Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
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 reduce waiting times for autism diagnoses.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism assessments and diagnosis, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people and adults referred to an autism assessment service.
In 2024/25, £4.3 million is available nationally to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
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 those diagnosed with coeliac disease receive timely and appropriate treatment.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.
We have made a commitment that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment within our first term. This includes those waiting for treatment for coeliac disease. As a first step to achieving this, following the Budget, we will deliver an additional two million operations, scans, and appointments across all specialities during our first year in Government, which is equivalent to 40,000 per week.
The Royal College of General Practitioners has an e-learning module on the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease and its immunological comorbidities, which is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the symptoms of coeliac disease amongst general practitioners and primary care professionals and support early diagnosis. The e-learning module highlights that untreated coeliac disease can have important consequences, including small bowel lymphoma and osteoporosis.
The NHS website is also a key awareness tool and contains useful information for the public about coeliac disease, its symptoms and how it is diagnosed and treated. This information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coeliac-disease/
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has guidance on the recognition, assessment and management of coeliac disease, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng20
The guidance outlines a number of symptoms which are suggestive of coeliac disease and suggests that any person with these symptoms should be offered serological testing for coeliac disease. The guidance also states that first-degree relatives of people with coeliac disease should also be offered serological testing.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what services NHS England gender services provide for children and young people.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England commissions gender services for children and young people in line with its interim service specification for children and young people with gender incongruence.
Children and young people are cared for holistically by specialist multi-disciplinary teams based in specialist children's hospitals. The multi-disciplinary team should include expertise in paediatrics, psychological health, and neurodevelopmental conditions.
Each child or young person will have a tailored individual care plan to meet their needs. Depending on individual need, the gender service for children and young people will provide psychosocial and clinical interventions, including support for the family. Further information from the interim service specification is available at the following link:
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) medical professionals, (b) charities, (c) organisations and (d) other groups the Commission on Human Medicines consulted on the provision of puberty blockers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s response to the targeted consultation on proposed changes to the availability of puberty blockers was published on 11 December 2024, and details the individuals and organisations with which the Commission on Human Medicines consulted. It is available at the following link:
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the National Institute for Health and Care Research has spent on research into (a) gynaecological and urogynaecological health, (b) asthma and (c) diabetes in each of the last ten years; and what proportion of the NIHR’s overall spend each of those amounts represents.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows how much the National Institute for Health and Care Research spent on research, as well as that spend as a percentage of total research spend, for gynaecological and urogynaecological, each year from 2014/15 to 2023/34, and in total over that period:
Financial year | Spend | Proportion of total research spend |
2014/15 | £3,820,598 | 1.3% |
2015/16 | £4,119,736 | 1.4% |
2016/17 | £4,598,586 | 1.6% |
2017/18 | £5,794,355 | 1.5% |
2018/19 | £4,876,814 | 1.3% |
2019/20 | £5,558,241 | 1.3% |
2020/21 | £5,255,747 | 1.3% |
2021/22 | £5,808,297 | 1.2% |
2022/23 | £5,472,805 | 1.0% |
2023/24 | £6,381,906 | 1.3% |
Total 2014 to 2024 | £51,687,086 | 1.3% |
Additionally, the following table shows how much the National Institute for Health and Care Research spent on research, as well as that spend as a percentage of total research spend, for asthma, each year from 2014/15 to 2023/34, and in total over that period:
Financial year | Spend | Proportion of total research spend |
2014/15 | £2,881,919 | 1.0% |
2015/16 | £3,148,352 | 1.1% |
2016/17 | £2,222,035 | 0.8% |
2017/18 | £4,451,842 | 1.2% |
2018/19 | £4,999,804 | 1.3% |
2019/20 | £8,823,017 | 2.1% |
2020/21 | £8,950,535 | 2.2% |
2021/22 | £7,378,125 | 1.5% |
2022/23 | £6,947,881 | 1.3% |
2023/24 | £8,733,915 | 1.7% |
Total 2014 to 2024 | £58,537,425 | 1.5% |
Finally, the following table shows how much the National Institute for Health and Care Research spent on research, as well as that spend as a percentage of total research spend, for diabetes, each year from 2014/15 to 2023/34, and in total over that period:
Financial year | Spend | Proportion of total research spend |
2014/15 | £8,886,001 | 3.1% |
2015/16 | £8,570,471 | 2.9% |
2016/17 | £8,899,325 | 3.0% |
2017/18 | £12,240,087 | 3.3% |
2018/19 | £13,180,008 | 3.4% |
2019/20 | £17,097,212 | 4.1% |
2020/21 | £16,899,589 | 4.1% |
2021/22 | £21,713,745 | 4.3% |
2022/23 | £20,346,333 | 3.8% |
2023/24 | £25,271,594 | 5.1% |
Total 2014 to 2024 | £153,104,366 | 3.8% |
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many invasive surgical procedures to (a) diagnose and (b) treat a reproductive health condition were not completed because of the level of pain experienced by the patient during that procedure in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not held centrally. A range of procedures are used to investigate and treat gynaecological conditions. For example, ultrasound can be used in the diagnosis of fibroids, hysteroscopy can be used to investigate symptoms such as unexplained vaginal bleeding, and laparoscopy can be used to diagnose and treat endometriosis.
The Government recognises that some procedures, such as hysteroscopy, can result in pain, and the level of pain experienced will vary between individual women. It is important that healthcare professionals provide women with information prior to their procedure so that women can make an informed decisions about the procedure and pain relief options, including the option of local or general anaesthetic.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of GP practices are commissioned to fit long-acting reversible contraception for purposes of gynaecological care; and what the (a) fitting fee and (b) cost is of fitting long-acting reversible contraception in primary care.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on the proportion of general practices commissioned to fit long-acting reversible contraception for the purposes of gynaecological care, as well as the fitting fee and cost of fitting in primary care, is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has made in developing guidelines for polycystic ovary syndrome.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following referral from the Department, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently planning the development of a guideline on the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. The NICE is exploring the possibility of collaboration with a reputable, guidance-producing partner to enhance the speed and efficiency of this work. The NICE’s website will be updated at the earliest opportunity, when expected timings are confirmed.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many women's health hubs have been established; and in which integrated care board areas they are located.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has invested £25 million over 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support the establishment of at least one pilot women’s health hub in every integrated care system. The 2024/25 NHS priorities and operational planning guidance asks integrated care boards (ICBs) to establish and develop at least one women’s health hub in every ICB by December 2024, working in partnership with local authorities.
NHS England has asked the ICBs to report regularly on their progress implementing the funding. As of September 2024, 36 of the 42 ICBs had had reported to NHS England that their women’s health hub was open. Those ICBs are:
The Birmingham, RAND, and Cambridge Evaluation, published in September 2024, identified 17 women’s health hubs in England which were established between 2001 and 2022. The report is available at the following link:
https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hsdr/JYFT5036/#/abstract
The research notes the difficulty in locating models for women’s health hubs, meaning the research may not have captured all open women’s health hubs, in particular hubs that have opened more recently as locally-led initiatives.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans increase breast screenings for young women with (a) neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and (b) other determinants of being at risk of developing breast cancer.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All women with neurofibromatosis type 1 are eligible to begin screening at the age of 40 years old. This is 10 years below the normal screening age of 50 years old. Women can have screenings from a younger age if they have a higher-than-average risk of breast cancer, for example due to family history or an inherited gene such as BRCA.