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Written Question
Hospitals: Medical Equipment
Tuesday 26th March 2024

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, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) medical physicists and (b) clinical engineers have adequate access to advanced (a) radiotherapy and (b) other relevant equipment in hospitals.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government and NHS England work closely together to ensure that staff have access to appropriate equipment, to ensure that cancer patients can receive high quality radiotherapy treatment across England. This includes supporting advances in radiotherapy, using cutting-edge imaging and technology to help target radiation doses at cancer cells more precisely.

The Government has invested in the latest technology in radiotherapy, ensuring that every radiotherapy provider had access to modern, cutting-edge radiotherapy equipment, enabling the rollout of new techniques like stereotactic ablative radiotherapy. The total central investment made between 2016 and 2021 was £162 million, and enabled the replacement or upgrade of approximately 100 radiotherapy treatment machines. Since April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines has sat with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 Spending Review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the National Health Service from 2022 to 2025.


Written Question
Radiology: Medical Equipment
Tuesday 26th March 2024

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 undertake an audit of NHS equipment used in radiotherapy treatments.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Since April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines has sat with local systems. Consequently, the Department has no plans to audit National Health Service equipment used in radiotherapy treatments.


Written Question
NHS: Health Professions
Thursday 21st March 2024

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 an assessment of the potential impact of recent advances in clinical (a) technology and (b) other equipment on the number of (i) medical physicists and (ii) clinical engineers that are required in the NHS.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not plan to make specific assessments of the impacts, but advances in clinical technology and equipment are crucial to the work of NHS England. For example, the Government has invested in the latest technology in radiotherapy, ensuring that every radiotherapy provider had access to modern, cutting-edge radiotherapy equipment, enabling the rollout of new techniques like stereotactic ablative radiotherapy. The total central investment made between 2016 and 2021 was £162 million, and enabled the replacement or upgrade of approximately 100 radiotherapy treatment machines.

The Department does not plan to make specific assessments of the number of medical physicists and clinical engineers required in the National Health Service, but is backing the NHS’s Long-Term Workforce Plan with over £2.4 billion of funding over the next five years, to ensure additional education and training places. We are also working with NHS England to reform and modernise the way staff work and harness new technology and innovations to double NHS labour productivity, and to make sure staff can spend more time with patients. Finally, NHS England is also growing the cancer workforce, with 50% more staff in the cancer workforce when compared to 2010.


Written Question
Radiotherapy: Health Professions
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)

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 recruit an additional 2,000 radiotherapy professionals by 2040.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In June 2023, NHS England published the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, which sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver a workforce that meets the changing needs of the population, over the next 15 years. The plan recognises the need to increase numbers of allied health professionals (AHPs), including therapeutic and diagnostic radiographers. To address this, we will increase AHP training places from a little over 15,000 in 2021/22 to 17,000 by 2028/89, and then 18,800 by 2031/32, a total increase of approximately 25%. National funding is available to train 150 enhanced practice radiographers a year, to support the diagnosis of cancer and other conditions.

We have already seen increases in the radiotherapy workforce in NHS trusts and other care organisations in England. In November 2023, there were 894 full-time equivalent (FTE) consultants working in the specialty of clinical oncology, an increase of 40, or 4.6%, since November 2022 and 395, or 79.0%, since November 2010. There are also 3,141 FTE therapeutic radiographers, an increase of 133, or 4.4%, since November 2022 and 1,046, or 50.0%, since November 2010. We are also focused on improving cancer treatment, and are supporting advances in radiotherapy, such as using cutting-edge imaging and technology to help target radiation doses at cancer cells more precisely.


Written Question
Radiotherapy: Medical Equipment
Wednesday 13th March 2024

Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions she has had with Integrated Care Boards in England on replacement programmes for radiotherapy machinery (LINACS); and what mechanisms are in place to allow her Department to oversee the effectiveness of those replacement programmes.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Since April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines has sat with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 Spending Review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the National Health Service, from 2022 to 2025.

The Government and NHS England are already taking steps to ensure that cancer patients can receive high quality radiotherapy treatment across England. This includes supporting advances in radiotherapy, using cutting-edge imaging and technology to help target radiation doses at cancer cells more precisely.


Written Question
Lung Cancer: Medical Treatments
Friday 8th March 2024

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 she has taken to support (a) research into and (b) treatment of lung cancer caused by mutations in the TP53, EGFR, and KRAS genes.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Since 2018/19 the NIHR has invested more than £44 million in funding and support for lung cancer research.

The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including lung cancer caused by genetic mutations. As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. 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 also supports the delivery, in the health and care system, of lung cancer research funded by research funding partners in the charity and public sectors. Since 2018/19 the NIHR Clinical Research Network has supported over 400 lung cancer research studies.

