Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to create a real-time intensive care dashboard to provide a review of bed occupancy and staffing levels.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England already collects daily information from acute trusts on bed availability, including adult and paediatric critical care and neonatal critical care, through the urgent and emergency care daily situation report. This reflects the position on the day of reporting and is available via operational dashboards in the Federated Data Platform.
Workforce information is available through existing systems such as the Electronic Staff Record which reflects staff employed rather than being collected on a real time basis. The Government does not currently have plans to create a real time intensive care dashboard covering staffing levels.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry's Module 3 Report, published on 19 March, on the impact of intensive care work on staff wellbeing; and whether they plan to introduce an intensive care workforce covenant to support retention and long-term psychological support.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that the pandemic had a profound and lasting impact across society, and its effects were felt particularly acutely within the health and social care system. We are deeply grateful to everyone across health and social care in the four nations who contributed to the country's response.
The Government is committed to learning the lessons of the COVID-19 Inquiry and we are investing in and reforming the health service to ensure it is fit for the future and available for people when they need it. We will consider the inquiry’s findings and recommendations carefully and respond in full in due course.
The health and wellbeing of all National Health Service staff is a top priority, and we want to ensure that there is better support for staff in the future.
NHS England offers a range of health and wellbeing resources, as well as the National Staff Mental Health Treatment Service to provide support for those with more complex mental health needs.
The 10-Year Health Plan announced the introduction of Staff Treatment Hubs that will focus on mental health and musculoskeletal issues, the two main reasons for sickness absence in the NHS. In addition, a series of staff standards for modern employment will be launched in April 2026. These will tackle the issues that really matter to staff such as support to work healthily and flexibly, and tackling violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the workplace.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether planning and resourcing in primary care are sufficient to deliver earlier diagnosis and treatment of heart failure; and what steps they are taking to expand access to diagnostics, specialist support and evidence based treatment for heart failure in the community.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has supported the expansion of access for diagnostics, specialist support, and evidence-based treatment for heart failure in the community.
To improve access diagnostic testing for heart failure, NHS England provided Echocardiography Revenue Funding for 2024/25 to support workforce projects, training, and to improve the quality of echocardiography services in England during 2024/25.
NHS England continues to fund the Managing Heart Failure @home service across seven sites, to support patients in managing their heart failure at home. Further funding has been provided for 17 new sites to embed personalised care, remote monitoring, and integrating heart failure pathways.
In addition, the GP Contract for 2026/27 will update heart failure Quality and Outcomes Framework indicators to reflect the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended ‘four pillars’ of medication’, namely ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, SGLT2 inhibitors, and MRAs, as first line treatment. This approach to care is cost-effective and leads to a reduction in cardiovascular-related mortality and hospital admission.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered changes to the use of individual funding requests for rare cancer treatments, particularly the requirement for exceptionality, for patients who have no alternative clinically appropriate treatment options.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government supports Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers which will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers, including metastatic ocular melanoma patients, to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the National Health Service will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options, and ultimately boost survival rates.
The Department remains committed to ensuring that rare cancer patients, including those with metastatic ocular melanoma, have timely access to treatment and tailored medical support.
Tebentafusp is a licensed treatment for uveal melanoma and has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and funded by NHS England since December 2024. Since funding commenced, over 100 patients have been registered to start treatment. At present, NHS England is not aware of any delays in access to Tebentafusp for eligible patients.
Alongside Tebentafusp, a policy proposition for melphalan chemosaturation was accepted onto the NHS England policy development work programme in March 2025, in line with the Methods for National Clinical Policies. Development of this policy is ongoing following receipt of the external evidence review. Progress updates are published through the NHS England Clinical Commissioning Work Programme, and NICE is concurrently updating its guidance. Until revised guidance is issued, the NHS continues to follow the recommendations in the current version.
The development of a Clinical Commissioning policy will determine both if the evidence is now sufficient to enable making the treatment routinely available and, if it is, whether to allocate service development funding to implement it across the NHS in England.
NHS England’s Individual Funding Request (IFR) Policy provides the framework through which requests outside routinely commissioned arrangements are considered. The IFR framework was last reviewed in 2022 and ensures fairness, consistency, and transparency in decision‑making across all applications relating to medicines, devices, or surgical interventions that fall within NHS England’s commissioning responsibilities.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of delays in commissioning decisions on (1) outcomes, and (2) quality of life, for patients with rare cancers.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government supports Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers which will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers, including metastatic ocular melanoma patients, to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the National Health Service will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options, and ultimately boost survival rates.
The Department remains committed to ensuring that rare cancer patients, including those with metastatic ocular melanoma, have timely access to treatment and tailored medical support.
Tebentafusp is a licensed treatment for uveal melanoma and has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and funded by NHS England since December 2024. Since funding commenced, over 100 patients have been registered to start treatment. At present, NHS England is not aware of any delays in access to Tebentafusp for eligible patients.
