Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the holistic care approach for cancer (a) care and (b) delivery to (i) prosthetic infection and (ii) other clinical conditions.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made a formal assessment of the merits of expanding the holistic approach, used for cancer, to prosthetic infection and other clinical conditions, however the National Health Service is working towards a holistic approach in infection prevention and control, and in long-term conditions. This includes improving perioperative care for surgical clinical care pathways, including for prosthetic infections, whereby patients receive proactive, personalised support to optimise their health before surgery.
The NHS works hard to deliver care to meet people’s needs as far as possible, given this can have a significant impact on their experience and quality of life. Cancer Alliances across England are working to ensure that every person receives personalised care and support from cancer diagnosis onwards. This involves holistic need assessments to ensure people's physical, practical, emotional, and social needs are identified and addressed at the earliest opportunity. It also involves accessible information about emotional support, coping with side effects, financial advice, getting back to work, and making healthy lifestyle choices, before, during, and after treatment.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that PIP assessments accurately assess claimants with mental health issues.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment identifies the needs arising from physical, sensory, mental, intellectual or cognitive issues, or any combination of these. The assessment criteria were developed over a decade ago in conjunction with independent health, social care, and disability experts.
All health professionals performing PIP assessments receive comprehensive training in disability analysis including specific training on mental health conditions and how to identify their impact on claimants’ ability to carry out the activities in the assessment. Our assessment providers have Mental Health Function Champions (MHFC) to support assessors when reviewing evidence and provide advice to DWP Case Managers. MHFCs are specialist practitioners who have at least 2 years of post-registration clinical experience in a mental health or learning disability role.
No assessment has been made of the potential mental health impact of PIP assessments, although customer experience is something that is continually monitored. It would be extremely difficult to objectively separate the specific impact of assessments on mental health from other contributory factors.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of PIP assessments on the mental health of claimants.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment identifies the needs arising from physical, sensory, mental, intellectual or cognitive issues, or any combination of these. The assessment criteria were developed over a decade ago in conjunction with independent health, social care, and disability experts.
All health professionals performing PIP assessments receive comprehensive training in disability analysis including specific training on mental health conditions and how to identify their impact on claimants’ ability to carry out the activities in the assessment. Our assessment providers have Mental Health Function Champions (MHFC) to support assessors when reviewing evidence and provide advice to DWP Case Managers. MHFCs are specialist practitioners who have at least 2 years of post-registration clinical experience in a mental health or learning disability role.
No assessment has been made of the potential mental health impact of PIP assessments, although customer experience is something that is continually monitored. It would be extremely difficult to objectively separate the specific impact of assessments on mental health from other contributory factors.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of pharmacy closures on the quality of primary care in St Helens constituency since 2019.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 31 December 2023, there were 18 pharmacies in St Helens North constituency. Between 31 March 2019 and 31 December 2023, no pharmacies closed in St Helens North, and no new pharmacies opened. This year, there has been one closure in February 2024, as a result consolidation. Consolidation is a merger of two pharmacy businesses, and does not create a gap in the provision of pharmaceutical services.
Access to pharmaceutical services remains good, with 95% of the population of St Helens North living within a 20-minute walk from a pharmacy. This exceeds the national average of 80%. Residents of St Helens North can also access services from distance selling pharmacies that operate nationally.
It is the role of local authorities in England to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas, every three years, to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs. Integrated care boards (ICBs) have regard to those assessments when commissioning services, and where a pharmacy closure impacts the access to services, a new contractor can apply to open a pharmacy in the area.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
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 implications for her policies of the average waiting time for people diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to receive their first medication prescription in Leeds.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatment, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. The NICE guideline on ADHD does not set out a timeframe within which medication for ADHD should be provided. The Department has not made a specific assessment of the implications on departmental policies of the average waiting time from diagnosis of ADHD, to receiving a first medication prescription in Leeds.
In respect of the adequacy of ADHD service provision nationally, in December 2023, NHS England initiated a rapid piece of work to consider ADHD service provision within the National Health Service. The initial phase of work identified challenges, including with current service models and the ability to keep pace with demand. Following this initial review, NHS England is establishing a new ADHD taskforce alongside the Government, to look at ADHD service provision and its impact on patient experience. The new taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the NHS, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD, and help provide a joined up approach in response to concerns around rising demand for assessments and support.
Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England has announced that it will continue to work with stakeholders to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems which are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.
