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 estimate she has made of the timeline for meeting cancer screening uptake targets for (a) breast, (b) cervical, (c) bowel and (d) prostate cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving uptake in all screening programmes, including for breast, bowel, and cervical screening. There is no national screening programme for prostate cancer. The improvement in cancer screening programmes is not predicated on a specific timeline, but is focusing on targeting specific groups where uptake is low.
NHS England has developed a national improvement plan in collaboration with key stakeholders to improve uptake within the breast screening programme. This plan will encompass a series of evaluative projects, which are expected to report in April 2024
A range of improvements and innovations have been brought in to help improve uptake in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. For example, appointments are being made available during evenings and weekends, and in some areas cervical screening appointments can be made in any primary care setting, rather than just at one’s own general practice.
In addition, we are also working to test the effectiveness of human papillomavirus infection self-sampling as a primary cervical screening option, with individuals taking their own cervical screening sample. The findings from this evaluation will be used to inform a UK National Screening Committee recommendation, and it is expected that self-sampling could lead to an increase in uptake as it will reduce some of the barriers that prevent people from attending a screening.
Uptake in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme is currently above the achievable threshold of 60%, between 1 July and 30 September 2023 it was 67.4%, and therefore the focus for this screening programme is on gradually reducing the age of the eligible cohort from 60 years old down to 50 years old, to increase to numbers eligible for this programme.
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 increase the uptake of screening for (a) breast, (b) cervical, (c) bowel and (d) prostate cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving uptake in all screening programmes, including for breast, bowel, and cervical screening. There is no national screening programme for prostate cancer. The improvement in cancer screening programmes is not predicated on a specific timeline, but is focusing on targeting specific groups where uptake is low.
NHS England has developed a national improvement plan in collaboration with key stakeholders to improve uptake within the breast screening programme. This plan will encompass a series of evaluative projects, which are expected to report in April 2024
A range of improvements and innovations have been brought in to help improve uptake in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. For example, appointments are being made available during evenings and weekends, and in some areas cervical screening appointments can be made in any primary care setting, rather than just at one’s own general practice.
In addition, we are also working to test the effectiveness of human papillomavirus infection self-sampling as a primary cervical screening option, with individuals taking their own cervical screening sample. The findings from this evaluation will be used to inform a UK National Screening Committee recommendation, and it is expected that self-sampling could lead to an increase in uptake as it will reduce some of the barriers that prevent people from attending a screening.
Uptake in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme is currently above the achievable threshold of 60%, between 1 July and 30 September 2023 it was 67.4%, and therefore the focus for this screening programme is on gradually reducing the age of the eligible cohort from 60 years old down to 50 years old, to increase to numbers eligible for this programme.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 tackle disparities in access to medical treatment for heart valve disease.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the development of the Major Conditions Strategy, we are committed to focusing on the six major groups, which includes cardiovascular disease. As part of the policy development process, the Major Conditions Strategy will consider the full range of health disparities that may be experienced by different groups, including ethnic and gender disparities.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) support and (b) resources are available to help GP surgeries in Wellingborough constituency to (i) clear patient backlogs and (ii) reduce workloads.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that general practice (GP) services are still under huge pressure, which is why we published our Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care. Our commitment in publishing this plan is to make it easier and quicker for the public to get the help they need from primary care. The plan sets out how we will cut bureaucracy to reduce workload and free up more time for practice teams to meet the clinical needs of their patients.
To achieve this, we are implementing strategies to empower patients to take more control of their healthcare. This involves transitioning towards a Modern General Practice Access model, which includes supporting practices in adopting cloud-based telephony systems, which help GPs to better match their capacity to patient demand. This is backed by £240 million of re-targeted funding for digital tools and training.
We are building additional capacity by diversifying the workforce to include a wider range of practitioners for patients to see, helping free up GP time for more complex cases. This includes an additional 36,523 direct patient care staff, such as pharmacy technicians and physician assistants, since 2019. Additionally, in 2022 a record 4,032 doctors accepted a place on GP training.
We know how implementing changes in GPs will take time, training, and support. That is why from April 2023 the new national General Practice Improvement Programme is supporting GPs to deliver change, with hands on help from a choice of improvement modules that will be tailored to individual practice needs.
