Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Public Accounts Committee report Adult health screening, published on 10 May 2019 (HC 1746), what progress they have made towards the first recommendation contained in that report to publish a plan, with timeframes for action, to explain how they intend to address the health inequalities that exist in breast screening.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Public Health England published an inequalities strategy in an online-only format in October 2020 aimed at supporting local screening services, commissioners, and others to address inequalities. Accepted recommendations from the 2019 Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on Adult Health Screening have now been implemented, so NHS England no longer reports against the PAC report.
NHS England has developed a national plan to improve uptake within the breast screening programme, including interventions to address inequalities and screening barriers. This includes working to ensure that breast screening appointments are as convenient to people as possible and focusing its efforts on low uptake areas and groups. NHS England is also working to ensure they have data, including on protected characteristics, to support services to deliver more targeted initiatives.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made about the extent of the use of wet wipe products containing plastics in infection prevention and control practices undertaken in workplaces and the National Health Service.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The consultation on the proposed ban of the manufacture, supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic closed on 25th November 2023. Defra officials are currently analysing consultation responses.
The consultation included questions on the potential impacts the proposed ban – including for those who require wet wipes containing plastic for medical purposes. Defra officials are engaging with a range of stakeholders, including the NHS, on whether a medical exemption will be required.
Details of the policy will be announced in the Government Response to the consultation, to be published in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on public health of a ban on all wet wipes made with plastic where such products are currently used for infection prevention and control practices in the National Health Service and workplaces.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The consultation on the proposed ban of the manufacture, supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic closed on 25th November 2023. Defra officials are currently analysing consultation responses.
The consultation included questions on the potential impacts the proposed ban – including for those who require wet wipes containing plastic for medical purposes. Defra officials are engaging with a range of stakeholders, including the NHS, on whether a medical exemption will be required.
Details of the policy will be announced in the Government Response to the consultation, to be published in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had on how a ban on all wet wipes containing plastic might affect products used in the National Service for infection prevention and control practices.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The consultation on the proposed ban of the manufacture, supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic closed on 25th November 2023. Defra officials are currently analysing consultation responses.
The consultation included questions on the potential impacts the proposed ban – including for those who require wet wipes containing plastic for medical purposes. Defra officials are engaging with a range of stakeholders, including the NHS, on whether a medical exemption will be required.
Details of the policy will be announced in the Government Response to the consultation, to be published in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what checks are in place to ensure that information from NHS records used in courts has been obtained without coercion.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not routinely monitor how National Health Service records are used in courts but there are extensive safeguards in place to ensure people are not being coerced to access their medical records online, which NHS England has developed by engaging with professional bodies, patients, charities, and safeguarding experts.
This engagement has also helped shape NHS England’s patient and general practitioner (GP) communications packs and advice, the messages issued on the NHS App and the NHS website and system changes. Communication packs have also been issued to over 50 charities which support people who may be at risk.
People can only access their prospective records via the NHS App. Before viewing their record in the NHS App, users are given advice about what to do if they are being pressured to share their information. Patients are able to prevent access via an online process, by disabling their NHS login or can request that their GP redact details of specific consultations or treatment.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for the Department of Health and Social Care on 15 September 2023 (198696), whether they will make the Uptake Improvement Plan for the breast screening programme public.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst no assessment has been made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake or the timescales for reaching the achievable target of 80%, the Government continues to be committed to supporting and improving uptake the NHS breast screening programme.
A national plan has been developed by NHS England in collaboration with key stakeholders such as cancer alliances, to improve uptake in the breast screening programme from 2023 and beyond; this is in line with the Long Term Plan commitment that by 2028, 75% of cancers will be diagnosed at stages one and two.
The improvement plan is not set to be published, but covers the priorities and interventions needed to increase uptake. This includes expanding access to screening, reducing inequalities, continuing to develop IT systems to improve data analytics, and ensuring communications are inclusive and accessible to all.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Demos and Breast Cancer Now report The Cost of Breast Cancer: Modelling the economic impact to the UK, published on 22 January, what assessment they have made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst no assessment has been made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake or the timescales for reaching the achievable target of 80%, the Government continues to be committed to supporting and improving uptake the NHS breast screening programme.