The Government is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care and plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity, including for all lung cancers. The focus on improving cancer treatment includes supporting advances in radiotherapy using cutting-edge imaging and technology to help target radiation doses at cancer cells more precisely.

The Department is supporting the National Health Service to roll out innovative lung cancer treatments, offered through the Cancer Drugs Fund and approved by the National Institute of Care and Excellence. Sotorasib was made available from March 2022 to target the kirsten rat sarcoma virus genetic mutation. Mobocertinib has been made available as treatment options for patients with the epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutation.


Written Question
Radiotherapy
Monday 19th February 2024

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 steps she plans to take to (a) help ensure equality of access to radiotherapy, (b) recruit more staff, (c) acquire more equipment and (d) otherwise increase radiotherapy capacity.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government and NHS England are already taking steps to ensure that cancer patients can receive high quality radiotherapy treatment across England. This includes supporting advances in radiotherapy using cutting-edge imaging and technology to help target radiation doses at cancer cells more precisely.

Despite the impact of the pandemic and recent industrial action, 340,530 people received their first cancer treatment in the 12 months to November 2023, a record high. Between 2016 and 2021, the Government invested £162 million to replace or upgrade around 100 radiotherapy treatment machines. This is in addition to funds invested by National Health Service trusts from their capital budgets or donations. However, responsibility for investing in radiotherapy machines has sat with integrated care boards since April 2022, with guidance advising systems to replace the majority of radiotherapy equipment at 10 years of age.

NHS England is supporting the growth of the cancer workforce, including radiotherapy, through the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan to ensure that we have staff to meet the projected growth in demand for cancer treatment. In October 2023 there were over 34,900 full-time equivalent staff in the cancer workforce, an increase of over 12,400, or 55.3%, since October 2010.

NHS England is expanding diagnostic capacity for cancer, including through the roll-out of our new community diagnostic centres (CDCs). These have delivered over six million tests since July 2021, including vital cancer checks. CDCs will deliver up to 17 million tests by March 2025, with capacity for nine million more a year once all are fully operational.


Written Question
Tomography
Wednesday 17th January 2024

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, how many (a) CT scanners, (b) MRI scanning machines and (c) linear accelerators for radiotherapy were owned by her Department in the financial year 2021-22; how many and what proportion of the (i) CT scanners, (ii) MRI scanning machines and (iii) linear accelerators for radiotherapy used in the NHS were (A) leased and (B) operated through managed equipment services contracts in the financial year 2021-22; what the average age of the (1) CT scanners, (2) MRI scanning machines and (3) linear accelerators for radiotherapy used in the NHS was in the financial year 2021-22; and with reference to the Answer of 13 July 2022 to Question 31135 on Medical Equipment: Standards, what recent progress integrated care systems have made eliminating the backlog of diagnostic equipment over 10 years old by 2024-25.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As part of the Government’s commitment to increase diagnostics services, £2.3 billion of funding was awarded to transform diagnostic services over three years. This funding is being used to increase the number of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) up to 160 by March 2025, expanding and protecting elective planned diagnostic services. As of January 2024, there are 150 CDCs currently operational that have delivered over six million additional tests since July 2021.


Written Question
Cancer: Medical Treatments
Wednesday 6th December 2023

Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to increase the availability of non-invasive cancer treatment technologies.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Health Service continues to increase investment in minimally invasive cancer therapies, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy services. Since April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines has sat with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 Spending Review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the NHS from 2022 to 2025.

The adoption of new treatments, including increasing the number of minimally invasive cancer treatments and technologies, into the NHS in England is generally the result of National Institution of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance and commissioner decisions. Both NHS England and integrated care boards are required to put in place access for any treatment that carries a positive recommendation from the Technology Appraisal programme, operated by NICE.

Where treatments are approved by NICE through the Technology Appraisals programme, the National Health Service is required to make them available within agreed timescales, which vary by technology. Implementation of any NICE approvals will be supported by the service readiness assessment and the development of additional capacity where necessary.

NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning team has been undertaking work to expand the number of providers offering minimally invasive cancer therapies, such as selective internal radiation therapy. The market engagement and Prior Information Notice aspects of this have now been completed, with regional teams now putting in place the necessary contractual arrangements with NHS trusts.


Written Question
Radiotherapy
Tuesday 5th December 2023

Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans (1) they have made, and (2) are already in progress, to expand molecular radiotherapy service capacity.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England commissions treatments that have either been approved via the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence technology appraisal process or NHS England’s clinical commissioning development process. Service provision will normally be reviewed at the point that new treatments are approved through either of these two routes.

Where additional capacity is required to meet demand, this will be put in place. Developers of new medicines can apply to the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, Project Orbis or The Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway to accelerate the time to market for new products.

In relation to molecular radiotherapy, linked to the implementation of the new service specification, NHS England will be undertaking an assessment of service readiness to implement new technologies.