Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
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 help ensure the Major Conditions Strategy improves breast cancer outcomes for ethnic minority women.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing inequalities and improving breast cancer outcomes for ethnic minority women, including black women, is a priority for the Government. To support this work, NHS England has commissioned six new 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 metastatic breast cancer. The Royal College of Surgeons began work on this audit in October 2022, and the first outcomes are expected in September 2024.
NHS England is also leading a programme of work to tackle healthcare inequalities centred around five clear priorities, which are set out in operational planning guidance for the health system. The Core20PLUS5 approach for adults has been rolled out as an NHS England framework to focus action on reducing inequalities on issues within the National Health Services’ direct influence, which are major contributors to inequalities in life expectancy through major conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and others, or Long-Term Plan priorities where stark inequalities are evident, such as maternity or severe mental illness.
The key actions for systems as highlighted in NHS England’s planning guidance for 2024/25 is to continue to deliver against the five strategic priorities for tackling health inequalities. Additionally, by the end of June 2024, NHS England aims to publish joined-up action plans to address health inequalities, and implement the Core20PLUS5 approach.
Improving earlier diagnosis of cancers, including breast cancer, is also a priority for the Government. The NHS has an ambition to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028, which will help tens of thousands of people live for longer. Additionally, the new cancer standards developed and supported by cancer doctors and implemented in October 2023, will ensure patients are diagnosed faster, and that treatment starts earlier. 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 the delivery of the strategy and the operational priorities for cancer, which includes increasing and prioritising diagnostic and treatment capacity.
Whilst the Major Conditions Strategy does not seek to describe everything that is being done, or could be done, to meet the challenges of individual conditions in silo, it instead focuses on the changes likely to make the most difference across the six groups of major conditions, including cancer.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
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 improve breast cancer outcomes amongst Black women.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing inequalities and improving breast cancer outcomes for ethnic minority women, including black women, is a priority for the Government. To support this work, NHS England has commissioned six new 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 metastatic breast cancer. The Royal College of Surgeons began work on this audit in October 2022, and the first outcomes are expected in September 2024.
NHS England is also leading a programme of work to tackle healthcare inequalities centred around five clear priorities, which are set out in operational planning guidance for the health system. The Core20PLUS5 approach for adults has been rolled out as an NHS England framework to focus action on reducing inequalities on issues within the National Health Services’ direct influence, which are major contributors to inequalities in life expectancy through major conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and others, or Long-Term Plan priorities where stark inequalities are evident, such as maternity or severe mental illness.
The key actions for systems as highlighted in NHS England’s planning guidance for 2024/25 is to continue to deliver against the five strategic priorities for tackling health inequalities. Additionally, by the end of June 2024, NHS England aims to publish joined-up action plans to address health inequalities, and implement the Core20PLUS5 approach.
Improving earlier diagnosis of cancers, including breast cancer, is also a priority for the Government. The NHS has an ambition to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028, which will help tens of thousands of people live for longer. Additionally, the new cancer standards developed and supported by cancer doctors and implemented in October 2023, will ensure patients are diagnosed faster, and that treatment starts earlier. 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 the delivery of the strategy and the operational priorities for cancer, which includes increasing and prioritising diagnostic and treatment capacity.
Whilst the Major Conditions Strategy does not seek to describe everything that is being done, or could be done, to meet the challenges of individual conditions in silo, it instead focuses on the changes likely to make the most difference across the six groups of major conditions, including cancer.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how often the number of specialty training places for rheumatology consultants is reviewed.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The number of advertised specialty training places in England is set and reviewed by NHS England, on an annual basis. This includes how many posts are available for each specialty. NHS England are due to complete the planned increase in medical specialty training places by September 2024, to more than 2,000 places over three years. This expansion is both supporting existing planned growth for mental health, cancer, and diagnostic services, as well as elective recovery, urgent and acute care, maternity services, and public health medicine.
In addition, as part of the historic expansion of medical school places set out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, we will also ensure there is adequate growth in foundation placement capacity, as those taking up these new places begin to graduate, and a commensurate increase in specialty training places. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure this growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many mental health trusts are implementing smoking cessation services.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 yearly deaths in the United Kingdom and one in four of all UK cancer deaths. Smoking is closely associated with poor mental health and wellbeing, as people with mental health conditions die 10 to 20 years earlier, with smoking contributing significantly to this. Further information on the wellbeing of smokers aged 18 years old and over, and the relationship between smoking and mental health, is available respectively at the following links:
https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2020/02/26/health-matters-smoking-and-mental-health/
It also costs our country £17 billion a year, £14 billion of which is through lost productivity alone. It puts huge pressure on the National Health Service and social care, costing over £3 billion a year. At the end of quarter three of 2023/24, 37 out of 48 Mental Health services identified as eligible under the NHS Long Term Plan, are reporting that they are delivering tobacco dependence treatment services.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps she has taken to help ensure that chronic lymphocytic leukaemia patients on active monitoring have the support they need for their (a) mental and (b) physical well-being.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Long Term Plan states that, where appropriate, every person diagnosed with cancer will have access to personalised care, including needs assessment, a care plan and health and wellbeing information and support. This includes provision of end of treatment summaries, empowering people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer.
