Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of officials in her Department are on long-term sick leave.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department defines long-term sick leave to be four weeks or more of sickness absence. Our central data shows there were 13 members of staff on long-term sick leave on 31 July 2023, this equates to approximately 0.4% of the total number of staff in the Department at the time.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department plans to take to improve (a) outcomes and (b) survival rates for people with pancreatic cancer; and if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the report by Pancreatic Cancer UK entitled Don’t Write Me Off.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is delivering a range of interventions that are expected to increase early diagnosis and improve outcomes for those with pancreatic cancer. This includes providing a route into pancreatic cancer surveillance for those at inherited high-risk to identify lesions before they develop into cancer and diagnose cancers sooner, creating new pathways to support faster referral routes for people with non-specific symptoms that could be linked to a range of cancer types, and increasing direct access for general practitioners to diagnostic tests. A group has been formed to consider a pathway for Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary cancers, including pancreatic cancer.
NHS England is also funding a new audit into pancreatic cancer to provide regular and timely evidence to cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, to increase the consistency of access to treatments and to stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients.
In addition to this, the Getting it Right First-Time team in NHS England is undertaking a deep dive into pancreatic cancer, which will highlight actions National Health Service providers need to take to improve services, as well as gathering examples of good practice to share.
The Department does not currently intend to undertake an assessment of the Don’t Write Me Off report as NHS England is already taking steps to improving pancreatic care pathways.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data their Department holds on the (a) number and (b) total cost of replacing (i) laptops, (ii) mobile phones, (iii) memory sticks and (iv) external hard drives that have been (A) lost and (B) stolen in the last year.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table includes the number of lost or stolen devices in the Department in the last 12 months and the cost of replacement. The Department does not issue memory sticks or external hard drives.
Type | Number | Replacement Cost (ex-VAT) |
Stolen Laptops | 13 | £10,728.38 |
Stolen Phones | 14 | £8,354.92 |
Lost Laptops | 0 | £0 |
Lost Mobile phones | 6 | £3,580.68 |
All Departmental IT is fully security encrypted. The Departmental security unit records and investigates each reported loss from the Department. If appropriate, the police are invited to undertake further inquiries. Lost and stolen phones are remotely wiped and a bar put on the SIM card. Lost and stolen laptops are remotely wiped.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
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 report by the Law Commission entitled Building Families Through Surrogacy: A New Law, published on 29 March 2023; and whether it is his policy to reform surrogacy laws.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government is considering the reforms about surrogacy contained in the Law Commission report, Building Families Through Surrogacy, and will publish a Government response in due course. Ministers wrote to the Law Commission on 8 November 2023 to confirm that we would not be bringing forward legislation in this parliament.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will review the decision to reject the use of the drug Abiraterone to tackle prostate cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that guides the National Health Service on funding new medicines, based on clinical and cost-effectiveness.. The NHS is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, usually within 3 months of final guidance.
NICE has recommended abiraterone for the treatment of metastatic hormone-relapsed prostate cancer before chemotherapy is indicated and for castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer previously treated with a docetaxel-containing regimen. NHS England funds abiraterone in line with NICE’s recommendations, ensuring access for eligible patients.
Abiraterone is not licensed for the treatment of non-metastatic prostate cancer and has therefore not been appraised by NICE for such use. NHS England is currently considering a clinical policy proposal for abiraterone as a treatment option for potential use in specific cases. The proposal is due to be discussed later this month, with potential stakeholder testing by January 2024, if supported.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
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 an adequate supply of (a) methylphenidate, (b) lisdexamfetamine and (c) guanfacine.
Answered by Will Quince
We are aware of disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), including methylphenidate, lisdexamfetamine and guanfacine. Some issues have now been resolved. However, we know that there are currently disruptions to the supply of some other medicines, primarily driven by issues which have resulted in capacity constraints at key manufacturing sites. These issues are expected to resolve by the end of December 2023.
We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine shortages can be and we want to assure patients that we are working intensively with the respective manufacturers to resolve the issues as soon as possible and to ensure patients have continuous access to ADHD medicines in the United Kingdom, in the short and long term.
We have issued communications to the National Health Service to advise healthcare professionals on management of patients whilst there continue to be disruptions to supplies. Patients are advised to speak to their clinician regarding any concerns they have and to discuss the suitability of treatment with alternative medicines.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his timeline is for proceeding with the draft Mental Health Bill.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government remains committed to reforming mental health legislation in England and will introduce a Mental Health Bill when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
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 when updated NICE guidelines for endometriosis will be published.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently updating its guideline on endometriosis, which will update its recommendations on diagnosing endometriosis and surgical management if fertility is a priority.
NICE expects to publish draft guidance on 31 October 2023. The recommendations will be subject to public consultation until 13 November 2023 with final guidance expected on 19 December 2023.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department provides to GP practices for genetic testing for genetic haemochromatosis.
Answered by Will Quince
Whilst general practitioner (GP) practices are not directly funded to provide genomic testing for haemochromatosis, testing is available for all eligible patients across England through an NHS England centrally funded service. Any patient who is suspected of having haemochromatosis can be referred for testing via their local NHS Clinical Genomic Services (NHS CGSs), a comprehensive clinical genomic and counselling service that directs the diagnosis, risk assessment and lifelong clinical management of patients and their families who have, or are at risk of having, a rare genetic condition.
Individuals should discuss with their healthcare professional, for example, their GP, whether genomic testing is appropriate for them. Their GP will then make a decision whether to refer the individual either directly or via a NHS CGS for genomic testing following clinical review and the relevant genomic testing eligibility criteria.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
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 ensure that patients' level of access to testing for genetic haemochromatosis is consistent with the criteria set out in the NHS Genomics Test Directory.
Answered by Will Quince
Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) and delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs). The NHS GLHs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory, which outlines the full range of genomic testing offered by the NHS and sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing as well as the genomic targets to be tested and the method that should be used, it is applicable nationally, providing a standardised approach.
The performance of the GLHs is monitored quarterly through an assurance framework, which ensures all GLHs are operating to national quality standards and identifies and minimises any potential variation, ensuring consistent delivery of the criteria outlined in the National Genomic Test Directory.