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 assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increasing funding for community pharmacies on funding for secondary care.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 31 December 2023, there were 22 pharmacies in Coventry North West constituency, including one distance selling pharmacy. Between 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2023, two pharmacies closed in Coventry North West and no new pharmacies opened. However, access to pharmaceutical services remains good, with 97% of the population of Coventry North West living within a 20-minute walk from a pharmacy. This exceeds the national average of 80%. Residents of Coventry North West can also access services from distance selling pharmacies that operate nationally.
It is the role of local authorities in England to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas, every three years, to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs. Integrated care boards (ICBs) have regard to those assessments when commissioning services and where a pharmacy closure impacts on the access to services, a new contractor can apply to open a pharmacy in the area.
Services within the National Health Service delivered in community pharmacy can have a positive impact on secondary care. For example, the Discharge Medicines Service and the New Medicine Service provide patients with extra support for medicines preventing (re)hospitalisation. Urgent and emergency care settings can also refer patients to community pharmacies for a minor illness consultation or an urgent medicine supply, taking the pressure off secondary care. Increasing the impact of these services, which are already commissioned in community pharmacies, will require continued embedding of referral in secondary care pathways.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made with the proposed amendments to the Part IX of the Drug Tariff, including any impact assessments on the future provision of medical technologies in the UK; how these proposals meet the ambitions of the Life Sciences Vision; and what steps they are taking to ensure that there is sufficient patient choice following the outcome of the consultation.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The consultation response on the proposed amendments to Part IX and the final impact assessment is expected to be released in May 2024, and will outline the Government’s response.
The Department believes that it is currently difficult to identify which devices are broadly comparable, and whether more expensive devices provide added value. The proposed amendments that were consulted on intend to increase meaningful choice, not to decrease choice for clinicians and patients. Comparison between products can increase awareness of different brands amongst prescribers.
These proposals support the Life Sciences Vision, and are designed to increase innovation and alignment between partners in the health and care system. The enhanced assessment process will allow comparison between products based on their merits, increasing transparency and competition, and encouraging new products and small and medium sized businesses to enter the market. The proposed introduction of environmental attributes in social value scoring increases the vision to help the National Health Service meet Net Zero.
The Department is aware that there are some very good devices in use, relied upon by clinicians and patients. Part IX will remain a list of devices available to be prescribed in the community via the FP10 prescription route. Any amendments that are taken forward will happen gradually, with review points and engagement with stakeholders, including industry, patient representatives, clinicians, and NHS organisations. The Department will share a timeline of proposed changes taken forward, in due course.
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, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of pharmacy closures on the quality of primary care in St Albans constituency since 2019.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There were 16 pharmacies on 31 December 2023 in St Albans constituency. Between 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2023, three pharmacies closed in St Albans and no new pharmacies opened. However, access to pharmaceutical services remains good, with 89 percent of the population in St Albans living within a 20 minutes’ walk from a pharmacy. This exceeds the national average of 80 percent. Residents of St Albans can also access services from distance selling pharmacies that operate nationally.
It is the role of local authorities in England to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas, every three years, to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs. ICBs have regard to those assessments when commissioning services and where a pharmacy closure impacts on the access to services, a new contractor can apply to open a pharmacy in the area.
Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many pharmacies have closed in Worthing West constituency since 2019; and what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of these closures on NHS primary care services in Worthing West constituency.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There were 19 pharmacies in Worthing West constituency on 31 December 2023. Between 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2023, three pharmacies closed and no new pharmacies opened in Worthing West.
Access to pharmaceutical services remains good. 99 percent of the population in Worthing West live within a 20-minute walk from a pharmacy. This exceeds the national average of 80 percent. In addition, residents of Worthing West can access distance selling pharmacies that operate nationally.
It is the role of local authorities in England to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas, every three years, to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs. Integrated care boards have regard to those assessments when commissioning services and where a pharmacy closure impacts on the access to services, a new contractor can apply to open a pharmacy in the area.
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, what information her Department holds on the number of pharmacies that have closed in Easington since 2019; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of these closures on primary care services.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There were 21 physical pharmacies on 31 December 2023 in Easington constituency. Between 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2023, two pharmacies closed in Easington constituency. However, access remains good. 85 percent of the population in Easington live within a 20-minute walk from a pharmacy. This exceeds the national average of 80 percent. Residents of Easington can also access services from distance selling pharmacies that operate nationally.
It is the statutory duty of local authorities in England to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas, every three years, to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs. Integrated care boards have regard to those assessments when commissioning services and where a pharmacy closure impacts on the access to services, a new contractor can apply to open a pharmacy in the area.