Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Northern Ireland executive on the potential introduction of a national screening programme for prostate cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises ministers and the National Health Service in the four nations of the United Kingdom about all aspects of screening. The implementation of any UK NSC screening recommendation is a devolved matter.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent engagement he has had with the blood cancer community on the significance of implementing a proxy measure for early diagnosis in blood cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to support the National Health Service to diagnose and treat cancer as early and fast as possible. There have been improvements in the prognosis of blood cancer patients, with patients now living twice as long. However, we recognise that because of the damaged NHS this Government inherited, patients with cancers with non-specific symptoms such as blood cancer, are waiting too long for diagnosis and subsequent treatment.
There are no current plans to introduce a specific proxy staging measure or a corresponding national target to support the earlier diagnosis of blood cancers. However, the Department will continue to engage with blood cancer charities and key stakeholders to determine how to support the best outcomes for blood cancer patients.
At this time no current assessment has been made on the potential merits of a proxy measure for early diagnosis in unstageable blood cancers. However, we remain committed to making improvements across different cancer types and reducing disparities in cancer survival. Early cancer diagnosis is also a specific priority within the NHS’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities. The NHS currently track early diagnosis in stageable blood cancers by combining the percentage of diagnoses within stage 1 or 2, as it would for any other stageable cancer.
Furthermore, to tackle late, emergency setting diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. There are currently 115 NSS services operating in England with blood cancers being one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.
The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS), through the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Services, collects information on how many people in England have cancer. Blood cancer is included as a distinct category, labelled haematological neoplasms. The NDRS website also shows the number of people treated for different tumour types by treatment type, as well as survival rates, mortality rates, and data on urgent suspected cancer referrals. Further information is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs/data/data-outputs/cancer-data-hub
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on improving outcomes for cancer patients in England, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment. It will ensure patients, including those with blood cancer, have timely access to the latest treatments and technology.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commit to engaging with the blood cancer community to agree on an appropriate measure for early diagnosis in blood cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to support the National Health Service to diagnose and treat cancer as early and fast as possible. There have been improvements in the prognosis of blood cancer patients, with patients now living twice as long. However, we recognise that because of the damaged NHS this Government inherited, patients with cancers with non-specific symptoms such as blood cancer, are waiting too long for diagnosis and subsequent treatment.
There are no current plans to introduce a specific proxy staging measure or a corresponding national target to support the earlier diagnosis of blood cancers. However, the Department will continue to engage with blood cancer charities and key stakeholders to determine how to support the best outcomes for blood cancer patients.
At this time no current assessment has been made on the potential merits of a proxy measure for early diagnosis in unstageable blood cancers. However, we remain committed to making improvements across different cancer types and reducing disparities in cancer survival. Early cancer diagnosis is also a specific priority within the NHS’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities. The NHS currently track early diagnosis in stageable blood cancers by combining the percentage of diagnoses within stage 1 or 2, as it would for any other stageable cancer.
Furthermore, to tackle late, emergency setting diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. There are currently 115 NSS services operating in England with blood cancers being one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.
The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS), through the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Services, collects information on how many people in England have cancer. Blood cancer is included as a distinct category, labelled haematological neoplasms. The NDRS website also shows the number of people treated for different tumour types by treatment type, as well as survival rates, mortality rates, and data on urgent suspected cancer referrals. Further information is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs/data/data-outputs/cancer-data-hub
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on improving outcomes for cancer patients in England, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment. It will ensure patients, including those with blood cancer, have timely access to the latest treatments and technology.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make changes to the Foundation Programme allocation process, following the most recent application round.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is due to review the Foundation Programme allocation process. The review is aiming to commence in 2026. NHS England will advise stakeholders, including the British Medical Association, on how they can input in due course.
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, published on 3 July, we will work across Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period, for specialty training.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
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 monitor the (a) fairness and (b effectiveness of the Foundation Programme allocation process.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is due to review the Foundation Programme allocation process. The review is aiming to commence in 2026. NHS England will advise stakeholders, including the British Medical Association, on how they can input in due course.
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, published on 3 July, we will work across Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period, for specialty training.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will support the British Medical Association's Foundation Programme Recruitment Campaign.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is due to review the Foundation Programme allocation process. The review is aiming to commence in 2026. NHS England will advise stakeholders, including the British Medical Association, on how they can input in due course.
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, published on 3 July, we will work across Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period, for specialty training.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Department of Health on the (a) operation of the Foundation Programme allocation process and (b) its potential impact on applicants in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) manages the national application process for the UK Foundation Programme, issues guidance on foundation training, and promotes the consistent delivery of the Foundation Programme across the United Kingdom, including in Northern Ireland. The UKFPO is funded by, and is accountable to, the four UK statutory education bodies, including the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency.
NHS England is due to review the Foundation Programme allocation process. The review is aiming to commence in 2026. NHS England will advise stakeholders on how they can input in due course.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the forthcoming national cancer plan will introduce new targets for reducing late-diagnosis of cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing late diagnosis of cancer is a priority for the Department. As a first step, the National Health Service is now delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, to support early diagnosis and faster treatment.
NHS England is continuing the roll out of community diagnostic centres to ensure that patients can access the diagnostic tests they need as quickly as possible. The NHS is also improving pathways to get people diagnosed faster once they are referred, including non-specific symptom pathways for patients who do not fit clearly into a single urgent cancer referral pathway.
To further improve early intervention and reduce mortality rates, NHS England’s Help Us, Help You campaigns seek to address the barriers that are deterring patients from accessing the care they need. The campaign encourages people to come forward as soon as possible to see their general practitioner, focusing on a range of symptoms, as well as encouraging ‘body awareness’ to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers at an earlier point.
Further actions on reducing late-diagnosis and improving survival for all cancers will be outlined in the forthcoming National Cancer Plan, which will be published later this year. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experiences and outcomes for people with cancer. The goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years, and the ambition will be set out as part of the National Cancer Plan.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has taken steps following receipt of the BMA letter dated 4 April 2025 requesting review of the Foundation Programme allocations.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is due to review the Foundation Programme allocation process to make sure it works well for applicants. The review is aiming to commence in 2026. NHS England will advise stakeholders how they can input in due course.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Northern Ireland Department of Health on working together on (a) research and (b) treatment for people with long covid.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not had any specific discussions in relation to working together on research and treatment for long COVID with Northern Ireland’s Department of Health.
The Department of Health and Social Care funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR, through the Department, has had an arrangement with the devolved administrations, including in Northern Ireland, since 2008, based on investments from each nation that has allowed research hosts, including universities and research active National Health Service organisations, to apply for NIHR funding through the majority of our research programmes. This enables devolved nation-based researchers to lead studies across the range of health and social care priorities, and, importantly, allows more people to participate in an expanded range of research initiatives.