Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions she has had with NHS England on ensuring that cancer is (a) diagnosed and (b) treated as quickly as possible.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department engages in ongoing discussions with NHS England, and is taking steps to reduce cancer diagnosis and treatment waiting times across England. The Government is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care, and plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity.
Recently, following ministerial approval, NHS England consolidated the cancer waiting times standards on 1 October 2023. This followed the clinically led review of standards across the National Health Service, which recommended consolidating cancer waiting times from 10 standards into three. The three standards are: the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), ensuing a maximum 28-day wait for communication of a definitive cancer or non-cancer diagnosis for patients referred urgently, or those identified by NHS cancer screening; a maximum 62-day wait to first treatment from urgent general practitioner referral, NHS cancer screening, or consultant upgrade; and a maximum 31-day wait from the decision to treat to any cancer treatment starting, for all cancer patients.
To achieve the FDS target and early diagnosis, NHS England has implemented a non-symptom specific pathway for patients who present with non-specific symptoms, or combinations of non-specific symptoms, that can indicate several different cancers, and a Best Timed Practice Pathway to ensure patients are diagnosed or told that cancer is ruled out within 28 days of an urgent referral.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many shingles cases have led to complications requiring treatment in the last five years.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) does not collect data on shingles cases that have led to complications requiring treatment. NHS England has provided the number of hospital admissions, with and without complications, from 2018/19 to 2022/23:
| 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
Total with Complications | 1,521 | 1,552 | 1,259 | 1,486 | 1,401 |
Total without Complications | 2,008 | 2,024 | 1,623 | 1,806 | 1,730 |
Grand Total | 3,529 | 3,576 | 2,882 | 3,292 | 3,131 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England
This should not be described as counts of people, however, as the same person may have more than one admission within any given time period. In addition, the UKHSA has published a paper showing the impact of the zostavax vaccine on the number of hospital admissions, which is available at the following link:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32641364/
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to introduce the shingles vaccine for adults aged over 65.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The current policy is to offer the shingles vaccine to anyone who turned 65 and 70 years old after 1 September 2023, as well as to anyone aged 50 years and older who is at higher risk of serious complications. This policy has significantly improved the already very successful programme.
People aged 66 to 69 years old on 1 September 2023, who do not have a severely weakened immune system, will become eligible for shingles vaccination when they turn 70 years old. Those with a severely weakened immune system are eligible for the shingrix vaccine from 50 years old, due to their increased risk. Anyone who is unsure if they are at higher risk of complications from shingles should speak to their general practitioner. It is important that anyone eligible takes up this offer to protect themselves.
The Government’s policy on groups eligible for the shingles vaccination programme is based on recommendations by the independent expert body, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and the scope and speed of any expansion of a programme is decided between the UK Health Security Agency, the Department, and NHS England.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing the shingles vaccine to adults aged 65 and over.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Shingrix programme was recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), to provide better and longer lasting population-level protection from a younger age than the previous Zostavax programme. The Shingrix shingles vaccination programme was introduced from September 2023, to offer two doses of the vaccine to immunocompetent individuals turning 65 and 70 years old, and severely immunosuppressed adults over 50 years old.
A cost-effectiveness review by the JCVI concluded that although the highest monetary benefit would be to provide the Shingrix vaccination at 65 years old, by offering it at 60 years old the highest number of cases would be prevented. For immunosuppressed individuals, Shingrix was determined to be cost-effective between the ages of 50 to 90 years old.
To avoid undue additional pressure on National Health Service delivery services, the Shingrix vaccine will be delivered in a phased approach over 10 years, after which the vaccine would then be offered routinely from 60 years old.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of allowing NHS patients to seek a second opinion on their (a) condition and (b) treatment.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The guidance Good Medical Practice, from the General Medical Council (GMC), sets out the standards of care and behaviour expected of all medical doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It states that doctors must recognise a patient’s right to choose whether to accept their advice, and respect a patient’s right to seek a second opinion. The GMC is an independent regulator and is responsible for operational matters, including any assessment of its policies and guidance. Managing second opinion requests is the responsibility of local National Health Service organisations.
