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.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 improve the diagnosis (a) rates and (b) treatments for ovarian cancer in (i) England and (ii) Romford constituency.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving the diagnosis rate and treatment for all cancers including for ovarian cancer, is a priority for this Government. The Department is working with NHS England and is taking steps across England to increase diagnosis rates, including setting stretching ambitions, supporting general practitioners (GPs) in referring patients, expanding diagnostic capacity and enabling more precise diagnosis through technology. These steps and actions apply in Romford as across England.
To encourage people to see their general practitioner if they notice symptoms that could be cancer, NHS England runs the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaigns, which address the barriers that deter patients from accessing the National Health Service. NHS England is currently running a ‘Help us Help you’ campaign highlighting the abdominal and urological symptoms of cancer, including ovarian cancer, and addressing the barriers that stop people from accessing services in the NHS.
NHS England introduced the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) which aims to ensure patients have cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days of urgent referral from a GP or screening services with a 75% standard ambition. To achieve the FDS, NHS England has implemented ‘non-specific symptom pathways’ for patients who have symptoms that do not align to a particular type of tumour, including for non-specific symptoms of pancreatic cancer.
Further to this, the Department has committed to £2.3 billion of capital funding to expanding diagnostic capacity across the NHS by rolling out more community diagnostic centres, delivering vital tests, scans and checks, including for ovarian cancer.
The Department invests in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR has funded six research projects into screening for ovarian cancer since 2018, with a combined total funding value of £3.8 million, including looking at the impact and effectiveness of different kinds of testing and screening and effectiveness of treatment options. The overall goal is to improve diagnosis and treatment to improve patient outcomes.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will launch an awareness campaign on abdominal and urological symptoms of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS England is currently running a ‘Help us Help you’ campaign highlighting the abdominal and urological symptoms of cancer, including ovarian cancer, and addressing the barriers that stop people from accessing services in the National Health Service.
It encourages the public to contact their general practitioner if they're worried about symptoms, such as “tummy discomfort or diarrhoea that lasts for three weeks or more, or if they've seen blood in their pee even once”.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
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 help reduce the time taken to diagnose ovarian cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
Improving early diagnosis of cancer, including ovarian cancer, remains a priority. We are working towards the NHS Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of stageable cancers at stage 1 and 2 by 2028. The latest published data shows this was 52% between January to December 2020. Achieving this will mean that, from 2028, 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis. The National Health Service is improving pathways to get people diagnosed faster once they are referred and is looking into alternative routes into the system, including non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who do not fit clearly into a single ‘urgent cancer’ referral pathway but who are at risk of being diagnosed with cancer. This will help support faster ovarian cancer diagnosis. 108 NSS pathways are currently operational, with more in development. By March 2024, the NSS programme will achieve full population coverage across England for non-specific symptom pathways as set out in the 2023/24 NHS Planning Guidance.
Reducing variation in cancer services is a strategic priority for the NHS Cancer Programme. The NHS Cancer Programme has commissioned five 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 treatment and outcomes for patients. The Royal College of Surgeons began work on this audit in October last year with the first outcomes expected in 2023/24. This includes an audit on ovarian cancer.
To encourage people to get in touch with their general practitioner if they notice or are worried about symptoms that could be cancer, NHS England is running the ‘Help Us, Help You’ (HUHY) campaigns. This included multiple phases of the campaign that had a focus on abdominal symptoms which, among other abdominal cancers, can be indicative of ovarian cancer, most recently in November and December 2022. Alongside that phase of the campaign, NHS England funded a series of community engagement events coordinated by a cluster of gynaecological cancer charities, led by Target Ovarian Cancer.
The NHS plans to run further HUHY campaign activity through 2023/24.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to help increase awareness of the main symptoms of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
Improving early diagnosis of cancer, including ovarian cancer, remains a priority. We are working towards the NHS Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of stageable cancers at stage 1 and 2 by 2028. The latest published data shows this was 52% between January to December 2020. Achieving this will mean that, from 2028, 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis. The National Health Service is improving pathways to get people diagnosed faster once they are referred and is looking into alternative routes into the system, including non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who do not fit clearly into a single ‘urgent cancer’ referral pathway but who are at risk of being diagnosed with cancer. This will help support faster ovarian cancer diagnosis. 108 NSS pathways are currently operational, with more in development. By March 2024, the NSS programme will achieve full population coverage across England for non-specific symptom pathways as set out in the 2023/24 NHS Planning Guidance.
Reducing variation in cancer services is a strategic priority for the NHS Cancer Programme. The NHS Cancer Programme has commissioned five 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 treatment and outcomes for patients. The Royal College of Surgeons began work on this audit in October last year with the first outcomes expected in 2023/24. This includes an audit on ovarian cancer.
To encourage people to get in touch with their general practitioner if they notice or are worried about symptoms that could be cancer, NHS England is running the ‘Help Us, Help You’ (HUHY) campaigns. This included multiple phases of the campaign that had a focus on abdominal symptoms which, among other abdominal cancers, can be indicative of ovarian cancer, most recently in November and December 2022. Alongside that phase of the campaign, NHS England funded a series of community engagement events coordinated by a cluster of gynaecological cancer charities, led by Target Ovarian Cancer.
The NHS plans to run further HUHY campaign activity through 2023/24.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to increase (a) funding and (b) research into ovarian cancer treatment, in the context of the closure of the National Cancer Research Institute.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) worked for over 22 years to bring together the cancer research community and connect researchers. The decision to close was made by the NCRI trustees and is not the result of Government funding or any other decisions.