A national plan has been developed by NHS England in collaboration with key stakeholders such as cancer alliances, to improve uptake in the breast screening programme from 2023 and beyond; this is in line with the Long Term Plan commitment that by 2028, 75% of cancers will be diagnosed at stages one and two.
The improvement plan is not set to be published, but covers the priorities and interventions needed to increase uptake. This includes expanding access to screening, reducing inequalities, continuing to develop IT systems to improve data analytics, and ensuring communications are inclusive and accessible to all.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, based on the current speed of recovery, what estimate they have made of when breast screening uptake in England could reach the achievable target of 80 per cent.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst no assessment has been made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake or the timescales for reaching the achievable target of 80%, the Government continues to be committed to supporting and improving uptake the NHS breast screening programme.
A national plan has been developed by NHS England in collaboration with key stakeholders such as cancer alliances, to improve uptake in the breast screening programme from 2023 and beyond; this is in line with the Long Term Plan commitment that by 2028, 75% of cancers will be diagnosed at stages one and two.
The improvement plan is not set to be published, but covers the priorities and interventions needed to increase uptake. This includes expanding access to screening, reducing inequalities, continuing to develop IT systems to improve data analytics, and ensuring communications are inclusive and accessible to all.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State at the Department for Health and Social Care on 15 September 2023 (198696), what actions are included in the Uptake Improvement Plan for the breast screening programme; and what are the recommended timeframes for those actions.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst no assessment has been made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake or the timescales for reaching the achievable target of 80%, the Government continues to be committed to supporting and improving uptake the NHS breast screening programme.
A national plan has been developed by NHS England in collaboration with key stakeholders such as cancer alliances, to improve uptake in the breast screening programme from 2023 and beyond; this is in line with the Long Term Plan commitment that by 2028, 75% of cancers will be diagnosed at stages one and two.
The improvement plan is not set to be published, but covers the priorities and interventions needed to increase uptake. This includes expanding access to screening, reducing inequalities, continuing to develop IT systems to improve data analytics, and ensuring communications are inclusive and accessible to all.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of being pressured into showing confidential medical records on the NHS App to third parties faced by (1) patients requesting covert contraception forbidden in their home or relationship, (2) patients who are suffering domestic abuse, and (3) other vulnerable groups including the elderly.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government wants people to be able to have access to their own records if they choose to do so. There is widespread international consensus about the benefits to patients and the effectiveness of the health system in providing digital on-demand access to personal health information.
For most, online record access is beneficial, but for a minority, having access could cause harm or distress. NHS England is taking an active approach to ensuring safe and secure patient record access, seeking to identify and provide additional protections to vulnerable people if they request access to their medical records online.
NHS England has engaged extensively with at-risk groups, professional bodies, patient groups, charities and safeguarding leads to support general practice and patients in preparing for this change safely and effectively. Communication packs have been provided to over 50 charities that support at-risk individuals. NHS Digital has published guidance in an online-only format for organisations, Supporting victims and survivors of domestic or sexual abuse, to support people when accessing their personal health information online.
Before viewing their record in the NHS App, users are advised what to do if they are being pressured to share their information. Patients can prevent access by disabling their National Health Service login with a simple online process or can ask their general practitioner (GP) for the details of specific consultations or treatment decisions to be redacted. When an individual first requests access, they cannot see information already recorded; they will only be able to access information recorded from that point onwards.
The expert safeguarding group has identified theoretical risks, which have fed into NHS England’s patient and GP communications packs and advice, messaging on the NHS App and NHS.uk and improvements made by GP IT system suppliers.
More than 23 million patients have viewed their records over nine million times, with no significant incidents relating to personal safety or security reported. Lower-level incidents, such as people finding out their diagnosis before being told by a clinician, have been reported, and some issues have been investigated and classed as low-risk and/or resolved.
NHS England continues to monitor this and would take action if an issue was identified or raised.