Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
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 reduce waiting times for treatments for (a) breast, (b) ovarian and (c) prostate cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing waiting times for treatments of all types of cancer is a priority for the Government, as is increasing early cancer diagnosis as this is a key contributor to reducing cancer health inequalities. We are expanding capacity through our community diagnostic centres (CDCs) supported by £2.3 billion of capital funding with 150 CDCs currently operational and having delivered over six million additional tests, checks and scans including vital cancer checks since January 2021.
The planned Major Conditions Strategy will look at the early diagnosis and treatment of cancer and will consider a wide range of interventions and enablers to improve outcomes and experience for a range of cancer patients, including those less survivable cancers.
NHS England has commissioned six cancer clinical audits which will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatments and outcomes for patients, including ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney cancer and primary and metastatic breast cancer. The Royal College of Surgeons began work on this audit in October 2022, and the first outcomes expected in September 2024.
Asked by: Mark Eastwood (Conservative - Dewsbury)
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 estimate of the average time taken to diagnose ovarian cancer (a) in West Yorkshire and (b) nationally.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The most recent data for the diagnosis of ovarian cancer in West Yorkshire shows a 23-day average from an urgent referral for suspected cancer to diagnosis. This data is based on median values, taken across a twelve-month period from November 2022 to October 2023 inclusive.
Patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer can be diagnosed via other routes, such as when presenting as an emergency case in an unplanned care setting, or as an incidental finding when referred for another elective condition or suspected abnormality, either urgently or non-urgently. Data for these alternative presentation routes in the format requested is not held.
Mentions:
1: Mochan, Carol (Lab - South Scotland) Breastfeeding benefits mothers’ health, with strong evidence that it reduces the risk of breast and ovarian - Speech Link
2: Cole-Hamilton, Alex (LD - Edinburgh Western) We also know that it has a role to play in protecting mothers from ovarian cancer and breast cancer. - Speech Link
3: Harper, Emma (SNP - South Scotland) We have strong evidence that it reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, and it is worth repeating - Speech Link
4: Marra, Michael (Lab - North East Scotland) and ovarian cancer for the mother. - Speech Link
Jan. 23 2024
Source Page: Women's health plan: second annual progress report - January 2024Found: Within menstrual health I am taking a particular interest in polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) which
Written Evidence Jan. 19 2024
Inquiry: Children, young people and the built environmentFound: the total carbon emissions in the UK.[2] Lifestyle diseases such as diabetes mellitus, polycystic ovarian
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York 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 a comparative assessment of the adequacy of funding her Department provides to help tackle (a) less survivable cancers compared to (b) other cancers; and if she will make it her policy to (i) create a framework assessing the challenges around cancers with lower survival rates and (ii) increase funding for those cancers.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is taking steps through NHS England to improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with less survivable cancers. Making improvements across different cancer types is critical to helping achieve the NHS Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of patients at an early stage by 2028 and reducing inequalities in cancer survival. NHS England has commissioned new cancer clinical audits covering five cancer types, some of which are less survivable: pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney cancer and primary and metastatic breast cancer. All five audits will cover care delivered in England and Wales and will see an investment of approximately £5.4 million for an initial period of three years.
NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs then decide how that money is spent within the local integrated care system. The allocations process is independent of Government and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation. NHS England produces a target allocation, or 'fair share' for each area, based on a complex assessment of factors such as demography, morbidity, deprivation, and the unavoidable cost of providing services in different areas. This means that funding decisions are fair and equitable.
Delivering more research is key to understanding and assessing the challenges around cancers with lower survival rates. As with other Government funders of health research, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) does not allocate funding for specific disease areas, including less survivable cancers. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including less survivable cancers.
Mentions:
1: Stewart, Alexander (Con - Mid Scotland and Fife) , 31st for stomach cancer and 29th for lung cancer. - Speech Link
2: Yousaf, Humza (SNP - Glasgow Pollok) us to do in other areas such as pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer, brain cancer and lung cancer.In relation - Speech Link
3: Baillie, Jackie (Lab - Dumbarton) According to Target Ovarian Cancer, people in the west of Scotland cannot access the life-saving surgery - Speech Link
4: Yousaf, Humza (SNP - Glasgow Pollok) Notwithstanding that, I want to see the work that we are doing, particularly on ovarian cancer, being - Speech Link
Jan. 17 2024
Source Page: Freedom of Information responses from the MHRA - week commencing 24 October 2022Found: Scleritis (Recovering/resolving), Headache (Recovered/resolved) 46 Abdominal pain upper, Prostate cancer
Jan. 17 2024
Source Page: Freedom of Information responses from the MHRA - week commencing 17 October 2022Found: Version: MedDRA 25.0 Reaction Name TotalFatal Neoplasms Bladder neoplasms malignant Bladder cancer
Jan. 17 2024
Source Page: Freedom of Information responses from the MHRA - week commencing 31 October 2022Found: Risk factors for the development of malignancy can differ by cancer site.