On 21 February 2024, the Government announced that Martha’s Rule will be rolled out from April of this year, allowing at least 100 NHS trusts to introduce the rule during 2024/25, with the programme being evaluated throughout this year and next. This patient safety initiative will give NHS patients and families the right to obtain a rapid review outside of their immediate care team when a patient’s condition is thought to be deteriorating. The escalation process will be available around-the-clock to patients, families and NHS staff, and will be advertised throughout hospitals, making it quickly and easily accessible. Martha’s Rule will allow early intervention and rapid review, which may avoid harm to patients.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve diagnostic processes for foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to produce a Quality Standard in England (QS204) for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) to help the health and care system improve both diagnosis and care of those affected. As well as covering the assessment and diagnosis of FASD, the Quality Standard covers support during pregnancy to improve awareness and prevent the disorder. It was published in March 2022, and is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs204
The UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines published in 2016 provide clear advice to women not to drink alcohol if they are planning for a pregnancy or are pregnant, and these are available at the following link:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a80b7ed40f0b623026951db/UK_CMOs__report.pdf
This message is also included in the patient information leaflet recommended for use when giving brief advice to any adult identified as drinking above low risk levels, and in the National Health Service public-facing health information pages. These are available at the following links:
https://khub.net/web/phe-national/public-library/-/document_library/v2WsRK3ZlEig/view_file/377334553
https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/drinking-alcohol-while-pregnant/
The Department is currently consulting on the first ever UK clinical guidelines for alcohol treatment. The guidelines set out how maternity, alcohol treatment and other healthcare professionals should support women to reduce or stop their alcohol use as quickly and safely as possible, to reduce the ongoing exposure of the foetus to alcohol and the risk and severity of future disability. More information is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uk-clinical-guidelines-for-alcohol-treatment
Additionally, the Maternity Disparities Taskforce is currently producing a resource for pre-conception care for women from minority ethnic communities and those living in the most deprived areas. This guidance will include information on drinking in pregnancy.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve awareness of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to produce a Quality Standard in England (QS204) for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) to help the health and care system improve both diagnosis and care of those affected. As well as covering the assessment and diagnosis of FASD, the Quality Standard covers support during pregnancy to improve awareness and prevent the disorder. It was published in March 2022, and is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs204
The UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines published in 2016 provide clear advice to women not to drink alcohol if they are planning for a pregnancy or are pregnant, and these are available at the following link:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a80b7ed40f0b623026951db/UK_CMOs__report.pdf
This message is also included in the patient information leaflet recommended for use when giving brief advice to any adult identified as drinking above low risk levels, and in the National Health Service public-facing health information pages. These are available at the following links:
https://khub.net/web/phe-national/public-library/-/document_library/v2WsRK3ZlEig/view_file/377334553
https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/drinking-alcohol-while-pregnant/
The Department is currently consulting on the first ever UK clinical guidelines for alcohol treatment. The guidelines set out how maternity, alcohol treatment and other healthcare professionals should support women to reduce or stop their alcohol use as quickly and safely as possible, to reduce the ongoing exposure of the foetus to alcohol and the risk and severity of future disability. More information is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uk-clinical-guidelines-for-alcohol-treatment
Additionally, the Maternity Disparities Taskforce is currently producing a resource for pre-conception care for women from minority ethnic communities and those living in the most deprived areas. This guidance will include information on drinking in pregnancy.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure there are an adequate number of oncologists in each region.
Answered by Will Quince
There are more doctors working in clinical oncology and more radiology doctors compared to last year. On 10 January 2023, Health Education England, now NHS England, announced that nearly 900 additional medical specialty training posts have been created for this year, including 270 in the cancer and diagnostics programme. Many of the additional posts will be specifically targeted to tackle health inequalities and ensure training places are distributed fairly to best meet patients’ needs in all parts of England.
In 2023/24, NHS England is funding an expansion of cancer and diagnostics specialists, including additional medical training places for clinical/medical oncology, radiology, histopathology, and gastroenterology.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department has provided to NHS trusts to help ensure that non-invasive cancer treatments take place before patients’ conditions worsen.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Health Service continues to increase investment in minimally invasive cancer therapies and radiotherapy and chemotherapy services. Since April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines has sat with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 Spending Review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the NHS from 2022 to 2025.
In the 2023/24 Operational Planning Guidance, NHS England announced that it is providing over £390 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances in each of the next two years to support delivery of the strategy and the operational priorities for cancer, which includes increasing and prioritising diagnostic and treatment capacity for cancer.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to provide support to hospices for end-of-life care units.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As stated in the Health and Care Act 2022, integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative and end of life care services, which may include services delivered by independent charitable hospices such as end of life care units, in response to the needs of their local population. ICBs determine the distribution of this funding according to local need, including to providers such as hospices.