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Written Question
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Drugs
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

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 give patients access to information on stock levels of ADHD medication at high street pharmacies; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of giving patients access to the Medicines Supply Tool.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There were 10,558 community pharmacies in England on 29 February 2024, including 405 distance selling pharmacies. These contractors are independent private businesses contracted to provide services within the National Health Service. While the Department does not monitor their stock levels, it does have a role in managing supply at a national level to help ensure stocks are available from manufacturers to meet demand from patients across the country. We are often made aware of supply issues. Thankfully the vast majority can be managed with no impact to patients.

We work with the industry, the NHS, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and others working across the supply chain to manage issues and we provide guidance for health care professionals about medicines that are experiencing supply issues on how to manage patients during a disruption where necessary.

The Medicine Supply Tool is designed to provide information and guidance for healthcare professionals, rather than members of the public. However, a public-facing page on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medicine supply is available at the following link:

https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/prescribing-available-medicines-to-treat-adhd/

Any patient who is worried about the supply of their medication should speak to their clinician, in the first instance.


Written Question
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Drugs
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the availability of information about stock levels of ADHD medication by high street pharmacies; and what steps is she taking to help ensure patients can identify pharmacies with stocks of their prescription.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There were 10,558 community pharmacies in England on 29 February 2024, including 405 distance selling pharmacies. These contractors are independent private businesses contracted to provide services within the National Health Service. While the Department does not monitor their stock levels, it does have a role in managing supply at a national level to help ensure stocks are available from manufacturers to meet demand from patients across the country. We are often made aware of supply issues. Thankfully the vast majority can be managed with no impact to patients.

We work with the industry, the NHS, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and others working across the supply chain to manage issues and we provide guidance for health care professionals about medicines that are experiencing supply issues on how to manage patients during a disruption where necessary.

The Medicine Supply Tool is designed to provide information and guidance for healthcare professionals, rather than members of the public. However, a public-facing page on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medicine supply is available at the following link:

https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/prescribing-available-medicines-to-treat-adhd/

Any patient who is worried about the supply of their medication should speak to their clinician, in the first instance.


Written Question
Estradiol
Wednesday 6th March 2024

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

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 resolve supply chain issues for Estradot patches; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on such supplies.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are over 70 hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products licensed for supply in the United Kingdom. There have been issues with the supply of a limited number of HRT products, primarily due to very sharp increases in demand, but the supply position has improved considerably over the last year, following intensive work with industry. We have held roundtables, and continue to do so, with suppliers, wholesalers, and community pharmacists to discuss the challenges they are facing, and what needs to be done to address them.

Intermittent supply issues were affecting estradot patches, which resulted in the use of a Serious Shortage Protocol, to allow pharmacists to supply an alternative brand of estradiol patches where estradot patches were not available. However, the issues have now been resolved and supplies should be available. We are continuing to engage closely with the supplier to monitor the supply position and drive action.


Written Question
Estradiol
Wednesday 6th March 2024

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the supply of Estradot patches for women with menopausal symptoms.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are over 70 hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products licensed for supply in the United Kingdom. There have been issues with the supply of a limited number of HRT products, primarily due to very sharp increases in demand, but the supply position has improved considerably over the last year, following intensive work with industry. We have held roundtables, and continue to do so, with suppliers, wholesalers, and community pharmacists to discuss the challenges they are facing, and what needs to be done to address them.

Intermittent supply issues were affecting estradot patches, which resulted in the use of a Serious Shortage Protocol, to allow pharmacists to supply an alternative brand of estradiol patches where estradot patches were not available. However, the issues have now been resolved and supplies should be available. We are continuing to engage closely with the supplier to monitor the supply position and drive action.


Written Question
Menopause: Mental Health Services
Tuesday 5th March 2024

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the average waiting time for cognitive behavioural therapy for women with menopausal symptoms in London.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Improving care and support for menopause is a priority in the Women’s Health Strategy. It is important that all women experiencing the menopause have access to information and options to enable them to choose the best care to suit them. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines currently recommend that that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be recommended for low mood or anxiety that arises as a result of the menopause.

