Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total cost of treating patients who are obese and overweight; and what are the associated costs of treating (1) type 2 diabetes, (2) cardiovascular disease, (3) cerebrovascular disease, (4) musculoskeletal diseases including joint replacers, (5) cancer, and (6) dementia.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The department has reviewed and uses cost estimates published by Frontier Economics in 2022.
A study by Frontier Economics estimated that in 2021 obesity related ill-health cost the National Health Service £6.5 billion annually. This estimate includes costs associated with the following obesity related diseases: colorectal cancer; oesophageal cancer; kidney cancer; ovarian cancer; pancreatic cancer; coronary heart disease; stroke; type 2 diabetes; hypertension; knee osteoarthritis; endometrial cancer, and breast cancer.
The disease costs associated with obesity are calculated from the total annual costs per case, as shown in the following table:
Disease | Cost per case per year (2021) |
(1) Type 2 diabetes | £ 827.33 |
(2) Cardiovascular disease - Coronary heart disease (CHD) | £ 1,557.25 |
(2) Cardiovascular disease - Stroke | £ 247.55 |
(2) Risk of Cardiovascular disease - Hypertension | £ 453.91 |
(4) Musculoskeletal disease - Knee Osteoarthritis | £ 27,798.40 |
(5) Cancer - Colorectal cancer | £ 520.13 |
(5) Cancer - Oesophageal cancer | £ 545.06 |
(5) Cancer - Kidney cancer | £ 1,662.88 |
(5) Cancer - Ovarian cancer | £ 14,990.93 |
(5) Cancer - Pancreatic cancer | £ 7,447.27 |
(5) Cancer - Endometrial cancer | £ 520.13 |
(5) Cancer - Breast cancer | £ 545.06 |
The annual costs per case includes direct health-care costs including hospital care (both inpatient and outpatient), primary care, and medication, and they are not exclusively related to obesity associated cases. Indirect and social care costs are not included, which means the exclusion of these costs will probably underestimate total costs of disease events overall.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will have discussions with the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council on the potential merits of classifying people with football-related brain injuries as having industrial injuries.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is advised by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC), an independent scientific body, on changes to the list of occupational diseases for which Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) can be paid. We have met recently with the Chair of IIAC, and will continue to engage with IIAC as appropriate.
We can confirm that IIAC is currently considering whether there is a link between certain neurodegenerative diseases (NDD) and professional sportspeople. IIAC found studies covering a range of NDD, which is an umbrella term covering diseases such as ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), dementia and MND (motor neuron disease). IIAC is initially considering ALS where there is currently more evidence than for other diseases and will need to give more consideration to the evidence before it can make a decision. IIAC will also likely consult experts (neurologists) in this field and will then publish its findings when the investigation is complete.
It would be premature to speculate on how IIAC’s investigation will progress or whether there is enough evidence of a link between certain neurodegenerative diseases and professional sportspeople to meet the threshold for a new ‘prescribed disease’ to be recommended by IIAC for the purpose of IIDB entitlement.
If recommendations are made by IIAC on this matter, they will be carefully considered by the Department.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
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 reduce diagnostic waiting times for people with suspected young onset dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the spending review settlement in 2021/22, £17 million was allocated to the National Health Service to address dementia waiting lists, and to increase the number of diagnoses, which had been adversely impacted by the pandemic. NHS England will share learning on the impact of this funding and examples of good practice with dementia clinical networks, by the end of Summer 2024.
However, the dementia diagnosis rate is not calculated for patients aged under 65 years old. This is because the numbers of patients known to have dementia in the sample population age groups comprising the zero to 64 years old age range, is not large enough for reliable estimates to be made.
The Primary Care Dementia Data publication does include a monthly count of the number of patients aged 65 years old and under who do have a dementia diagnosis on their patient record, which is expressed as a raw count, and as a percentage of registered patients aged zero to 64 years old.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
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 help increase the rate of diagnosis for people who develop symptoms of dementia before the age of 65.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the spending review settlement in 2021/22, £17 million was allocated to the National Health Service to address dementia waiting lists, and to increase the number of diagnoses, which had been adversely impacted by the pandemic. NHS England will share learning on the impact of this funding and examples of good practice with dementia clinical networks, by the end of Summer 2024.
However, the dementia diagnosis rate is not calculated for patients aged under 65 years old. This is because the numbers of patients known to have dementia in the sample population age groups comprising the zero to 64 years old age range, is not large enough for reliable estimates to be made.
The Primary Care Dementia Data publication does include a monthly count of the number of patients aged 65 years old and under who do have a dementia diagnosis on their patient record, which is expressed as a raw count, and as a percentage of registered patients aged zero to 64 years old.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
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 assessment of the adequacy of levels of age-appropriate support offered by Integrated Care Boards for people with young onset dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is committed to delivering high quality care and support for every person with dementia at every age, and central to this is the provision of personalised care.
