Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on patients with non-tuberculous mycobacteria should there be a delay to the next meeting of the NHS England's Clinical Priorities Advisory Group.
Answered by Lord Kamall
No formal assessment has been made. Patients with non-tuberculous mycobacteria will continue to be managed in primary and secondary care settings and treated with the current available treatments known as ‘Guideline Based Therapy’ as recommended by the British Thoracic Society.
The British Thoracic Society guideline for the use of longterm macrolides in adults with respiratory disease suggests that patients who are able to expectorate should be considered for testing for non-tuberculous mycobacteria prior to starting long-term macrolide therapy. A copy of the guideline is attached. NHS England and NHS Improvement do not hold data on the number of tests undertaken.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to meet charities supporting severely immunocompromised groups to discuss how they can be involved in (1) co-creating, and (2) disseminating, (a) communication, and (b) guidance, to people regarding how to safely manage their risk from COVID-19 beyond 1 April.
Answered by Lord Kamall
We have regular meetings with charities representing and supporting patients who are immunocompromised and immunosuppressed groups. The Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, Dr Jenny Harries, is the clinical lead for programmes supporting these patients and has met with charities at stakeholder engagement sessions.
On 4 April 2022, updated online only guidance was issued for those whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness if they become infected with COVID-19.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether COVID-19 tests will remain (1) free, and (2) accessible, for (a) all immunocompromised people, (b) their households, and (c) close contacts, from 1 April, for those who are either (i) symptomatic, or (ii) asymptomatic.
Answered by Lord Kamall
From 1 April, free access to asymptomatic and symptomatic tests for the public in England will end. The Government will continue to provide free symptomatic testing for patients in hospital, for whom a test is required for clinical management or to support treatment pathways and those eligible for COVID-19 treatments due to their higher risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19.
Patients in this higher risk cohort will be contacted directly and sent lateral flow device tests for symptomatic testing and guidance on how to reorder tests. Asymptomatic lateral flow device testing will continue in some high-risk settings where infection can spread rapidly while prevalence is high.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage GPs to develop expertise in Long Covid to enable them to help patients suffering with this condition.
Answered by Lord Kamall
On 11 November 2021 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing the long-term effects of COVID-19. This guidance addresses the identification and management of post-COVID-19 syndrome in all healthcare settings, including primary care. A copy of the guidance is attached.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have also worked with the Royal College of General Practitioners to produce advice for general practitioners in the management of the long-term effects of COVID-19 and with Health Education England to produce e-learning modules on COVID-19 recovery and rehabilitation to support the educational development of healthcare professionals.
A one-year enhanced service for general practice aims to increase knowledge on identifying, assessing, referring and supporting patients experiencing the long term effects of COVID-19. NHS England and NHS Improvement are also developing a plan to further clarify the role of general practice, which is due for publication in spring 2022.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage breast screening units to work with their communities to (1) design, and (2) deliver, an equitable recovery of the programme.
Answered by Lord Kamall
Breast cancer screening providers are being encouraged to work with Cancer Alliances, Primary Care Networks and National Health Service regional teams to promote the uptake of breast screening services and ensure local populations can access services. NHS England and NHS Improvement have allocated £22 million for replacement mobile breast screening units and £50 million to increase capacity and activity in England.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that (1) communication, and (2) information, around breast screening is properly tailored to reach different (a) communities, and (b) age groups.
Answered by Lord Kamall
Breast screening information leaflets have been developed with contributions from women representing a wide range of backgrounds and ages. These leaflets are available both in hard copy and online in the 10 most requested languages. An easy read version of the guide to breast screening has also been developed. In addition, an animation about screening programmes for women, featuring breast screening and guidance for screening services on reducing inequalities in the programme is available.
A separate leaflet is provided for women aged 71 years old and over which explains that although they no longer receive routine invitations, breast screening can be requested every three years.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish updated and detailed (1) guidance, and (2) communications, to people who are immunocompromised in light of the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
Answered by Lord Kamall
On 25 February 2022, the Government issued Guidance for people previously considered clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19 in an online only format. This provides guidance for those whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19 to reduce the risks of exposure to the virus. Enhanced protections such as those offered by treatments, additional vaccinations and other non-clinical interventions may benefit this cohort. The Government continues to review the public health advice provided to those who are immunocompromised.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of haematological workforce shortages on patient (1) outcome, and (2) experience.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Department has made no such assessment.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to deliver (1) training, and (2) education, to the NHS clinical workforce to support the use of (a) genomic medicines, and (b) interpretation of genomic data, in clinical decision-making.
Answered by Lord Kamall
Health Education England’s (HEE) Genomic Education Programme (GEP) is developing a range of resources to meet a variety of learning needs. This includes proactive learning tools covering the use of genomics in the diagnosis and management of patients and the interpretation of genomic data. A range of education and training is available from ‘bitesize’ learning courses to a level seven Masters in Genomic Medicine. The GEP is also developing GeNotes, which will provide education and training to clinicians at the point of patient care, guiding the use of the National Genomics Test Directory and the interpretation of genomic results. GeNotes will be available across specialties and developed for all professions. HEE expects to launch the first phase of this resource for the oncology speciality by 1 April 2022.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the variations in turnaround times and tissue sample requirements across the seven Genomic Laboratory Hubs in England.
Answered by Lord Kamall
NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs’ (GLHs) performance is monitored quarterly through an assurance framework, which ensures all GLHs are operating to national quality standards. This identifies and minimises any potential variability in the delivery of genomic testing. NHS England and NHS Improvement are collating data on testing activity to support service improvements.