Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support work to assist highly vulnerable people with dementia living in rural areas; and what assessment they have made of such work, including that of the Rural Dementia Friendly Task and Finish Group.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Improving the skills and dementia awareness of homecare staff can have a big impact on supporting people with dementia in rural areas; over 100,000 social care workers have received some form of dementia awareness training and this is continuing as part of the national implementation of the Care Certificate. By 2020, we expect social care providers to provide appropriate training on dementia to all other relevant staff.
The Department works closely with Alzheimer’s Society including through their Rural Dementia Friendly Task and Finish Group, and in establishing Dementia Friendly communities. The challenges of supporting people living in rural areas are raised frequently. The issues are kept under review by the sector partners of the Dementia Programme Board.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will intervene and ask the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to work with the pharmaceutical company, Roche, to reassess its provisional decision not to recommend the advanced breast cancer drug Kadcyla for routine use on the NHS.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that provides guidance on the prevention and treatment of ill health and the promotion of good health and social care. NICE operates with great transparency and makes exhaustive efforts to involve stakeholders, including manufacturers, in its appraisal work.
NICE is currently appraising trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) for the treatment of HER2-positive unresectable locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer after treatment with trastuzumab and a taxane. NICE’s final guidance to the National Health Service on whether the drug should continue to be routinely available on the NHS is expected in March 2017.
It would not be appropriate for Ministers or officials to intervene in this independent process.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are aware of the petition by Breast Cancer Now calling for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to reverse its decision not to recommend the advanced breast cancer drug Kadcyla for routine use on the NHS, and what is their response.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Department is aware of Breast Cancer Now’s petition.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) for the treatment of HER2-positive unresectable locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer after treatment with trastuzumab and a taxane. NICE’s final guidance to the National Health Service on whether the drug should continue to be routinely available on the NHS is expected in March 2017.
It would not be appropriate for Ministers or officials to intervene in this independent process.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to sustain and support those in rural areas who have been diagnosed with dementia.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
As part of the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia, a task and finish group on rural communities is considering support for people with dementia living in rural areas. The task and finish group will report in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to ensure that a person diagnosed with dementia, and their family, has a clear path to assistance, support and advice.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
On 28 February the Secretary of State set out his ambition for high quality, compassionate care and support for people with dementia and their carers following a diagnosis of dementia. Our ambition is for people with dementia and their carers to have:
- a timely assessment of their condition and a diagnosis so that they can access the right care at the right time;
- someone who can help and advise, such as a Dementia Advisor, who will support them and their carer to access the services they need;
- a plan of care that will be tailored to meet their specific needs;
- support so that they can remain independent for as long as possible after diagnosis;
- access to high-quality personalised information that will help them understand and manage their condition;
- access to services such as reminiscence and counselling, that will support them and their carer to live well with dementia;
- co-ordinated care towards and at the end of life;
- timely access to support for carers; and
- seamless care, with health and social care professionals working together to provide the best care and support.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to integrate social care systems in pursuit of good outcomes for those diagnosed with dementia.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Access to a timely and seamless package of care and support is essential for people with dementia and their carers to live well with the condition. On 28 February 2014 the Secretary of State published his ambition that everyone diagnosed with dementia should receive high quality post-diagnosis support, including seamless care, with health and social care professionals working together to provide the best care and support.
The Better Care Fund is the biggest ever financial incentive for the integration of health and social care. Central Government requires at least £3.8 billion of health and social care budgets to be pooled via the Better Care Fund, with local areas choosing to add another £1.5 billion to pooled budgets across the country. From April 2015, councils and the National Health Service will be able to use the Better Care Fund to work with each other and the voluntary sector. Local areas can use some of this to improve outcomes for people with dementia, such as for example providing access to dementia advisors, reminiscence services and counselling. More generally, the Better Care Fund plans set out areas’ schemes for delivering integrated health and social care, many of which will benefit people diagnosed with dementia.