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 his Department is taking to improve aftercare for stroke patients.
Answered by Will Quince
On 24 November 2022, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster published a Written Ministerial Statement noting that departments had been instructed to take a series of actions relating to surveillance equipment subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China. This Department has been implementing this policy along with other protective security controls.
At Report Stage of the Procurement Bill, the Government committed that, within six months of Royal Assent, the Government will set out the timeline for the removal of surveillance equipment supplied by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of China from sensitive sites. This Department will be providing information to the Cabinet Office to support this commitment. It is a longstanding Government policy that specific security arrangements regarding Government estates are withheld on security grounds.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to roll out the implantable cardiac monitoring commissioning system used in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent to other Integrated Care Boards in England.
Answered by Will Quince
Implantable cardiac monitors are used successfully by patients across England and within the Stoke-on-Trent South constituency. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance in September 2020 on the use of implantable cardiac monitors. National Health Service trusts are currently using such devices in stroke prevention throughout England. It is for local integrated care systems to determine the appropriate cardiac monitoring devices for their populations’ commissioners.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent 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 improve access to implantable cardiac monitors in (a) England and (b) Stoke-on-Trent South constituency.
Answered by Will Quince
Implantable cardiac monitors are used successfully by patients across England and within the Stoke-on-Trent South constituency. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance in September 2020 on the use of implantable cardiac monitors. National Health Service trusts are currently using such devices in stroke prevention throughout England. It is for local integrated care systems to determine the appropriate cardiac monitoring devices for their populations’ commissioners.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to use implantable cardiac monitoring for secondary stroke prevention in the NHS.
Answered by Will Quince
Implantable cardiac monitors are used successfully by patients across England and within the Stoke-on-Trent South constituency. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance in September 2020 on the use of implantable cardiac monitors. National Health Service trusts are currently using such devices in stroke prevention throughout England. It is for local integrated care systems to determine the appropriate cardiac monitoring devices for their populations’ commissioners.
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 his Department is taking to reduce excess deaths.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We are taking a number of steps to help reduce excess deaths, including those which involve COVID-19. Vaccines remain the first line of defence. Antivirals and other treatments provide a necessary additional defence by protecting patients who become infected with COVID-19, particularly those for whom the vaccine may be less effective such as the immunosuppressed. We are preparing for variants of COVID-19 and seasonal flu infections with an integrated COVID-19 booster and flu vaccination programme, minimising hospital admissions from both viruses.
The NHS has published a delivery plan setting out a clear vision for how the NHS will recover and expand elective services over the next three years. The plan commits the NHS to deliver 9 million additional treatments and diagnostic procedures over the next three years and around 30 per cent more elective activity than it was doing before the pandemic by 2024-25.
We are making progress in restoring NHS Health Check delivery, a core part of our cardiovascular disease prevention pathway. Delivery is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by June 2023 and we are creating a national digital NHS Health Check so we can go even further.
On 24 January 2023, the Government announced that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy. The strategy will tackle conditions that contribute most to morbidity and mortality across the population in England including, cancers, cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal conditions.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to improve the uptake of NHS health checks in England to spot early signs of a stroke, such as atrial fibrillation.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following publication of the 2021 evidence-based review, the Department is taking forward a programme of work to modernise the NHS Health Check and deliver recommendations from the review. So far this has included, investing nearly £17 million for the development of an innovative digital NHS Health Check to bolster current local authority delivery of the programme. The digital health check, will be rolled out from Spring 2024, which will give users choice about where and when to have a check and enable increased overall uptake and improved efficiency of the programme. We are also improving uptake by supporting local authorities with the recovery of the programme following the COVID-19 pandemic by launching a training hub, showcasing innovative local delivery models and facilitating communities of practice, with activity reaching over 91% of pre-pandemic levels at the end of December 2022.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the potential closure of the Stroke Recovery Service in Portsmouth on treatment of stroke patients in that catchment area.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Due to challenging financial circumstances, Local Authority non-recurring money that had previously funded the service is now unavailable and the contract with the Stroke Association to deliver the Stroke Recovery Service in Portsmouth will end on 31 December 2023. NHS England has made no assessment of the potential impact of the closure on treatment of stroke patients in the local catchment area
Local residents have been kept informed of the change and been provided with information about alternative support. The National Health Service provides treatment and rehabilitation after stroke, and assessment of social care needs through the local authority, and general practitioner practices will be able to offer support through their Social Prescribers, Care Coordinators and Health and Wellbeing Coaches.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the reasons for the trend in the level of excess deaths in the last 12 months.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Department will continue to monitor and report on levels of excess deaths. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities regularly publishes estimates of excess mortality in England. They adjust for population growth and ageing. This provides further insight on the causes of death driving the excess mortality over the last 12 months.
Whilst a detailed assessment of trends in the causes of excess deaths is not available, it is likely that a combination of factors has contributed, including high flu prevalence, the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, and health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
On 24 January 2023, the Government announced that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy and an interim report will be published in the summer. The strategy will set out a strong and coherent policy agenda that sets out a shift to integrated, whole-person care. The strategy will tackle conditions that contribute most to morbidity and mortality across the population in England including, cancers, cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal conditions. Interventions set out in the strategy will aim to alleviate pressure on the health system, as well as support the government’s objective to increase healthy life expectancy and reduce ill-health related labour market inactivity.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
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 22 May 2023 to Question 185509 on Life Expectancy, whether his Department is on track to meet this target.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No specific assessment has been made. Current trends show that Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) is stalled. In the period from 2018 to 2020, HLE at birth in the United Kingdom for males was 62.8 years and 63.6 years for females, showing no significant change since 2015 to 2017.
In England in 2019, the conditions responsible for the greatest share of premature death (measured as years of life lost) were cancers (35%) and cardiovascular diseases (26%). The conditions responsible for the greatest proportion of ill-health (measured as years lived with disability) were musculoskeletal disorders (21%) and mental health conditions (15%), which are also the most cited conditions causing economic inactivity. Around one in four adults in England live with two or more long-term conditions.
The Major Conditions Strategy will tackle conditions that contribute most to morbidity and mortality across the population in England including, cancers, cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal conditions.
Asked by: Baroness Wheeler (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Markham on 23 February where he stated that they will "write to all the NHS chief executives" (HL Deb col 1751), when that letter will be sent; and how they will monitor progress on services restoration following that.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 22 March in answer to a Parliamentary Question on stroke rehabilitation and community services, I updated the House that I had written to Amanda Pritchard, the CEO of NHS England, on the issue of returning repurposed physiotherapy rehabilitation spaces to their original use, to support physiotherapists to best provide services that aid patient recovery. As a result, NHS England has asked National Health Service organisations to evaluate how space is being used, and to ensure that adequate space is allocated to functions such as physiotherapy, so that such services can operate efficiently. I will request regular updates on progress.