NHS England is supporting adults experiencing cancer with access to NHS Talking Therapies mental health services, formerly known as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, which provide evidence-based psychological therapies for people with anxiety disorders and depression.
In 2022/23, Cancer Alliances mapped out locally driven improvements in psychosocial support provision, which is work that will continue in 2023/24.
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 her Department will take steps to increase central funding for clinical radiology trainee posts.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan sets out an aim to double the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 places a year by 2031/32. The plan commits to ensuring a commensurate increase in specialty training places that meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future.
On 10 January 2023, Health Education England, now NHS England, announced that nearly 900 additional medical specialty training posts have been created for that year, including 100 clinical radiology posts, building on an increase of 110 clinical radiology specialty training posts in 2022.
We are set to complete the planned increase in medical specialty training places by September 2024 to more than 2,000 over three years, as well as 1,000 additional specialty training places focusing on areas with the greatest shortages. This expansion is both supporting existing planned growth for mental health, cancer and diagnostic services, as well as elective recovery, urgent and acute care, maternity services and public health medicine.
The Department’s budgets for 2024/25, including for radiology trainee posts, will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) guidance his Department issues and (b) processes are in place to help prevent patient addiction to prescription medicines.
Answered by Will Quince
In March 2023, NHS England published ‘Optimising personalised care for adults prescribed medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms: framework for action’. It aims to further reduce inappropriate prescribing of high-strength painkillers and other addiction-causing medicines, like opioids and benzodiazepines, where they may no longer be the most clinically appropriate treatment for patients, and in some cases can become harmful without intervention.
NHS England provides support to integrated care boards and primary care as the Framework is implemented, through: national medicines optimisation opportunities for the National Health Service in 2023/24, which include opportunities for reducing opioid use in chronic non-cancer pain, and addressing inappropriate antidepressant prescribing; the Medicines Safety Improvement Programme, in partnership with the Patient Safety Collaboratives across England, is supporting other NHS teams to work with patients to reduce long term opioid use; annual investment of £2.3 billion until 2024 in mental health services and NHS Talking Therapies; a national programme to ensure social prescribing is an option for patients, as well as funding for social prescribers through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme; support for delivering Structured Medication Reviews (SMR), including those on medicines associated with dependence and withdrawal symptoms; academic Health Science Network (AHSN) training on delivering SMRs; AHSN patient facing materials; and guidance published by NHS England on Structured Medication Review and Medicines Optimisation.
Asked by: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support is available specifically for people with cancer who experience long waits for treatment.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government is working with NHS England to reduce waiting times for cancer treatments and to ensure support is available for those that are wating for treatment. The Government and the National Health Service are committed to ensuring that all cancer patients get access to a Holistic Needs Assessment and Personalised Care Interventions. These will ensure care focuses on what matters most to each person, whilst empowering them to self-manage where appropriate and providing a route back into the system if they notice any worrying changes or need to seek help.
NHS England is providing over £390 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances in each of the next two years to support the delivery of priorities in cancer, including working to ensure that every person receives personalised care and support from cancer diagnosis onwards.
The NHS is supporting adults with the NHS Talking Therapies which provides evidence-based mental health services for people with anxiety and depression. The pathway has been identified as a priority to support the integration of mental and physical health services for people with long-term conditions such as cancer.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of workforce shortages on cancer treatment waiting times.
Answered by Will Quince
No assessment has been made.
The Government is committed to reducing cancer waiting times and has worked with NHS England to publish the elective recovery delivery plan in February 2022, backed by funding of £8 billion, to drive up elective activity. This is further supported by £2.3 billion to expand diagnostic services, including the role of community diagnostic centres prioritising cancer services.
In 2023/24, NHS England is continuing to invest £50 million in the priorities set out in the Cancer workforce plan, including additional medical training places for clinical and medical oncology, radiology, histopathology and gastroenterology.
As of February 2023, there were 33,174 full-time equivalent staff in the cancer workforce in National Health Service trusts in England, including histopathologists, gastroenterologists, clinical radiologists, medical and clinical oncologists and diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers.
In January 2023, Health Education England announced that nearly 900 additional medical specialty training posts have been created for this year, including more than 500 in the key areas of mental health and cancer treatment.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the alignment between the Government’s Major Conditions Strategy and the Life Sciences Vision.
Answered by George Freeman
Both the Major Conditions Strategy and the Life Sciences Vision look to support the health system in preserving good health and the early detection and treatment of diseases. As part of the Life Sciences Vision, we have already made progress on dementia, mental health and cancer, announcing £157.7M of funding and appointing expert Mission chairs. The Major Conditions Strategy will provide further focus on the need to shift the health system’s model towards preserving good health, and the early detection and treatment of diseases, harnessing innovation and technology to reduce demand downstream on health and care services.