The plan is backed up by major investment into primary care services, with up to £645 million over two years to expand the services offered by community pharmacies, with the introduction of Pharmacy First. This has enabled community pharmacists to manage seven common conditions, including the supply of prescription-only medicines without a prescription from a GP. The proposals have the potential to release 10 million GP appointments.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what processes the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency uses to determine whether a covid-19 vaccine may have caused (a) fatal outcomes and (b) adverse reactions in patients.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) does not assign causality at the level of individual reports, as this is not the responsibility of the MHRA, and as such a process is not held. The MHRA holds processes for cumulative analysis of Yellow Card data, as well as assessment of data from other sources, for patterns or evidence which might suggest a causal link between the vaccination and the reported reaction, alongside other relevant data. In relation to fatal reports, it is the role of a Coroner to determine the likely cause of death for an individual. The MHRA’s approach to post authorisation surveillance of COVID-19 vaccines is outlined in the published Report of the Commission on Human Medicines Expert Working Group on COVID-19 vaccine safety surveillance.
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, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of her policies on social care on (a) staff recruitment and retention and (b) service user outcomes.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Preliminary findings for the Department's workforce reform programme have indicated that workers with multiple positive employment factors, including increasing access to training and qualifications, were more likely to stay in employment. Planned evaluation of the reforms will aim to measure the impact on intention to leave, and actual turnover, along with other outcomes.
We anticipate benefits from the workforce reform programme will include a reduction in staff turnover, improved quality of care from a better trained and more stable workforce, increased workforce productivity, and an increase in efficiency savings for social care providers as they reduce the amount of retraining and recruitment needed. These all contribute to our wider goals of improvements in the quality-of-care provision and improved access to care.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
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 (a) promote better awareness within the NHS of the symptoms of Lyme disease and (b) speed up (i) testing and (ii) analysis of test results for Lyme disease.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS) are specifically aimed at general practices (GPs), and cover the availability of testing services. The entomology group in the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also has a tick awareness scheme, which sends out information on avoiding tick bites in a spring campaign, and supports local authorities in areas with a high prevalence of Lyme disease. Further information on Lyme disease, access to testing, and the NICE’s CKS’ is available respectively at the links below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lyme-disease-guidance-data-and-analysis
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng95
https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/lyme-disease/management/management/
All confirmatory testing in England is performed by the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL). Delays may occur in the referring laboratory when submitting the sample, during testing at the RIPL, or when accessing the results, which are sent back electronically, before being passed onto GPs. Only the RIPL is within the UKHSA’s control, and the RIPL is planning to introduce new technology to speed up tests for neuroborreliosis.
National data analysis is released through the Fingertips system, which is regularly updated. The annual number of cases of Lyme disease varies from year to year, depending on weather conditions in the Lyme season, the effects of weather and human activities on animals that harbor the disease, and the tick population. Further information on the Fingertips system is available at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/health-protection/data
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are employed by NHS England in roles relating to equality, diversity and inclusivity as of 26 March 2024.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are 51 staff with equality, diversity, or inclusion in their job title at NHS England, as of 26 February 2024. This covers a wide range of roles both supporting NHS England as an employer, and facing the wider National Health Service system, with some of these roles also covering other areas of NHS policy. NHS England has reduced the number of roles focused on equality, diversity and inclusion as part of its merger with NHS Digital and Health Education England. The roles that remain are essential to helping the NHS meet its legal duties in the Equality Act 2010 and the principles that guide the NHS Constitution. This includes overseeing statutory programmes that are focused on tackling discrimination by some staff which includes disabled staff, as well as roles dealing with the sexual safety of staff and patients in the NHS.
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 bring forward legislation to protect whistleblowers in the NHS complaints process.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government recognises how valuable it is that whistleblowers can shine a light on wrongdoing, and believes that they should be able to do so without fear of recriminations. There are legal provisions within the Public Interest and Disclosure Act 1998 that protect workers against detrimental treatment for speaking up in the public interest. In March 2023, the Department for Business and Trade announced a review of the whistleblowing framework, which aims to examine the effectiveness of the framework in meeting its original objectives, which are to facilitate whistleblowing, protect whistleblowers against detriment and dismissal, and to facilitate wider cultural change around whistleblowing. The review is still ongoing, and the Government will publish the evidence, and set out the next steps this year.
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, whether she has had recent discussions with York District Hospital on the potential merits of building a new hospital in York in the next 15 years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Secretary of State has not had discussions with York District Hospital on the potential merits of building a new hospital in York.
No expressions of interest were received from York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in respect of York District Hospital to join the New Hospital Programme. Going forward, new schemes will be considered through a rolling programme of capital investment in hospital infrastructure, with details to be agreed periodically to provide greater future certainty. The government will set out robust plans at future Spending Reviews, including when and how it will seek to invite further projects to join the New Hospital Programme and other major capital investment opportunities.