As the landscape evolves, we will continue to work with the research community and funders across the ecosystem to deliver research that meets the needs of patients and the public. However, we do not expect the closure of NCRI to significantly impact National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funding of ovarian cancer research.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including ovarian cancer research. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of covid-19 on access to ovarian cancer treatment.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years, including cancer services. We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity, including cancer services.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 108144 on NHS: Staff, with which (a) trades unions, (b) medical royal colleges, (c) NHS system leaders, (d) voluntary organisations his Department consulted on the NHS workforce plan.
Answered by Will Quince
The following table shows the organisations that have been engaged. This list is not exhaustive because NHS England and Health Education England leaders and programme teams are also working with external stakeholders and their contribution is also informing the plan’s development.
Trade unions, royal colleges and representative bodies | Regulators | Members of Cancer Charities Group |
Unison | Professional Standards Authority | Alike |
Unite | General Medical Council | AMMF – the cholangiocarcinoma charity |
GMB | Care Quality Commission | Anthony Nolan |
Managers in Partnership | Healthcare and Professions Council | Blood Cancer UK |
British Medical Association | Nursing and Midwifery Council | Bloodwise |
Academy of Medical Royal Colleges | Think tanks | Bone Cancer Research Trust |
Royal College of Nursing | Nuffield Trust | Bowel Cancer UK |
Royal College of Midwives | The Health Foundation | Brain Trust – the brain cancer people |
Royal College of Physicians | The King’s Fund | The Brain Tumour Charity |
Royal College of Surgeons | Regulators | Brain Tumour Research |
Royal College of General Practitioners | Professional Standards Authority | British Liver Trust |
Royal College of Psychiatrists | General Medical Council | Breast Cancer Now |
Royal College of Anaesthetists | Care Quality Commission | Cancer 52 |
Royal College of Pathologists | Healthcare and Professions Council | Cancer Research UK |
Royal College of Ophthalmologists | Nursing and Midwifery Council | CATTS (Cancer Awareness for Teens & Twenties) |
Royal College of Occupational Therapists | Think tanks | Chai Cancer Care |
Royal Pharmaceutical Society | Nuffield Trust | Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group |
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists | The Health Foundation | CLIC Sargent |
Royal College of Ophthalmologists | The King’s Fund | CoppaFeel! |
Royal College of Emergency Medicine |
| DKMS |
Royal College of Podiatry |
| Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust |
The Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine |
| Eve Appeal |
The Society of Radiographers |
| Fight Bladder Cancer |
Institute of Osteopathy |
| GO Girls Support |
College of Operating Department Practitioners |
| Guts UK |
British Association of Art Therapists |
| Haven House |
British Association of Drama therapists |
| Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust |
British Association for Music Therapy |
| Kidney Cancer UK |
The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists |
| Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce |
British Dietetic Association |
| Leukaemia Care |
British and Irish Orthoptic Society |
| Leukaemia UK |
British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists |
| Lymphoma Action |
College of Paramedics |
| Macmillan Cancer Support |
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy |
| Maggie's – everyone’s home of cancer care |
College of General Dentistry |
| Marie Curie |
Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive healthcare |
| MDS UK Patient Support Group |
Queen’s Nursing Institute |
| Melanoma Focus |
Institute of Health Visiting |
| Melanoma UK |
British Society of Rheumatology |
| Mesothelioma |
The Richmond Group of Charities (including Macmillan Cancer Support, Diabetes UK, Asthma UK, Age UK) |
| Mylenoma UK |
Cancer Charities Group (*see separate list for members) |
| National Cancer Research Institute |
Council of Deans of Health |
| Neuroendocrine Cancer UK |
Medical Schools Council |
| OcuMel UK |
Universities UK |
| Ovacome |
University Alliance |
| Ovarian Cancer Action |
Office for Students |
| Pancreatic Cancer Action |
Skills for Care |
| Pancreatic Cancer UK |
Local Government Association |
| Paul's Cancer Support |
Association of Directors of Adult Social Services |
| Penny Brohn UK |
Social Partnership Forum |
| Prostate Cancer Research |
NHS providers |
| Prostate Cancer UK |
NHS Employers |
| Race Against Blood Cancer |
The Shelford Group |
| Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation |
ICS leaders |
| Salivary Gland Cancer UK |
NHS Confederation |
| Sarcoma UK |
Community Providers Network |
| Shine Cancer Support |
|
| Solving Kids Cancer |
|
| Target Ovarian Cancer |
|
| Teenage Cancer Trust |
|
| Trekstock |
|
| The Joshua Tree |
|
| WMUK – The charity for Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia |
|
| World Cancer Research Fund |
Further discussions will take place before the plan is finalised. This will include engagement with patient representative groups. NHS England can discuss with any organisations interested in the development of the Plan.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer can access high-quality mental health and wellbeing support.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England have asked Cancer Alliances to map out and identify any gaps in psychosocial support provision as part of the 2022/23 planning guidance and are supporting adults experiencing cancer with access to Adult Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme mental health services, which provide evidence based psychological therapies for people with anxiety disorders and depression.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to improve access to screening services for gynaecological cancers since the publication of the Women’s Health Strategy.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee has considered evidence to screen for gynaecological cancers and there is currently a national screening programme for cervical cancer. The ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign focusing on abdominal and urological symptoms launched on 31 October 2022 and aims to raise awareness of ovarian cancer.