Asked by: Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has received evidence from the life sciences industry of the impact on UK R&D investment and potential increases in payment rates under the voluntary and statutory schemes for branded medicines; and if it will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department has been consulting on a proposed update to the statutory scheme for branded medicines and the life sciences industry has been able to give evidence as part of this consultation process.
The Government remains firmly committed to the statutory and voluntary schemes for branded medicines and to working with the pharmaceutical industry to deliver on the ambitions set out in the Life Sciences Vision to create an environment that facilitates innovation for the development of medicines in the UK.
Asked by: Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 support research into intra-nasal covid-19 vaccines.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Department of Health and Social Care commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) which, with UK Research and Innovation, has co-funded an Imperial College London study worth £580,000 looking specifically at the safety and effectiveness of two COVID-19 vaccines administered via the respiratory tract.
The study is ongoing but in later stages and results will be made public in due course and following peer review.
The NIHR is also providing infrastructure support to an Oxford University study looking at safety and effectiveness of intranasal administration of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
Asked by: Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what financial provision he has made to support the health needs of those affected by Sodium Valproate.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Those affected by sodium valproate may be in receipt of Continuing Healthcare where individuals with long-term complex health needs qualify for free social care arranged and funded solely by the National Health Service. Personal Health Budgets are also available to support health and wellbeing needs, which is planned and agreed between the individual or their representative and the local clinical commissioning group.
Asked by: Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 when his Department will receive the report and recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee on a national lung screening programme.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) plans to open a three-month public consultation on the evidence for lung cancer screening in the coming weeks.
The Department will receive the UK NSC’s recommendation on lung cancer screening in individuals at an increased risk following its June meeting.
Asked by: Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the increase in CT scanner numbers required to ensure each Cancer Alliance operates at least one targeted lung health check from 2022-23.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Up to £70 million of targeted funding under the National Health Service Cancer Programme’s Service Development Funding budget has been made available to support the running of Targeted Lung Health Checks (TLHC) in 2022/23. This will include the expansion of the programme to ensure a project in each Cancer Alliance.
NHS England and NHS Improvement also supports the delivery of the TLHC programme with standard protocols, expert advice, and nationally procured and coordinated quality assurance and training.
There are currently nine Cancer Alliances without a TLHC project. NHS England and NHS Improvement plan to expand the TLHC programme in 2022/23 to ensure that each of these Cancer Alliances has at least one TLHC programme. We estimate an additional eight computerised tomography (CT) scanners will be needed to facilitate this expansion.
Asked by: Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) funding and (b) additional support NHS England has made available to Cancer Alliances to ensure each operates at least one targeted lung health check project from 2022-23.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Up to £70 million of targeted funding under the National Health Service Cancer Programme’s Service Development Funding budget has been made available to support the running of Targeted Lung Health Checks (TLHC) in 2022/23. This will include the expansion of the programme to ensure a project in each Cancer Alliance.
NHS England and NHS Improvement also supports the delivery of the TLHC programme with standard protocols, expert advice, and nationally procured and coordinated quality assurance and training.
There are currently nine Cancer Alliances without a TLHC project. NHS England and NHS Improvement plan to expand the TLHC programme in 2022/23 to ensure that each of these Cancer Alliances has at least one TLHC programme. We estimate an additional eight computerised tomography (CT) scanners will be needed to facilitate this expansion.
Asked by: Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 15 of NHS England’s 2022-23 priorities and operational planning guidance, whether NHS England plans to publish details of the Targeted Lung Health Check projects that will be launched in 202-23.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Up to £70 million of targeted funding under the National Health Service Cancer Programme’s Service Development Funding budget has been made available to support the running of Targeted Lung Health Checks (TLHC) in 2022/23. This will include the expansion of the programme to ensure a project in each Cancer Alliance.
NHS England and NHS Improvement also supports the delivery of the TLHC programme with standard protocols, expert advice, and nationally procured and coordinated quality assurance and training.
There are currently nine Cancer Alliances without a TLHC project. NHS England and NHS Improvement plan to expand the TLHC programme in 2022/23 to ensure that each of these Cancer Alliances has at least one TLHC programme. We estimate an additional eight computerised tomography (CT) scanners will be needed to facilitate this expansion.
Asked by: Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 promote the use of (a) the quality and outcomes framework and (b) other incentive models to ensure the adequate uptake of proven AI health technologies at a local level.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The National Health Service Artificial Intelligence (AI) Laboratory was set up in 2019 to support the safe and ethical development and deployment of AI across health and care. The AI in Health and Care Awards will channel £140 million of funding to AI innovation.
The NHS AI Laboratory, is also developing the evidence base for technologies and providing guidance on best practice.
Asked by: Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has in place to strengthen outpatient care online to ensure that appropriate patients and clinicians have access to remote diagnostics alongside remote consultation.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The first four phases of the Artificial Intelligence in Health and Care award included innovations in remote diagnostics, including the Neuronostics Limited smartphone-based app which can receive EEG recordings from wireless headsets to assist with assessing epilepsy treatment; Senti Tech Limited’s project enabling remote chest examination for respiratory patients through sensors embedded into a jacket; and Healthy.io (UK) Limited’s smartphone albuminuria self-test, which uses a home test kit and a mobile app to allow patients to self-test at home with clinical grade results.
Asked by: Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether PHE plans to update its guidance on UTIs to recommend the use of a dipstick to diagnose UTI patients with suggestive symptoms and to reflect Scotland’s guidance SIGN 88: Management of suspected bacterial urinary tract infection in adults.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Public Health England (PHE) diagnostic urinary tract infection (UTI) guidance was last updated in October 2020 and will be reviewed again in November 2021. The current guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/urinary-tract-infection-diagnosis
PHE recommends dipstick testing in patients with one or fewer of the key UTI diagnostic symptoms (new nocturia, dysuria, or cloudy urine). The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network approach recommends using dipsticks in a slightly larger subset of patients. PHE will keep the emerging evidence on dipstick use within UTI diagnosis under review in order to inform future guidance updates.