Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase NHS capacity in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover elective services and increase capacity in England over the next three years. Supported by £8 billion, the NHS will increase elective activity, improve productivity, embed new models of care and technologies and empower patients with information and support.
In the Midlands, NHS England and NHS Improvement are providing specific support to high volume specialties via pathway improvement initiative and best practice programmes such as the Getting it Right First Time programme (GIRFT). In the Black Country and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), capacity is being increased through the use of digital care and flexible working between teams and trusts, while building diagnostic capacity. The CCG has opened two new community diagnostic centres and added additional capacity by working with private sector providers.
The University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has added additional theatres to Solihull Hospital to increase the number of elective procedures and added two wards to each of the Heartland, Good Hope and Queen Elizabeth hospitals. At Solihull and Queen Elizabeth hospitals, enhanced post-operative care units have been established, reducing the need for intensive therapy units to provide complex operations.
In the Coventry and Warwickshire CCG, theatre capacity will be optimised through protected elective theatres and day surgery units. The CCG will also use virtual appointments where appropriate to increase efficiency for those patients requiring face-to-face consultations. Through increased utilisation of day case and outpatient procedures in accordance with GIRFT standards, the CCG will release capacity for the most complex cases and cancer patients.
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, what steps he has taken to ensure that funding allocated to tackle the backlog of elective cases addresses people who are awaiting delayed breast reconstruction.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In July 2021, the National Health Service announced a further £20 million for Cancer Alliances to accelerate cancer diagnoses and enable management of high referral volumes. Cancer Alliances have been asked to ensure that wherever possible reconstructive surgery takes place, in particular for women who have undergone breast surgery previously during the pandemic.Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of enabling people undergoing (a) surgery followed by chemotherapy or radiation, (b) chemotherapy followed by surgery and (c) chemotherapy and concurrent radiation for the purposes of cancer treatment to apply for a Blue Badge.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Blue Badge scheme is primarily about helping those with permanent mobility issues to access the goods and services they need. Applications are not dependent upon condition but are based on the need of the applicant to park closer to their destination.
The Department has previously issued local authorities with advice on how they could use their existing powers to provide temporary parking concessions locally within their areas for residents with temporary impairments.
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, what recent funding has been made available for research into brain tumours.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In May 2018 the Government announced a £40 million investment over five years for brain tumour research as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission, through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR released a public announcement to the research community, making clear our desire to receive brain tumour research funding applications.
This has led to an increase in proposals, many of which have been funded, including a £1.7 million trial of functional and ultrasound guided surgery for glioblastoma, and a £1.4 million intraoperative hyperspectral imaging for data-driven real-time surgical guidance.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including brain tumour research, which remains a priority for NIHR.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of women who are at a high or very high risk of breast cancer and who are waiting for risk reducing mastectomies as of 31 January 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No estimate has been made of the number of women who are at a high or very high risk of breast cancer and who are waiting for risk reducing mastectomies.
The National Health Service is committed to recovering cancer services and to ensuring patients receive the best and most appropriate care.
At the beginning of the pandemic, NHS England asked the Federation of Surgical Speciality Associations to produce a guide on which surgery should be prioritised and the timescales for this. The current guidance states that risk reducing mastectomy surgery in gene carriers is a priority three procedure and should be carried out in under three months.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to provide additional funding to (a) acute, (b) cancer and (c) elective care.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We have committed £8 billion for elective services and increase activity across from 2022 to 2025. The Spending Review in 2021 also announced £5.9 billion to support elective recovery, diagnostics and technology over the next three years. The Elective Recovery Fund also provides £2 billion to aid the recovery of elective and cancer services.
The Targeted Investment Fund of £700 million will also benefit 187 trusts and 785 schemes to expand the number of operating theatres and beds, including new day surgery units and investments in technology.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to mandate private healthcare workers to work in NHS services in the response to the Omicron covid-19 variant.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We have no current plans to do so. New national arrangements between NHS England and 10 independent sector providers commenced on 10 January 2022 until 31 March 2022. Up to 3,000 staffed beds will be made available to the National Health Service to provide surge capacity in response to the Omicron variant. The arrangements will also enable NHS trusts to send a wider range of patients to the independent sector for treatment, including those requiring some forms of cancer surgery and other care not normally delivered by private providers under existing arrangements.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to avoid the cancellation of planned surgery.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In light of the spread of the Omicron variant, we are prioritising vaccinations and urgent appointments. Any decisions to temporarily pause elective activity will be taken to prevent the spread of the virus and to protect the National Health Service. The NHS will maintain services wherever possible, particularly for urgent and cancer care. We have provided £2 billion in 2021/22 and a further £8 billion in the next three years to increase activity and tackle backlogs in elective care services.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what measures his Department is putting in place to alleviate the backlog of elective treatments in light of their recent pause across Greater Manchester.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The National Health Service in Greater Manchester is prioritising the safety of patients and staff and the treatment of patients who need urgent and emergency care, including cancer treatment. The Christie and Rochdale Infirmary will continue to provide cancer care and surgery. The temporary pause in elective activity aims to prevent further spread of the Omicron variant.
We are providing £2 billion this year and a further £8 billion in the following three years to increase elective activity and tackle backlogs in elective services in England. The NHS will maintain services wherever possible, with cancer and urgent care such as cardiac and vascular surgery and transplantation unaffected. Diagnostic services, including endoscopy, and the majority of out-patient services will continue wherever possible.
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, how much his Department has spent on private hospital facilities and clinics for additional care capacity for (a) cancer care, (b) elective surgery and (c) other procedures during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information is not available in the format requested, as spending is not collected by individual treatment type.