Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 17 January 2024 on Women’s Health Strategy update, HCWS192, whether the National Institute for Health and Care Research challenge fund will fund research into anti-epilepsy medicines safe for use in pregnancy.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In the Written Statement of 17 January 2024, the NIHR announced plans for a £50 million NIHR Challenge to tackle disparities within maternity. This initiative is a new five-year investment allocated from within NIHR’s research budget. This funding is additional to the £53 million that the NIHR spent between April 2022 and July 2023 into research programmes to support women’s sexual and reproductive health, with further funding for wider health and care research that benefits women.
The specific focus of this work is being developed and we expect that the NIHR will launch a call for applications in spring 2024. Further information will be available on the NIHR website in due course. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including anti-epilepsy medicines safe for use in pregnancy.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
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 increase provision of epilepsy treatment in (a) Hull West and Hessle constituency and (b) nationally.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The majority of health services for people with epilepsy are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs are best placed to make decisions regarding the provision of health services to their local population, including for the treatment of epilepsy, subject to local prioritisation and funding.
At the national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement for those with epilepsy, including NHS England’s Neuroscience Service Transformation Programme and the RightCare Epilepsy Toolkit.
The National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on epilepsies in children, young people, and adults [NG217], published in April 2022, covers diagnosing and managing epilepsy in primary and secondary care, and referral to tertiary services. Recommendation 8.1 states that a ketogenic diet should be considered under the guidance of a tertiary epilepsy specialist for certain childhood-onset epilepsy syndromes, and for drug resistant epilepsy when other treatments have failed or are not appropriate. More information on this is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng217/chapter/8-Non-pharmacological-treatments#ketogenic-diet
We expect National Health Service commissioners to take NICE guidelines into full account in designing services that meet the needs of their local populations. It is, however, important to note that NICE guidelines are not mandatory and do not override a clinician’s responsibility to make decisions appropriate to individual patients, in consultation with them and their families.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department plans to take to help ensure children with severe epilepsy can access effective cannabis-based medications through the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Licensed cannabis-based medicines, that have been proved effective in clinical trials and judged cost-effective by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), are routinely available on the National Health Service, including for certain types of epilepsy. However, clinical guidelines from NICE demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines.
We continue to call on manufacturers to conduct research to prove if their products are safe and effective and we are working with regulatory, research and NHS partners to establish clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of these products.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department (a) is taking and (b) plans to take steps to ensure that children with severe epilepsy are able to access cannabis-based medications through the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Licensed cannabis-based medicines, that have been proved effective in clinical trials and judged cost-effective by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), are routinely available on the National Health Service, including for certain types of epilepsy. However, clinical guidelines from NICE demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines.
We continue to call on manufacturers to conduct research to prove if their products are safe and effective and we are working with regulatory, research and NHS partners to establish clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of these products.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in prison have epilepsy.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England collects internal management data on this however the statistics are not considered robust enough to be published.
Mentions:
1: Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford (Con - Life peer) all going to miss him dreadfully in this Chamber.There are about 600,000 people in the UK living with epilepsy - Speech Link
2: Lord Markham (Con - Life peer) I thank my noble friend, and I proudly wear the Epilepsy Action badge from the meeting I was just at. - Speech Link
3: Lord Markham (Con - Life peer) Yes, the point about epilepsy nurses was made very clear to me just half an hour ago, and I quizzed both - Speech Link
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of utilising medicinal cannabis to treat children with intractable epilepsy.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The licensed cannabis-based medicine Epidyolex is prescribed and routinely funded by the National Health Service for the treatment of people aged two years old and over with Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex. This follows approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and assessment by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Clinical guidelines from NICE state that there is insufficient evidence of safety and efficacy to support a population-wide practice recommendation for the use of unlicensed cannabis-based products, for the treatment of adults and children with severe treatment-resistant epilepsy. NICE also made recommendations for further research to inform future commissioning decisions.
The Government encourages manufacturers to invest in research and clinical trials, and offers scientific and research advice from the MHRA and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
Found: Cross -Party Group Annual Return Name of Cross -Party Group Cross -Party Group on Epilepsy Date
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including policies on epilepsy in the the Major Conditions Strategy.
Answered by Will Quince
The Major Conditions Strategy will cover cancers, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal conditions as these are the six groups of conditions that contribute the most to mortality and morbidity. We expect the approach to tackling these conditions as set out in the report, Major conditions Strategy: a case for change and our strategic framework may have a positive impact on patients with other conditions, including epilepsy.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure there is specific employment support for people with epilepsy.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government delivers an extensive programme of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions, including epilepsy, to start, stay, and succeed in work. This programme was expanded upon by the Government's new Back to Work Plan, announced as part of the Autumn Statement. Measures include: Universal Support, the Work and Health Programme; Access to Work grants; the Disability Confident scheme; an online service called ‘Support with employee health and disability’; increased Work Coach support and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres; reforming Occupational Health provision; and further initiatives also work to join up employment and health systems, which includes expanding Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.