CBT is offered as part of the NHS Talking Therapies services. The latest data for NHS Talking Therapies in the London region shows that 35,410 females, including trans women, accessed National Health Service funded treatment during the period from October to December 2023. Of these, 91% completing treatment waited less than six weeks for their first appointment, against a target of 75%, and 98% completing treatment waited less than 18 weeks, against a target of 95%. Data is not collected separately for CBT, which is one type of talking therapy. Data is also not collected separately for females with menopausal symptoms. This data is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-talking-therapies-monthly-statistics-including-employment-advisors/performance-december-2023-and-quarter-3-2023-24-data


Written Question
Infant Foods: Inflation
Monday 29th January 2024

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of inflation on the cost of formula milk.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) published a report in November 2023 named ‘Price inflation and competition in food and grocery manufacturing and supply’, which included an assessment on infant formula. It found that between March 2021 and April 2023, the price of infant formula had grown beyond the increased input costs to manufacturers. The report is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/price-inflation-and-competition-in-food-and-grocery-manufacturing-and-supply

The CMA has committed to publishing a further report examining infant formula in more detail later this year, and Departmental officials continue to engage with the CMA.


Written Question
Infant Foods: Competition and Markets Authority
Monday 29th January 2024

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Competition and Markets Authority on the baby formula market.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) published a report in November 2023 named ‘Price inflation and competition in food and grocery manufacturing and supply’, which included an assessment on infant formula. It found that between March 2021 and April 2023, the price of infant formula had grown beyond the increased input costs to manufacturers. The report is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/price-inflation-and-competition-in-food-and-grocery-manufacturing-and-supply

The CMA has committed to publishing a further report examining infant formula in more detail later this year, and Departmental officials continue to engage with the CMA.


Written Question
IVF
Thursday 18th January 2024

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data her Department holds on the number and proportion of integrated care boards offering three full cycles of IVF in line with NICE guidelines as of 9 January 2023.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

As part of the first-year commitments in the Women’s Health Strategy, the Government published our in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) transparency tool on GOV.UK in July 2023. This tool compiles published integrated care board (ICB) policies on their local fertility treatment offer to keep track nationally of implementation progress.

From the data compiled from published ICB commissioning policy statements, currently three out of 42 ICBs provide three full IVF cycles in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence fertility guidelines.


Written Question
Fertility: Medical Treatments
Tuesday 16th January 2024

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many individual funding requests for (a) IVF and (b) other fertility treatment have been (i) made and (ii) approved in each of the last five years.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

This information is not held centrally.


Written Question
Fertility: Medical Treatments
Monday 15th January 2024

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Women's Health Strategy for England, published on 30 August 2022, what progress she has made in delivering the ambitions on fertility treatment.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards (ICBs) and are based on the clinical needs of their local population. We expect these organisations to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, ensuring equal access to fertility treatment across England.

The Women’s Health Strategy was published on 20 July 2022 and contained several important changes and future ambitions to improve the variations in access to National Health Service-funded fertility services. We have set out our long-term ambition to end the postcode lottery in NHS-funded in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). NICE is currently reviewing the fertility guidelines and we expect the review to be published late in 2024.

We expect ICBs to be improving their broad offer to fertility patients in anticipation of implementing the new NICE guidelines. As part of the strategy’s commitments, NHS England will be assessing fertility provision across ICBs, with a view to removing non-clinical access criteria and assessing the challenge of implementing the new guidelines.

As part of the first-year commitments in the Women’s Health Strategy, the Government published an IVF transparency tool on GOV.UK in July 2023. This tool compiles published ICB policies on their local fertility treatment offer to keep track nationally of implementation progress and inform patients about comparative offers across ICBs.