Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of her Department's decision to exclude people aged between 66 and 69 on 1 September 2023 who do not have a severely weakened immune system in the phased roll-out of the shingles vaccination on those people.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
An assessment on the potential impact of not providing the vaccine to people aged 66 to 69 years old is not required, as they remain eligible to receive a shingles vaccination when they turn 70 years old, as they would have done prior to 1 September 2023.
The current policy offers the shingles vaccine Shingrix to anyone who turned 65 or 70 years old on or after 1 September 2023, and to anyone aged 50 years old and over who is at higher risk of serious complications as a result of having a severely weakened immune system.
This approach has been used in the effective implementation of previous immunisation programmes. Whilst some individuals may have to wait until they are eligible, the population benefit of adopting this approach is greater, meaning many individuals will receive the vaccine sooner and will benefit for longer.
The approach is modelled on the first shingles programme, optimizing achievements within the resources and capacity of the National Health Service, while being delivered alongside other important healthcare priorities, and avoiding undue additional pressure on NHS delivery services.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has approved the business case costings for the New Hospital Programme.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 25 May 2023, the Government announced that the New Hospital Programme (NHP) is expected to represent over £20 billion of capital investment for the financial year 2030/31, and that there would be a rolling programme of investment in health infrastructure in the longer term. Future spending beyond this current spending review period will be subject to the usual spending review processes.
The NHP has developed a third version of its Programme Business Case (PBC) which includes costs for the programme’s future spend. This was approved by the Department’s Joint Investment Committee on 19 February 2024. Following this approval, the PBC will go through Government assurance processes in May 2024.
Future spend will be confirmed through the usual processes of future spending reviews, and all funding allocations for specific schemes within the NHP will only be confirmed once the individual Full Business Cases have been reviewed and agreed by ministers.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
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 help ensure that specialist medical services for Tourette's Syndrome are accessible to people outside of London.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Most services for people with Tourette’s syndrome are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs) as they are best placed to plan and improve the provision of services subject to local prioritisation and funding. I know, for example, that there have been recent ICB discussions within the provider trust in Leeds related to strengthening the local offer for Tourette’s syndrome.
Nationally, the government is taking steps to alleviate workforce demands to support services for Tourette’s syndrome. This includes, increasing the number of trained clinical psychologists available. Health Education England, now merged with NHS England, supported a 60 per cent expansion in the clinical psychology training intake over the past two years.
Clinical psychologist trainees are able to undertake specialist placements focusing on Tourette’s syndrome, in addition to Tourette’s syndrome featuring as part of the broader neuropsychology curriculum.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
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 help stop disruption of the supply of (a) Ozempic, (b) Trulicity and (c) similar medicines.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While the position has improved, there continues to be a global supply issue with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA), including Trulicity (dulaglutide) and Ozempic (semaglutide). We have issued updated guidance to healthcare professionals in the form of a National Patient Safety Alert on the 3 January 2024, on how to manage patients requiring these medicines.
Our guidance is clear that GLP-1 RAs that are solely licensed to treat type 2 diabetes should only be used for that purpose, and should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss. The General Pharmaceutical Council, General Medical Council, Health and Care Professions Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland have also issued a joint statement stressing the importance of health and care professionals meeting regulatory standards in relation to these medicines.
We know how distressing and frustrating medicine supply issues can be, and the Department will continue to help in ensuring that these critical medicines reach diabetes patients. If any patient is concerned about their treatment, they should discuss this with their clinician at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
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 support patients affected by shortages of Trulicity.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While the position has improved, there continues to be a global supply issue with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA), including Trulicity (dulaglutide) and Ozempic (semaglutide). We have issued updated guidance to healthcare professionals in the form of a National Patient Safety Alert on the 3 January 2024, on how to manage patients requiring these medicines.
Our guidance is clear that GLP-1 RAs that are solely licensed to treat type 2 diabetes should only be used for that purpose, and should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss. The General Pharmaceutical Council, General Medical Council, Health and Care Professions Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland have also issued a joint statement stressing the importance of health and care professionals meeting regulatory standards in relation to these medicines.
We know how distressing and frustrating medicine supply issues can be, and the Department will continue to help in ensuring that these critical medicines reach diabetes patients. If any patient is concerned about their treatment, they should discuss this with their clinician at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
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 help ensure the supply of Trulicity.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While the position has improved, there continues to be a global supply issue with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA), including Trulicity (dulaglutide) and Ozempic (semaglutide). We have issued updated guidance to healthcare professionals in the form of a National Patient Safety Alert on the 3 January 2024, on how to manage patients requiring these medicines.
Our guidance is clear that GLP-1 RAs that are solely licensed to treat type 2 diabetes should only be used for that purpose, and should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss. The General Pharmaceutical Council, General Medical Council, Health and Care Professions Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland have also issued a joint statement stressing the importance of health and care professionals meeting regulatory standards in relation to these medicines.
We know how distressing and frustrating medicine supply issues can be, and the Department will continue to help in ensuring that these critical medicines reach diabetes patients. If any patient is concerned about their treatment, they should discuss this with their clinician at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of supporting all NHS Trusts to offer Oppositional Defiant Disorder as a diagnosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are no plans to make such an assessment. Individual diagnoses are a matter for clinicians. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence provides national clinical guidelines concerning the recognition and management of conduct disorders in children and young people, including oppositional defiant disorder. We expect clinicians, commissioners, and providers to adhere to this guidance.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
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 shortages in ADHD medications.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine shortages can be and we want to assure patients that we are working with the respective manufacturers to resolve the issues as soon as possible and to ensure patients have continuous access to medicines for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the United Kingdom, in the short and long term.
We have issued communications to the National Health Service to advise healthcare professionals on management of patients whilst there continue to be disruptions to supplies. Patients are advised to speak to their clinician regarding any concerns they have and to discuss the suitability of treatment with alternative medicines.
Disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of ADHD have been primarily driven by issues which have resulted in capacity constraints at key manufacturing sites. The Department has been working closely with the respective manufacturers and some issues have now been resolved. However, we know that there continue to be disruptions to the supply of some other medicines, which should resolve by April 2024.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to enable (a) doctors and (b) dentists from Ukraine to practice in the UK.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of all medical doctors in the United Kingdom. The GMC has introduced several measures to support applications from Ukraine including waiving application fees and working with applicants to source documents. Information about these measures is available at the following link:
The General Dental Council (GDC) is responsible for regulating dentistry qualifications and additions to the UK dental register. The GDC has advised that it is keen to support refugees with their registration applications wherever possible. Dedicated information for refugees is available at the following link:
https://www.gdc-uk.org/registration/join-the-register/information-for-refugee-dental-professionals
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she had had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of extending the funding of the Suicide Prevention Grand Fund.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No such discussions have taken place. The process for assessing all applications made to the Suicide Prevention Grant Fund is still ongoing.
The fund attracted a huge amount of interest from the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, from small, community-led organisations at local level to large national level organisations. We received over 1800 applications overall, covering a range of activities aimed at preventing suicides. We are currently assessing bids and we aim to inform applicants on whether they have been successful by the end of the year.