Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she plans to take to help increase the (a) stock of colonoscopy equipment, (b) number of colonoscopy facilities and (c) number of trained staff; and what other steps she plans to take to increase the use of colonoscopies in detecting bowel cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is not currently planning to take steps to increase the stock of colonoscopy equipment. £2.3 billion was awarded at the Spending Review 2021 to transform diagnostic services over the next three years. Within this funding, NHS England is delivering an expected net increase uplift of 67 endoscopy rooms in acute trusts or in non-community diagnostic centre (CDC) developments. In CDCs, current plans are for 46 sites to be delivering endoscopies from March 2025, of which, 39 will deliver colonoscopies. This will help to support integrated care boards not currently meeting the optimal capacity of 3.5 rooms per 100,000 people over 50 years old, to do so.
NHS England will continue to deliver initiatives to train around 100 clinical endoscopists per annum to be capable of delivering colonoscopies and other gastrointestinal procedures. In addition to this NHS England is also training doctors, such as gastroenterologists, in the same procedures and continuing to develop, implement and improve immersive and rapid colonoscopy training through endoscopy academies.
As of October 2023, there are over 3,200 full-time equivalent doctors working in the specialty of gastroenterology within National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is over 100, or 4.3%, more than in 2022, over 500, or 20.1%, more than in 2019, and almost 1,400, or 75.2%, more than in 2010.
To improve bowel cancer diagnosis, the NHS has implemented timed cancer pathways for gastro-intestinal (GI) disease. This includes the implementation of Faecal Immunochemical Testing for those with symptoms in the lower GI, to prevent these patients from having unnecessary colonoscopies, freeing up capacity for these procedures and ensuring the most urgent symptomatic patients are seen more quickly.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North 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 ensure that people with Lynch Syndrome are (a) informed of their condition and (b) made aware of their increased risk of bowel cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England, through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service, has launched a national transformation project to ensure more patients with Lynch syndrome are identified and benefit from regular check-ups, earlier interventions, and more targeted treatment, such as combinations of immunotherapy, chemotherapy and surgeries.
People aged between 25 and 75 years old identified as having Lynch Syndrome will be included in the surveillance arm of the National Health Service bowel cancer screening programme, and will be offered a colonoscopy every two years.
The national programme ensures all people diagnosed with bowel and endometrial are offered genomic testing, with a diagnosis for Lynch syndrome not only helping to guide more personalised cancer treatment but enabling their families and relatives to be offered testing too.
Asked by: Lennon, Monica (Scottish Labour - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of research published in the Annals of Oncology journal, which reports an expected rise in bowel cancer death rates for adults aged 25 to 49 years in the UK by 26% for men and 39% for women, including (a) what data is available for Scotland, (b) what action it is taking to prevent bowel cancer and (c) how it will improve detection rates in people under the age of 50.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care
(a) There are a number of published data sets available in Scotland that help us understand bowel cancer. These are facilitated by Public Health Scotland and include data on incidence, mortality, staging, waiting times for cancer organised by tumour type.
Cancer Incidence
Public Health Scotland provides an annual update of cancer incidence statistics in Scotland from January 1997 to December 2021. All cancer types are included. Most recent data can be found here
Cancer Mortality
Public Health Scotland provides interpretations of the risk factors that cause cancer and changes in survival for the most common causes of cancer death. Most recent data can be found here
Cancer Staging
Public Health Scotland provides data examining the impact of COVID-19 on cancer staging distributions, with the focus of the report being on the 2022 data in comparison with the most recent pre-pandemic data (2018 and 2019). Most recent data can be found here
Cancer Waiting Times
Public Health Scotland provides quarterly updates of Cancer Waiting Times statistics, reporting two National Standards on how long patients waited for their first cancer treatment. The 62-day standard applies to patients urgently referred with a suspicion of cancer by a primary care clinician/general dental physician, patients referred by one of the national cancer screening programmes, and direct referrals to hospital where the signs and symptoms are consistent with the cancer diagnosed. The 31-day standard applies to all patients, regardless of the route of referral. The most recent data can be found here
(b) The research conducted by Cancer Research UK, published in the Annals of Oncology journal in January 2024, states that bowel cancer can be linked to diet and alcohol intake. The Scottish Government has introduced strong public health interventions to address these risk factors.
The Scottish Government’s Alcohol Framework sets out our priorities for preventing alcohol-related harm and introduced the Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) to alcohol sales in Scotland. The Scottish Government’s Alcohol Framework, published 20 November 2018, sets out our priorities for preventing alcohol-related harm. It contains 20 actions building on existing measures to change Scotland’s relationship with alcohol, including our world-leading minimum unit pricing policy. The Scottish Government takes a whole population approach to tackling alcohol-related harms, in line with the World Health Organization’s focus on affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol.
Prior to the pandemic, the reduction in alcohol sales showed encouraging early signs that the introduction of MUP was having a positive impact. In the 12 months following the introduction of MUP and before the pandemic, there was a 2% decrease in alcohol sales for off premises consumption.