The Dementia Well Pathway includes diagnosing well, living well, supporting well, and dying well, and highlights that services need to be integrated, commissioned, monitored, and aligned with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s standards for each component of the pathway. It makes it clear that the needs, wishes, and preferences of each individual, including those with young onset dementia, should be taken into account when planning and providing their care.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to provide (a) guidance and (b) resources to support Integrated Care Systems in developing a designated care pathway for people with young onset dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is committed to delivering high quality care and support for every person with dementia at every age, and central to this is the provision of personalised care. The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines.
The Dementia Well Pathway includes diagnosing well, living well, supporting well, and dying well, and highlights that services need to be integrated, commissioned, monitored, and aligned with the NICE’s standards for each component of the pathway. It makes it clear that the needs, wishes, and preferences of each individual should be taken into account in planning and providing their care.
Guidance on dementia care in hospital is referenced in The Dementia Care Pathway, and signals that commissioners should continue to actively engage in local system leadership. An improvement agenda should be developed jointly with key partners, including healthcare providers, social care, local government, and the voluntary and independent sectors. Additionally, on 24 January 2024, the Government announced that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy covering six conditions, including dementia.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to (a) improve published national primary care data on young onset dementia and (b) ensure that young onset dementia is included in the national dementia diagnosis target rate.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Young onset dementia (YOD), defined as dementia diagnosed under the age of 65.
The dementia diagnosis rate is not calculated for patients aged under 65 years old. This is because the numbers of patients known to have dementia in the sample population age groups comprising those aged between zero and 64 years old are not large enough for reliable estimates to be made.
The dementia diagnosis rate for patients aged 65 years old and over is calculated and published monthly via the Primary Care Dementia Data publication, which is available at the following link:
This publication does include a monthly count of the number of patients aged 65 years old and under who do have a dementia diagnosis on their patient record; this is expressed as a raw count and as a percentage of registered patients aged between zero and 64 years old.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 increase public awareness of links between heart disease in women and alcohol consumption.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Health Check is England’s cardiovascular disease prevention programme. It aims to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease, and some cases of dementia among adults aged 40 to 74 years old. Each year the programme engages over one million people, including women, and prevents approximately 400 heart attacks or strokes. The provision of an alcohol risk assessment, and brief advice about alcohol harm, is a requirement in the NHS Health Check. The guidance to practitioners sets out that people identified as drinking at higher-risk levels should be referred for a liver check, as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. In addition, the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officer’s Low risk drinking guidelines and National Health Service guidance highlight that alcohol use is a risk factor for heart disease.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the NHS is prepared for the arrival of new diagnostic innovations for dementia.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service is a world leader in rolling out innovative treatments and has established a dedicated national programme team which is working in partnership with other national agencies and with local health systems to prepare for the potential roll out of new treatments for use in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s disease. These plans assume that, if these new treatments are approved by the regulators, significant additional diagnostic capacity, including amyloid positron emission tomography–computed tomography, lumbar puncture and magnetic resonance imaging, will be needed both to identify patients who are most able to benefit and to provide important safety monitoring.
The national programme team is conducting preparations across the country, working alongside clinicians and local teams to identify where further funding will be required to roll out the additional tests and services needed to introduce these new and complex treatments.
NHS England is also working with partner agencies to support and inform further research into other diagnostic modalities, including blood-based biomarker and digital tests, which will help improve identification and management of Alzheimer’s disease.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 improve the knowledge of GPs on the symptoms of young onset dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want all general practitioners to have received appropriate training, in order to provide high quality care to people with dementia, regardless of the person’s age or individual needs.
The standard of training for health care professionals is the responsibility of the health care independent statutory regulatory bodies who set the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approve courses and Higher Education Institutions to write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the regulators outcome standards.
Whilst not all curricula may necessarily highlight a specific condition, they all nevertheless emphasize the skills and approaches a Health Care Practitioner must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients, including for dementia.
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June 2023, sets out NHS England’s commitment to improving training for workers caring for people with dementia.
The Long Term plan also sets out the plan for there to be more healthcare staff working in and with GP practices, which will mean people will be able to get an appointment with the right professional depending on their needs. This means that those with dementia will be able to access the most appropriate support more quickly.
The plan will include more GPs, nurses and 20,000 additional pharmacists, physiotherapists, paramedics, physician associates and social prescribing link. These bigger teams of staff will work with other local services to make sure people, including those with dementia, get better access to a wider range of support for their needs.
We are seeing more people from younger cohorts with multimorbidity. Multimorbidity challenges the specialised approach to medicine, which has improved our ability to successfully treat single diseases. The Long Term Plan also addresses the increased need for medical and other clinical professionals with generalist and core skills to manage and support patients with seemingly unrelated diseases.
There are also a variety of resources available on the NHS England E-learning for Health platform, including a programme on dementia care, designed to enhance the training and education of the health and social care workforce.