Alongside Tebentafusp, a policy proposition for melphalan chemosaturation was accepted onto the NHS England policy development work programme in March 2025, in line with the Methods for National Clinical Policies. Development of this policy is ongoing following receipt of the external evidence review. Progress updates are published through the NHS England Clinical Commissioning Work Programme, and NICE is concurrently updating its guidance. Until revised guidance is issued, the NHS continues to follow the recommendations in the current version.
The development of a Clinical Commissioning policy will determine both if the evidence is now sufficient to enable making the treatment routinely available and, if it is, whether to allocate service development funding to implement it across the NHS in England.
NHS England’s Individual Funding Request (IFR) Policy provides the framework through which requests outside routinely commissioned arrangements are considered. The IFR framework was last reviewed in 2022 and ensures fairness, consistency, and transparency in decision‑making across all applications relating to medicines, devices, or surgical interventions that fall within NHS England’s commissioning responsibilities.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing time-limited interim access pathways for rare cancer treatments where published clinical evidence and specialist expertise already exist but routine commissioning routes are not yet in place.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government supports Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers which will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers, including metastatic ocular melanoma patients, to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the National Health Service will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options, and ultimately boost survival rates.
The Department remains committed to ensuring that rare cancer patients, including those with metastatic ocular melanoma, have timely access to treatment and tailored medical support.
Tebentafusp is a licensed treatment for uveal melanoma and has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and funded by NHS England since December 2024. Since funding commenced, over 100 patients have been registered to start treatment. At present, NHS England is not aware of any delays in access to Tebentafusp for eligible patients.
Alongside Tebentafusp, a policy proposition for melphalan chemosaturation was accepted onto the NHS England policy development work programme in March 2025, in line with the Methods for National Clinical Policies. Development of this policy is ongoing following receipt of the external evidence review. Progress updates are published through the NHS England Clinical Commissioning Work Programme, and NICE is concurrently updating its guidance. Until revised guidance is issued, the NHS continues to follow the recommendations in the current version.
The development of a Clinical Commissioning policy will determine both if the evidence is now sufficient to enable making the treatment routinely available and, if it is, whether to allocate service development funding to implement it across the NHS in England.
NHS England’s Individual Funding Request (IFR) Policy provides the framework through which requests outside routinely commissioned arrangements are considered. The IFR framework was last reviewed in 2022 and ensures fairness, consistency, and transparency in decision‑making across all applications relating to medicines, devices, or surgical interventions that fall within NHS England’s commissioning responsibilities.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what interim arrangements are in place to ensure timely access to clinically appropriate treatments for patients with rare cancers, including metastatic ocular melanoma, while longer term commissioning decisions are under consideration.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government supports Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers which will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers, including metastatic ocular melanoma patients, to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the National Health Service will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options, and ultimately boost survival rates.
The Department remains committed to ensuring that rare cancer patients, including those with metastatic ocular melanoma, have timely access to treatment and tailored medical support.
Tebentafusp is a licensed treatment for uveal melanoma and has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and funded by NHS England since December 2024. Since funding commenced, over 100 patients have been registered to start treatment. At present, NHS England is not aware of any delays in access to Tebentafusp for eligible patients.
Alongside Tebentafusp, a policy proposition for melphalan chemosaturation was accepted onto the NHS England policy development work programme in March 2025, in line with the Methods for National Clinical Policies. Development of this policy is ongoing following receipt of the external evidence review. Progress updates are published through the NHS England Clinical Commissioning Work Programme, and NICE is concurrently updating its guidance. Until revised guidance is issued, the NHS continues to follow the recommendations in the current version.
The development of a Clinical Commissioning policy will determine both if the evidence is now sufficient to enable making the treatment routinely available and, if it is, whether to allocate service development funding to implement it across the NHS in England.
NHS England’s Individual Funding Request (IFR) Policy provides the framework through which requests outside routinely commissioned arrangements are considered. The IFR framework was last reviewed in 2022 and ensures fairness, consistency, and transparency in decision‑making across all applications relating to medicines, devices, or surgical interventions that fall within NHS England’s commissioning responsibilities.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that patients with rare cancers are not without access to potentially life extending treatments while national appraisal and commissioning processes are ongoing.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government wants to ensure that all National Health Service patients, including patients with rare cancers, are able to benefit from rapid access to effective new medicines in a way that represents value to the taxpayer.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) aims wherever possible to issue recommendations for the NHS on new medicines close to the time of licensing so that patients have rapid access to clinically and cost-effective medicines. The NHS is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE within three months of the publication of final guidance. NHS England funds NICE-recommended cancer medicines through the Cancer Drugs Fund from the point of positive draft NICE guidance, bringing forward patient access by approximately five months than would otherwise be the case.
The measures that we announced in the Life Sciences Sector Plan will further streamline the licensing and NICE appraisal processes reducing the time between marketing authorisation and national funding decisions.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of hospitals that will have an adequate oxygen supply during a major national emergency or future pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The supply of oxygen to hospitals is managed through contractual arrangements between individual National Health Service organisations and their respective commercial supplier(s). Each organisation is responsible for ensuring that its oxygen supply meets clinical and operational needs, including planning for emergencies.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many intensive care units are equipped with scavenging devices to allow for a decrease in the use of disposable plastics.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold this information.