Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
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 accessibility of treatment for terminal lung condition idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis on the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is committed to improving outcomes for people with respiratory conditions, particularly through early and accurate diagnosis, which is a priority area under the NHS Long Term Plan.
A key component of an early and accurate diagnosis for a number of respiratory conditions, including pulmonary fibrosis, is the provision of quality assured spirometry. Additional funding has been made available to systems in 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25.
NHS England has worked with a range of partners, including Asthma and Lung UK, the British Thoracic Society, the Association for Respiratory Technology and Physiology, and clinical network leads, to develop a package for systems containing the information and support required to help increase the number of people receiving early and accurate diagnosis for respiratory disease.
NHS England is investing in additional diagnostic capacity for respiratory pathways as part of the £2.3 billion 2021 Spending Review capital investment in diagnostics. Community Diagnostic Centres are being established to deliver additional, digitally connected diagnostic capacity in England, providing patients with a coordinated set of diagnostic tests in the community, in as few visits as possible, enabling an accurate and fast diagnosis on a range of clinical pathways, including people with chronic respiratory disease.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
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 increase the capacity of interstitial lung disease specialist centres, in the context of increased eligibility for antifibrotic treatment.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for the commissioning of interstitial lung disease (ILD) services and funds the high-cost, anti-fibrotic treatments. Access to these treatments was widened to people with non-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, with the publication of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Technology Appraisal 747 in November 2021. NHS England outlines the requirements of a quality service in its ILD service specification, and requires the completion of quality metrics through the ILD Specialised Services Quality Dashboard. This helps ensure that ILD teams provide appropriate support to patients living with this condition. Earlier diagnosis and treatment improve outcomes for patients.
Moreover, the Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group contains clinical members who are able to advise NHS England in relation to ILD services, and includes a member of a pulmonary fibrosis charity, Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis (APF), as one of its Patient and Public Voice members. APF has recently issued a report on patient experience, which is helping to inform pathway redesign as well as raise awareness of the condition.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to respond to the recommendations of the report by the Patient Safety Commissioner entitled The Hughes report, published on 7 February 2024.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will consider the recommendations of The Hughes Report and the relevant Minister is due to meet with the Patient Safety Commissioner this week.
To prevent future harm, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, NHS England, and others have taken action to strengthen oversight of valproate prescribing. For example, nine specialist mesh centres are in operation across England, ensuring that women with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse get the right support in every region, and we have maintained the national pause on the use of pelvic mesh, which has been in place since July 2018.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England's guidance entitled Annual assessment of integrated care boards 2022-23: supporting guidance, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring (a) ICBs and (b) NHS England to consult (i) patient support groups and (ii) other stakeholders before publishing their annual report.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
NHS England conducted its first annual performance assessment of the integrated care boards (ICBs) for the 2022/23 financial year, from July 2022 to March 2023, and published supporting guidance for the ICBs. The guidance is available at the following link:
As set out in the National Health Service Act 2006 and amended by the Health and Care Act 2022, while conducting the assessments, NHS England must consult with Health and Wellbeing Boards as to how effectively the ICB has contributed to the ambitions set out in the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The guidance also indicates NHS England and ICBs should gather feedback from a range of relevant stakeholders, which may include:
- NHS trusts and foundation trusts;
- primary care providers;
- clinical networks and alliances;
- local Healthwatch; and
- voluntary and community sector organisations.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring NHS England to provide a point of contact to receive public feedback about integrated care boards as part of the annual performance assessment process.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
NHS England conducted its first annual performance assessment of the integrated care boards (ICBs) for the 2022/23 financial year, from July 2022 to March 2023, and published supporting guidance for the ICBs. The guidance is available at the following link:
As set out in the National Health Service Act 2006 and amended by the Health and Care Act 2022, while conducting the assessments, NHS England must consult with Health and Wellbeing Boards as to how effectively the ICB has contributed to the ambitions set out in the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The guidance also indicates NHS England and ICBs should gather feedback from a range of relevant stakeholders, which may include:
- NHS trusts and foundation trusts;
- primary care providers;
- clinical networks and alliances;
- local Healthwatch; and
- voluntary and community sector organisations.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is to respond to the Patient Safety Commissioner's report entitled Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations and will respond substantively in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
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 capacity of the endoscopy workforce to support patients with Crohn’s and colitis.
Answered by Will Quince
The NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan sets out the steps needed to meet the future needs of the country, including growing the workforce by: doubling the number of medical school training places, increasing GP training places by 50% and increasing adult nursing training places by 92%. NHSE are putting plans in place to train 50% more clinical endoscopists in 2023-24. This is 75 endoscopists, up from the 50 originally planned. This will ensure there are more doctors and nurse to perform procedures such as endoscopies.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to ensure the age at which women cease to be eligible for IVF on the NHS and the number of cycles before they reach that age does not vary between Integrated Care Boards.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards and are based on the clinical needs of their local population. We expect these organisations to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, ensuring equal access to fertility treatment across England.
The Women’s Health Strategy was published on 20 July 2022 and contained a number of important changes and future ambitions to improve the variations in access to National Health Service-funded fertility services.
In addition, NICE is currently reviewing its fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to NHS-funded treatment and preservation are still appropriate. We expect that this review will be published in 2024.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
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 requiring (a) Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Integrated Care Board and (b) other integrated care boards to provide fees to care homes which are (i) in line with and (ii) above inflation.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a duty to manage their local care markets. The Care Act guidance states that they should assure themselves and have evidence that fee levels are appropriate. The Government is making available up to £7.5 billion over two years to support adult social care and discharge. The historic boost will put adult social care system on a stronger financial footing.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
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 implications for his policies of the findings of the European Parliament's Panel for the Future of Science and Technology report on the health impact of 5G.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) are aware of the European Parliament’s report. The UKHSA and COMARE will review emerging evidence and provide advice to inform the Government’s policy making.