by promoting the ordering of the most clinically appropriate tests, especially for clinicians working in emergency medicine, and will reduce the number of unnecessary tests.
The Elective Reform Plan also commits to continuing the support for the education and training of clinicians, to support their development in independent clinical practice.
Very importantly, we know that biases in diagnostic services and other clinical services can lead to harm and worse patient outcomes. The Elective Reform Plan commits to reducing health inequalities by strengthening the accountability and oversight of providers addressing health inequalities in elective care, and by improving the reporting and monitoring of health inequalities and their impacts. This will support the NHS to better identify and address health inequalities.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 reinstating the restriction on international medical graduates in the first round of selection for NHS speciality training programmes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Working with NHS England we continue to keep the selection process for all applicants to medical speciality training under review.
We are committed to ensuring that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where the need is greatest.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 the proportion of UK medical graduates in NHS speciality training places.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Working with NHS England we continue to keep the selection process for all applicants to medical speciality training under review.
We are committed to ensuring that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where the need is greatest.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 adequacy of fracture liaison services in southwest London.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Fracture Liaison Services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which make decisions according to local need. This includes the NHS South West London Integrated Care Board.
Officials continue to work closely with NHS England to explore a range of options to provide better quality and access to these important preventative services. This includes how best to support systems, who are responsible for commissioning.
The Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme, which includes a dedicated Fracture Liaison Service database, is a national clinical audit of fracture prevention care, delivered by the Royal College of Physicians. This includes reporting on individual Fracture Liaison Services, and supporting local and national service improvement.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 (a) develop and (b) improve Fracture Liaison Services.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government and NHS England support the clinical case for services which help to prevent fragility fractures, and support the patients who sustain them. The Government is committed to ending the postcode lottery for access to Fracture Liaison Services.
Officials continue to work closely with NHS England to explore a range of options to provide better quality and access to these important preventative services.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 support people diagnosed with osteoporosis.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week Referral to Treatment target by the end of this Parliament. Further information on the Elective Reform Plan is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/reforming-elective-care-for-patients/
Part of the plan sets out funding to boost bone density scanning capacity, to support improvements in early diagnosis and bone health for conditions such as osteoporosis. This will provide an estimated 29,000 extra scans per year.
As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) Musculoskeletal (MSK) Community Delivery Programme. With a £3.5 million funding boost, GIRFT teams will deploy their proven Further Faster model to work with integrated care board leaders to further reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with osteoporosis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 make dentistry more affordable.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to National Health Service dental services being available for all those who need them. Free NHS dental care is available to people who meet one of the following criteria:
Support is also available through the NHS Low Income Scheme for those patients who are not eligible for exemption or full remission of dental patient charges. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/who-is-entitled-to-free-nhs-dental-treatment-in-england/
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 increasing the regulation of private dental charges.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service contracts independent dental providers to deliver NHS dental treatment. Dentists must make clear which treatments can be provided on the NHS and which can only be provided on a private basis, and the costs associated for each. If a patient decides to choose alternative private options, this should be included in their treatment plan.
The Department and NHS England do not control the cost of private dental or orthodontic treatment.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the (a) efficacy and (b) efficiency of NHS Pathways.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is taking action to improve the efficacy and efficiency of NHS Pathways across the health system.
The NHS Pathways clinical content and assessment protocols are consistent with the latest advice from the respected bodies that provide evidence and guidance for medical practice. In particular, NHS Pathways is concordant with the latest guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the UK Resuscitation Council, and the UK Sepsis Trust.
The NHS Pathways Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) is a triage product used to support urgent and emergency care in England, and is embedded in NHS 111 and 999 telephony service, and NHS 111 online. It is continuously reviewed to ensure it remains safe, effective, and efficient. The system is developed and maintained by a group of experienced National Health Service clinicians with an urgent and emergency care background. The safety of the clinical triage process is overseen by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and the relevant royal colleges, and clinical professional groups endorse and approve the CDSS.
The NHS triages patients waiting for elective care, including surgeries, through clinical prioritisation, ensuring the order in which patients are seen reflects clinical judgement on need as well as taking into account overall wait time.
The Government is taking action to improve efficacy and efficiency of NHS Pathways across the health system. The recently published Elective Reform Plan commits to reforming outpatient care through clinical pathway transformation. Reform will include doing more activity in the community and increasing the opportunities for patients to be referred straight to diagnostic tests without the need to first see a consultant, reducing unnecessary follow-up appointments and freeing up clinical time for those who need it most. The Elective Reform Plan also makes changes to advice and guidance to support more patients being cared for outside of hospitals, avoiding 800,000 unnecessary referrals each year.