Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 NHS England on improving incentives in primary care to adhere to NICE guidelines on coeliac disease.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, including guidelines for coeliac disease, represent best practice and are expected to be taken into full account by healthcare practitioners, but do not override their responsibility to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual, in consultation with them and their families or carers where appropriate. The Department has regular discussions with NHS England on the most appropriate form for incentive schemes within primary care. The profession, patients and the broader system will be consulted this year on incentives in primary care to inform future reform.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a WHO Multisectoral Accountability Framework for TB following the UN High-level Meeting on the fight against tuberculosis on 22 September 2023.
Answered by Will Quince
The Multisectoral Accountability Framework for Tuberculosis is a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative which includes regular global assessments. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Department are working with WHO’s Global Lead for Multisectoral Engagement and the Director of the Global Tuberculosis Programme on the United Kingdom implementation of the framework. There is currently no plan to publish a separate UK assessment at this time.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 the time between an urgent GP referral and the commencement of treatment for cancer for patients in Ealing, Southall constituency.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department is already taking steps to reduce cancer treatment waiting times across England. Reducing the time between an urgent general practitioner referral and the commencement of treatment for cancer for patients is a priority for this Government. The Department is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care’. The Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity.
In the 2023/24 Operational Planning Guidance, NHS England announced that it is providing over £390 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances in each of the next two years to support delivery of the strategy and the operational priorities for cancer which includes increasing and prioritising diagnostic and treatment capacity for cancer.
Additionally, the Government recently published the ‘Major conditions strategy: case for change and our strategic framework’ on 14 August, which sets out our approach to making the choices over the next five years that will deliver the most value in facing the health challenges of today and of the decades ahead, including cancer.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by Demos entitled The Costs of Atopic Dermatitis published April 2023.
Answered by Will Quince
Whilst we have made no specific assessment of Demos’ report, or the economic impact of atopic dermatitis on people living with the condition, or on the National Health Service and the wider economy, we recognise the impact that skin conditions can have on all aspects of life and the importance of ensuring that those affected receive the treatment and support that they need.
To support people with skin conditions, such as atopic dermatitis, the Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) national report for dermatology makes specific recommendations to ensure early access to diagnosis and treatment across England.
GIRFT is a national programme designed to improve the treatment and care of patients through in-depth review of services, benchmarking and presenting a data-driven evidence base to support change.
A limited range of products, including emollient bath oils, wash creams and moisturising creams and lotions can be prescribed in line with advice from the Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances. It is for the general practitioner and other responsible clinicians to work with their patient and decide on the course of treatment, with the provision of the most clinically appropriate care for the individual always being the primary consideration. Clinicians are accountable for their prescribing decisions, both professionally and to their service commissioners.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many eczema cases were diagnosed in 2022.
Answered by Will Quince
The information is not collected in the format requested.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 that (a) people with eczema are (i) evaluated and (ii) treated by specialists and (b) patient-initiated follow-ups are adopted across the health system.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) publishes a range of guidance on atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema, and other skin conditions for commissioners and healthcare professionals, with recommendations for diagnosis and referral. The guideline for atopic dermatitis in children aged under 12 years is being updated with draft recommendations published in June 2023. NHS England has made a referral to NICE to develop new guidance on atopic dermatitis in adults.
Whilst NICE guidelines are not mandatory, the Government would expect patients presenting with atopic dermatitis symptoms to be managed according to clinical need and in line with all current guidance.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 provide skills training to help meet (a) medium- and (b) long-term targets for biomedical scientists in the NHS.
Answered by Will Quince
As set out in the recently published NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan, we aim to increase training places for healthcare scientists, including biomedical scientists, by 13% to more than 850 places by 2028/29, putting us on the path to increase training places by more than 30% to over 1,000 places by 2031/32.
Apprenticeship routes for healthcare scientists are also being made available, with 20% of training places delivered via an apprenticeship route by 2028/29, supporting an ambition to have 40% of healthcare scientists starting their training via an apprenticeship by 2031/32.
The Government is backing the plan with over £2.4 billion over the next five years.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 train community healthcare professionals to (a) support and (b) provide appropriate referrals to specialist care for people with moderate to severe atopic eczema.
Answered by Will Quince
Training programmes for healthcare professionals must meet the standards set by the regulatory body for their profession. Whilst not all curricula may necessarily highlight a specific condition, they all nevertheless emphasise the skills and approaches a Health Care Practitioner must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.
The standard of training for health care professionals is the responsibility of the independent statutory health care regulatory bodies, which set the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approve courses, and higher education institutions which write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the regulators’ outcome standards.
Individual employers are responsible for ensuring their staff are trained and competent to carry out their role, including ensuring staff are aware of care pathways and referral routes for those living with moderate to severe atopic eczema.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 provide (a) psychosocial and (b) other mental health support to eczema patients.
Answered by Will Quince
No one is excluded from the Government’s cost of living support as a consequence of a health condition or disability such as eczema. Those with needs arising from such a condition may be entitled to the full range of support depending on their circumstances, including access to an extra costs disability benefit such as the Personal Independence Payment.
In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost-of-Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the year.
We recognise that people’s mental and physical health are intrinsically linked, and people with long term physical health conditions, such as eczema, may also need emotional and psychological support. We are investing at least £2.3 billion of extra funding a year in expanding and transforming mental health services in England by March 2024. This will enable an extra two million people to be treated by mental health services within the National Health Service by March 2024.
Mental Health is one of the group of conditions included in the Department’s Major Conditions Strategy. The strategy will aim to identify actions in the areas of prevention, treatment, and long-term management of care to improve outcomes for individuals across the six major condition groups.
We have continued to expand NHS talking therapies services for all adults with common mental health problems. These services are accessible to all adults in England. People can be referred by a range of practitioners or refer themselves.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to help support eczema patients with increases in the cost of living.
Answered by Will Quince
No one is excluded from the Government’s cost of living support as a consequence of a health condition or disability such as eczema. Those with needs arising from such a condition may be entitled to the full range of support depending on their circumstances, including access to an extra costs disability benefit such as the Personal Independence Payment.
In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost-of-Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the year.
We recognise that people’s mental and physical health are intrinsically linked, and people with long term physical health conditions, such as eczema, may also need emotional and psychological support. We are investing at least £2.3 billion of extra funding a year in expanding and transforming mental health services in England by March 2024. This will enable an extra two million people to be treated by mental health services within the National Health Service by March 2024.
Mental Health is one of the group of conditions included in the Department’s Major Conditions Strategy. The strategy will aim to identify actions in the areas of prevention, treatment, and long-term management of care to improve outcomes for individuals across the six major condition groups.
We have continued to expand NHS talking therapies services for all adults with common mental health problems. These services are accessible to all adults in England. People can be referred by a range of practitioners or refer themselves.