Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will have discussions with the management of the University Teaching Hospital of Morecambe Bay Trust on the closure of the Helme Chase maternity unit at the Westmorland General Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The reconfiguration of services is a matter for integrated care boards and the local National Health Service in cases of specialised and national services. All service changes should be based on clear evidence, clinically led, and involve engagement with patients and stakeholders to ensure they will deliver better outcomes for patients.
Whilst birthing services are temporarily suspended, women can continue to access antenatal and postnatal care, as well as outpatient appointments as normal at Helme Chase. The trust also offers safe home birthing and birth services at their other two units. Following a six-month suspension of birthing services, the trust is undertaking a full review of the midwifery led birth provision, and the associated staffing budget. Options have been identified to reinstate birth services at the unit and they are being consulted on with the relevant teams before a decision is made.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 potential merits of introducing a specialist 21-day pancreatic cancer treatment pathway.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a specialised 21-day pancreatic cancer treatment pathway. NHS England is delivering a range of interventions that are expected to improve early diagnosis and treatment for patients with suspected and diagnosed pancreatic cancer. This includes providing a route into pancreatic cancer surveillance for patients at inherited high-risk, to identify lesions before they develop into cancer, and diagnose cancers sooner.
In March 2024, NHS England published guidance for providers and systems to implement a timed Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary cancer pathway with the aim of ensuring that patients with some suspected tumour types, including suspected pancreatic cancer, receive a diagnosis or have cancer ruled out within 28 days of urgent referral.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to expand the additional roles reimbursement scheme for primary care to include funding for (a) additional GPs and (b) associated reimbursement schemes for related roles.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is investing £82 million to fund the recruitment of over 1,000 newly qualified general practitioners (GPs), via the Additional Roles reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), so patients can get the care they need. The ARRS is subject to annual review as part of the consultation on the GP contract with professional and patient representatives. NHS England works closely with the Department to implement any changes identified as part of this process.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to expand the dental recruitment incentive scheme beyond the seven surgeries in the scheme in NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published guidance for practices on the Golden Hello incentive scheme, which will encourage dentists into under-served areas through bonus payments of up to £20,000 to work there for up to three years. More information is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/dental-recruitment-incentive-scheme-2024-25/
The responsibility for commissioning primary care, including dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency, this is the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB. Dental practices in specific areas, determined locally, were invited by their ICB to apply for the scheme, and were notified about the outcome of their application by their local ICB.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to help (a) recruit and (b) retain a social care workforce in Cumbria.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the scale of the reforms needed to make the adult social care sector attractive. We are committed to ensuring the adult social care workforce feels supported and recognised, and that there are opportunities to develop and progress, all of which contributes to recruitment and retention. This includes: delivering the Adult Social Care Learning and Development Support Scheme; the continuing development of the Care Workforce Pathway; a universal career structure for the workforce setting out the knowledge, skills, values, and behaviours needed to work in adult social care; and launching a new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification.
We are introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement to the adult social care sector so that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work that they do. We will engage and consult those who draw upon, work in, and provide care and support, as well as local authorities, unions, and others from across the sector, and this work will be an important part of the first step towards a National Care Service.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to (a) expand radiotherapy services and (b) waiting times for radiotherapy treatments.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government knows that cancer patients are waiting too long for a diagnosis and treatment. We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer on time, diagnosing it earlier, and treating it faster, so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system. As part of this, we are committed to bringing down waits for cancer appointments with a Fit For the Future fund, providing the number of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests that are needed to reduce elective and cancer waiting times, thereby saving lives.
The Government will continue to support the provision of radiotherapy machines, however, since April 2022 the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines has been with local systems.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is planning to take steps to implement (a) a national screening programme and (b) other early diagnosis initiatives for prostate cancer.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Screening for prostate cancer is currently not recommended by the UK National Screening Committees (UK NSC). This is because of the inaccuracy of the current best test, the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA). A PSA-based screening programme will harm some men as many would be diagnosed with a cancer that would not have caused them problems during their life. This would lead to additional tests and treatments which can also have harmful side effects, for instance sexual dysfunction and incontinence.
The UK NSC regularly reviews its recommendations and the evidence review for prostate cancer screening is underway, and plans to report within the UK NSC’s three-year work plan.
The evidence review includes modelling the clinical effectiveness and cost of several approaches to prostate cancer screening, including different potential ways of screening the whole population from 40 years of age onwards, and targeted screening aimed at groups of people identified as being at higher-than-average risk, such as black men or men with a family history of cancer.
We are also working with NHS England to support the National Health Service to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard for cancer to be diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days from an urgent suspected cancer referral. This includes introducing best practice timed pathways for prostate cancer to streamline diagnostic pathways and speed up diagnoses.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS England spent on (a) fees and (b) other costs for work by Niche Health and Social Care Consulting in relation to urology services at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust in (a) 2019/20, (b) 2020/21 and (c) 2021/22.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows how much NHS England spent on fees and other costs for work by Niche Health and Social Care Consulting, in relation to urology services at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMB), in 2019/20, 2020/21, and 2021/22:
Activity commissioned | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |||
| Fees | VAT | Fees | VAT | Fees | VAT |
Independent investigation into urology services at UHMB | £58,870.15 | £11,774.04 | £541,812.75 | £108,362.58 | £335,690.66 | £67,138.13 |
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS England has spent on (a) fees and (b) any other costs with Niche Health and Social Care Consulting for urology services at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust in the financial year (i) 2022-23, (ii) 2023-24 and (iii) 2024-25 to date.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the expenditure by NHS England on fees and other costs from Niche Health and Social Care Consulting for urology services at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, each year since 2022/23, including VAT:
Year | Invoice amount |
2022/23 | £225,584.58 |
2023/24 | £0 |
2024/25 | £0 |
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS England spent on (a) fees and (b) any other costs with Niche Health and Social Care Consulting in the financial year (i) 2022-23, (ii) 2023-24 and (iii) 2024-25 to date.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows expenditure by NHS England on fees and other costs with Niche Health and Social Care Consulting, each financial year from 2022/23 to 2024/25:
Year | Invoiced amount |
2022/23 | £1,894,931.49 |
2023/24 | £1,691,549.24 |
2024/25 | £503,306.92 |
Total | £4,089,787.65 |