Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hernia mesh surgeries have taken place in each of the last 20 years; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that patients are informed of the risks of mesh complications.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the count of Finished Consultant Episodes (FCEs) where there was any procedure for 'hernia mesh surgeries', recorded for the years 2004/05 to 2023/24, in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector:
Year | FCEs |
2004/05 | 77,849 |
2005/06 | 79,748 |
2006/07 | 83,789 |
2007/08 | 89,063 |
2008/09 | 87,401 |
2009/10 | 85,519 |
2010/11 | 85,697 |
2011/12 | 90,593 |
2012/13 | 89,676 |
2013/14 | 95,608 |
2014/15 | 95,854 |
2015/16 | 92,147 |
2016/17 | 93,887 |
2017/18 | 89,016 |
2018/19 | 89,951 |
2019/20 | 81,780 |
2020/21 | 39,034 |
2021/22 | 70,884 |
2022/23 | 78,917 |
2023/24 | 83,045 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.
Clinicians are expected to inform patients about risks associated with recommended treatments, including reasonable alternatives, to enable informed consent and a balanced patient decision.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NCEPOD's report entitled Joint Care? A review of the quality of care provided to children and young adults with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, published on 13 February 2025, whether he will take steps to implement the recommendations of that report as they relate to recognition of juvenile idiopathic arthritis by healthcare professionals.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not yet considered the recommendations of the report published by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death on 13 February 2025, Joint Care? A review of the quality of care provided to children and young adults with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
NHS England Specialised Commissioning has a Clinical Reference Group for specialised paediatric rheumatology, which has produced a service specification for these services. This service specification names juvenile idiopathic arthritis as one of the conditions that should be managed by a specialist paediatric rheumatology team. The service specification also sets out that specialised paediatric rheumatology teams will provide transitional care to facilitate transfer and ongoing care in adult rheumatology. Transitional care planning will involve paediatric rheumatology teams, adult rheumatology teams and local hospitals under a shared care arrangement. Specialised paediatric rheumatology services are expected to be commissioned in line with this service specification.
In the NHS Long Term Plan, NHS England committed to delivering a service model for people aged between zero and 25 years old to improve young people’s experience and health outcomes. To aid implementation of this model, the Children and Young People’s Transformation Programme collaborated with key partners to develop national guidance on how the National Health Service can better support young people transfer into adolescent and adult services. The guidance is due to be published shortly and will be hosted on the NHS England website.
The policy aligns with existing National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines and outlines the principles and steps of a service model for people aged between zero and 25 years old, along with best practice examples from across the country.
NICE’s published guidance on the transition from children’s to adult services for young people includes recommendations on transition planning, support before and after transfer and the development of transition infrastructure. This guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng43
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
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 support older children with arthritis as they transition to adult health and care services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not yet considered the recommendations of the report published by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death on 13 February 2025, Joint Care? A review of the quality of care provided to children and young adults with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
NHS England Specialised Commissioning has a Clinical Reference Group for specialised paediatric rheumatology, which has produced a service specification for these services. This service specification names juvenile idiopathic arthritis as one of the conditions that should be managed by a specialist paediatric rheumatology team. The service specification also sets out that specialised paediatric rheumatology teams will provide transitional care to facilitate transfer and ongoing care in adult rheumatology. Transitional care planning will involve paediatric rheumatology teams, adult rheumatology teams and local hospitals under a shared care arrangement. Specialised paediatric rheumatology services are expected to be commissioned in line with this service specification.
In the NHS Long Term Plan, NHS England committed to delivering a service model for people aged between zero and 25 years old to improve young people’s experience and health outcomes. To aid implementation of this model, the Children and Young People’s Transformation Programme collaborated with key partners to develop national guidance on how the National Health Service can better support young people transfer into adolescent and adult services. The guidance is due to be published shortly and will be hosted on the NHS England website.
The policy aligns with existing National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines and outlines the principles and steps of a service model for people aged between zero and 25 years old, along with best practice examples from across the country.
NICE’s published guidance on the transition from children’s to adult services for young people includes recommendations on transition planning, support before and after transfer and the development of transition infrastructure. This guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng43
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take through the 10-year health plan to support children and young people with arthritis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving arthritis care for children and young people in all parts of the country.
More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all support children, young people, and their families to manage their long-term conditions, including arthritis, closer to home.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Children and Young People with Cancer Taskforce will recognise that cancer is different in (a) young people and (b) children.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving outcomes and patient experience for children, teenagers, and young adults with cancer, from birth to 24 years of age. That is why we have relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce, which will identify tangible ways to drive improvements for cancer patients across this age range. The taskforce’s membership, which is currently being finalised, will reflect the diversity of needs across these patient groups.
We recognise that cancer in teenagers and young people is different to cancer in adults and children, and so age-appropriate care is necessary, particularly regarding treatment, diagnosis, and wider support, as per the NHS England service specifications. Department officials are working with chairs of the taskforce to develop the Terms of Reference ahead of the first meeting, currently planned for March. The taskforce will consider the most appropriate dissemination routes or publication channels for taskforce materials in due course.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the age range of the Children and Young People with Cancer Taskforce is.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving outcomes and patient experience for children, teenagers, and young adults with cancer, from birth to 24 years of age. That is why we have relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce, which will identify tangible ways to drive improvements for cancer patients across this age range. The taskforce’s membership, which is currently being finalised, will reflect the diversity of needs across these patient groups.
We recognise that cancer in teenagers and young people is different to cancer in adults and children, and so age-appropriate care is necessary, particularly regarding treatment, diagnosis, and wider support, as per the NHS England service specifications. Department officials are working with chairs of the taskforce to develop the Terms of Reference ahead of the first meeting, currently planned for March. The taskforce will consider the most appropriate dissemination routes or publication channels for taskforce materials in due course.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Children and Young People with Cancer Taskforce will recognise that teenagers and young adults with cancer have different needs to children.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving outcomes and patient experience for children, teenagers, and young adults with cancer, from birth to 24 years of age. That is why we have relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce, which will identify tangible ways to drive improvements for cancer patients across this age range. The taskforce’s membership, which is currently being finalised, will reflect the diversity of needs across these patient groups.
We recognise that cancer in teenagers and young people is different to cancer in adults and children, and so age-appropriate care is necessary, particularly regarding treatment, diagnosis, and wider support, as per the NHS England service specifications. Department officials are working with chairs of the taskforce to develop the Terms of Reference ahead of the first meeting, currently planned for March. The taskforce will consider the most appropriate dissemination routes or publication channels for taskforce materials in due course.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many removals of surgical mesh have taken place at the University College London Hospital in each month since this service began.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse gets the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need, including pain management and psychological support.
According to information held by NHS England, since going live in July 2021, there have been 281 surgical mesh removal operations at the University College London Hospital. Monthly data is not available due to very low patient numbers per month.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the average waiting times for mesh centres; and what steps he is taking to reduce this.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need, including pain management and psychological support. NHS England publishes data on referral to treatment waiting times. This is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/
The Department does not hold information on the average waiting times specifically for mesh centres. Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission and we are taking steps to return to the 18-week standard. The Elective Reform Plan sets out how the National Health Service will reform elective care services and meet the 18-week referral to treatment standard by March 2029.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on (a) how much each mesh centre received in specialised commissioning funding and (b) how many removals took place in each month since this service began.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information on how much each mesh centre received in specialised commissioning funding and on the number of removals that have taken place each month since the service began.
There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need, including pain management and psychological support.