Oral Evidence May. 09 2024
Inquiry: Food, Diet and ObesityFound: As shadow Health Minister, it is why I have been keen that we set out a focus on population health
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support the detection of liver disease in Washington and Sunderland West constituency.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Northern Cancer Alliance (NCA) is supporting services to enable the early detection of liver disease across the North East and North Cumbria (NENC) Integrated Care Board (ICB), including in the Washington and Sunderland West Constituency. The focus of work has been to support liver services across NENC to invite more than 80% of patients with cirrhosis, a type of liver disease, to monthly ultrasound surveillance. For 2024/25, the NCA has invested just over £200,000 into trusts across NENC to help improve their monitoring systems for cirrhosis patients.
The NENC ICB is also enrolled in a Community Liver Health Check pilot in Newcastle, being delivered by the system’s Hepatitis C Operational Delivery Networks. This will provide FibroScans in one stop community clinics where patients have relevant blood testing, liver ultrasound, and other investigations, as required. The pilot has expanded into North Tyneside and when resources allow, they intend to develop additional clinics across the area.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the development of intelligent liver function tests by the University of Dundee; and if she will make it her policy to increase the rollout of these tests in areas with the highest levels of liver disease in England.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is working with the National Health Service to support earlier diagnosis of liver disease, and to identify patients at risk. This includes plans agreed as part of the £2.3 billion diagnostics transformation programme, to upgrade the digital capabilities of laboratories across the country and ensure that they have the capability required to offer Intelligent Liver Function Tests (iLFTs).
NHS England is reviewing the liver fibrosis pathways, and looking at developing a diagnosis pathway starting in primary care that will make use of both laboratory-based tests, such as iLFTs, and community diagnostic centres. The Government will make a further assessment of this work once it is complete, including the benefits of an increased rollout of iLFTs across England.
May. 08 2024
Source Page: Fusion energy facilities: new National Policy Statement and proposals on sitingFound: a strategic response to health stressors associated with climate change.
Oral Evidence May. 07 2024
Inquiry: Engineering biologyFound: National Physical Laboratory, Food Standards Agency, and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Oral Evidence
May. 07 2024
Source Page: Evidence submissions to NCA Remuneration Review Body, 2024 to 2025Found: The NCA continues to de liver the Strategy 2023 -28 to meet the Home Secretary’s priorities to protect
May. 07 2024
Source Page: Evidence submissions to NCA Remuneration Review Body, 2024 to 2025Found: The NCA continues to de liver the Strategy 2023 -28 to meet the Home Secretary’s priorities to protect
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of new data from the Office for National Statistics showing that alcohol-specific deaths are now 32.8 per cent higher than in 2019 and at an all-time high; and what steps they plan to take to tackle rising alcohol harm.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government keeps all official health data related to alcohol consumption and alcohol related harms under regular review. The 2021 Public Health England publication, Monitoring alcohol consumption and harm during the COVID-19 pandemic, found that increases in alcohol consumption since the beginning of the pandemic tended to be among people who were already heavy drinkers before this period, which may be a factor in the increase.
The most effective way to prevent alcohol specific deaths, is drinking within the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines, namely under 14 units per week. The Government is supporting people who drink above low-risk levels to reduce their alcohol consumption. As part of the NHS Health Check, questions are asked about alcohol consumption, and appropriate advice given to support people to make healthier choices. Those identified to be drinking at higher-risk levels are referred for liver investigation. The Department is also supporting people with alcohol dependency through the Drug Strategy and NHS Long Term Plan, by facilitating more people in need of treatment into local authority commissioned alcohol treatment services.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce levels of liver disease in Darlington constituency.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Through the 2021 Drugs Strategy we are making the largest ever single increase in drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding, with £780 million of additional investment. Of this, £532 million is being invested to rebuild local authority commissioned substance misuse treatment services in England. As alcohol and drug services are commissioned together, this will benefit people seeking treatment for alcohol use.
In the financial years 2022/23 to 2024/25, Darlington has been allocated just over £1.9 million through the Supplementary Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant and Inpatient Detoxification Grant, to increase the number of people benefiting from alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services, and the outcomes they achieve. This is additional to the amounts invested through the Public Health Grant.
Work in the National Health Service, specifically piloting early diagnosis and prevention through 19 community diagnostic hubs, is identifying undiagnosed liver disease. The North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board is enrolled in a Community Liver Health Check pilot in Newcastle, being delivered by the system’s Hepatitis C Operational Delivery Networks. This will provide FibroScans in one-stop community clinics, where patients also have other investigations, as required. The pilot has expanded into North Tyneside, and when resources allow, they intend to develop clinics elsewhere.
Beyond treatment, we are committed to tackling alcohol harms including reducing consumption levels, and in 2023 the Government introduced reforms to alcohol duty, meaning products are taxed directly in proportion to their alcohol content.
May. 03 2024
Source Page: New cabotegravir formulations approved to help prevent HIV-1 infection in adults and adolescentsFound: may affect more than 1 in 10 people) include headache, diarrhoea feeling hot (pyrexia) and changes in liver