The Scottish Government continue to endorse a healthy balanced diet as represented by the Eatwell Guide . Food Standards Scotland has translated the Eatwell Guide into the Eat Well, Your Way resource. This provides meaningful, practical advice and tips to help people make healthier food and drink choices, whilst acknowledging the social, cultural and environmental influences on food choice.
Our Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan sets out ambitious and wide-ranging action to deliver our vision for a Scotland where everyone eats well and has a healthy weight.
(c) The Scottish Government is committed to detecting cancer as early as possible. A new Detect Cancer Earlier campaign – Be The Early Bird - launched in March 2023, aiming to reduce fear of cancer and empower those with possible symptoms to act early. Following successful independent evaluation, the campaign re-ran in September 2023 to prompt health-seeking behaviour.
The wider Detect Cancer Early Programme works closely with the Scottish Cancer Coalition, including Bowel Cancer UK, to support awareness raising efforts and uses social channels to promote joint content and messages where possible.
Feb. 06 2024
Source Page: Public Health Outcomes Framework: February 2024 data updateFound: Registration and Analysis Service C24a - Cancer screening coverage - breast cancer 2023 Updated
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of women who (a) have and (b) do not have multiple sclerosis attended (i) cancer screening appointments, (ii) mammograms and (iii) cervical screening appointments in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service screening programmes do not collect data on an individual’s long-term condition, and therefore no data is available on what proportion of women who have multiple sclerosis, participate in cancer screening programmes.
Under the Equality Act 2010, and the Health and Social Care Act 2012, NHS screening providers have a legal duty to make sure screening services are accessible to everyone, including people with long term conditions, who may have issues with access.
The following table provides data on the percentage of coverage for the three cancer screening programmes, breast, cervical and bowel, within the age groups invited for NHS screenings, in England over the last five years:
| 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
Breast Screening – ages 50 to 71 years old | 74.9% | 74.6% | 74.2% | 64.2% | 65.3% | 66.4% |
Cervical Screening – ages 25 to 64 years old | 71.4% | 71.9% | 72.2% | 70.2% | 69.9% | 68.7% |
Bowel Screening – ages 60 to 74 years old | 59.2% | 59.5% | 60.5% | 64.3% | 66.1% | 70.3% |
Note: Data for bowel cancer screening is not separated based on sex.
Asked by: Webber, Sue (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Lothian)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the outcomes have been of its £270,000 of funding for the provision of prehabilitation through the eight Maggie’s Centres across Scotland; how many patients have been supported with prehabilitation to date; whether it will provide a breakdown of the different types of cancers that the centres have dealt with, and, in the event that a patient cannot access a Maggie’s Centre, what provision is in place to ensure that there is equity of care across Scotland.
Answered by Matheson, Michael - Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care
A report detailing the impact of the initial pilot by Maggie’s can be found here .
From November 2021 to December 2023, 2494 people affected by cancer have been supported via Maggie’s.
During the initial pilot phase, people with 34 different cancer types, including those with multiple cancers, attended the prehabilitation workshops. 59% of attendees were people affected by prostate and bowel cancers. The trend is similar in the period from April to December 2023, however those affected by breast and lung cancers make up a larger percentage of attendees than in the pilot phase.
77% of those providing feedback said the prehabilitation workshops delivered by Maggie’s had a positive impact on their health engagement. In addition, more than 90% said they felt better able to make positive changes to their physical activity, emotional well-being, and diet/nutrition.
The prehabilitation website referred to in response to question S6W-24556 on
25 January 2024 is available to those who prefer to source information online, and a Scottish Health Technology Assessment is in progress to help Scottish Government understand the potential for digital solutions to delivering prehabilitation. Finally, in collaboration with NHS Education Scotland, a training plan is in development that will support national scale up of the Maggie’s workshops via other willing providers.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .
Jan. 31 2024
Source Page: Progressive Stroke Pathway remit and purpose: FOI releaseFound: Bowel and Bladder rehabilitation Bladder and bowel dysfunction (including urinary incontinence, faecal
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Minister in her Department is responsible for delivery of (a) cancer screening programmes and (b) the NHS public health Section 7A agreement.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My role as the Minister of State for Health and Secondary Care includes responsibility for major diseases including cancer, and for screening.
In accordance with the NHS Public Health Functions Agreement (made under section 7A of the NHS Act 2006) NHS England is responsible for providing or securing the provision of breast, bowel and cervical screening programmes and other specified public health services.
My Rt. Hon friend, Andrea Leadsom MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care, has led ministerial responsibility for arrangements under section 7A.
Written Evidence Jan. 29 2024
Inquiry: Men's healthFound: IMH0113 - Men's health Prostate Cancer UK Written Evidence
Oral Evidence Jan. 29 2024
Inquiry: Future cancerFound: The reason that is important, of course, is that we have screening programmes for bowel cancer, breast