Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to consult with people who have rare conditions on the integration of NHS England functions into his Department.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Working under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases.
Through our public consultation on the 10 Year Plan, the Government has shown that we are committed to engaging with the public, patients, and clinicians. We are currently in the initial phases of scoping and designing a new integrated Department that aims to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our healthcare system. Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead the formation of a new joint centre. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to help ensure that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis are followed by NHS staff.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines are not mandatory, but the Government does expect healthcare commissioners to take the guidelines fully into account when designing services to meet the needs of their local population, and to work towards their implementation over time. NHS England remains committed to supporting integrated care boards to ensure equitable access and evidence-based care. This partnership will support the integration of best practices and insights to enhance service quality and consistency across the system.
There are steps that the Government is taking to improve care for patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). It is a priority for the Department to publish the final ME/CFS delivery plan by the end of June 2025. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease. The responses to the interim delivery plan consultation, along with continued close engagement with other parts of the Government, the National Health Service, and external stakeholders including the NICE, will inform the development of the final ME/CFS delivery plan.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has regular discussions with my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a whole host of issues across our brief, including myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care including ME/CFS. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on ME/CFS to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.
Together with the Medical Research Council, which is part of UK Research and Innovation, we are actively exploring the next steps for research in ME/CFS, and we will outline further research actions as part of the final ME/CFS Delivery Plan, which we aim to publish by the end of June. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease. This will outline the additional support we will offer to the research community to increase the volume and quality of applications and, therefore, increase the allocation of funding to this area.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will publish the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) Delivery Plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We aim to publish our myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), final delivery plan by the end of June 2025.
The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease. The responses to the interim delivery plan consultation, along with continued close engagement with other parts of the Government, the National Health Service, and external stakeholders, will inform the development of the final ME/CFS delivery plan.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to renew the UK Rare Diseases Framework.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government remains committed to improving the lives of people living with rare diseases and their families, and will be working with the devolved administrations this year to review what comes next following the expiry of the UK Rare Diseases Framework in 2026.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an estimate of the cost of providing free on-site parking to all NHS staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No estimate has been made of the potential parking costs on National Health Service staff. All NHS trusts that charge for hospital car parking provide free parking for those in-most need. This includes frequent outpatient attenders, parents of sick children staying overnight, blue badge holders, and NHS staff working overnight.
Data on the income from car parking charges is published annually through the NHS Estates Return Information Collection. The latest figures, from 2023/24, show that income received from patients, visitors, and staff for parking on NHS hospital sites in 2023/24 was £242,832,309. Data for the income from NHS trusts for carparking is available at the following link:
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the average time taken to carry out postmortems by pathologists ordered by a coroner in (a) the UK and (b) North Yorkshire.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has not made an estimate of the average time taken to carry out postmortems ordered by a coroner.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the number of qualified pathologists specialising in paediatric pathology (a) in total and (b) in the Scarborough Hull York Pathology Service.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made of the adequacy of the number of qualified pathologists or paediatric pathologists either across England or at the Scarborough, Hull, and York Pathology Service.
The Department is aware that workforce shortages in paediatric and perinatal pathology have led to longer turnaround times for hospital post-mortem reports in some areas of England. NHS England has therefore established a national work programme to address shortages in paediatric and perinatal pathologists. A £20,000 recruitment incentive for new trainees has been introduced, with further initiatives underway to review the training pathway, develop advanced practitioner roles, and implement a retention strategy for existing staff.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the number of qualified pathologists working (a) in total and (b) in the Scarborough Hull York Pathology Service.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made of the adequacy of the number of qualified pathologists or paediatric pathologists either across England or at the Scarborough, Hull, and York Pathology Service.
The Department is aware that workforce shortages in paediatric and perinatal pathology have led to longer turnaround times for hospital post-mortem reports in some areas of England. NHS England has therefore established a national work programme to address shortages in paediatric and perinatal pathologists. A £20,000 recruitment incentive for new trainees has been introduced, with further initiatives underway to review the training pathway, develop advanced practitioner roles, and implement a retention strategy for existing staff.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of endometriosis services in the North East.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we build a National Health Service fit for the future, and women’s equality will be at the heart of our missions. We have also taken urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan. In gynaecology, the plan supports innovative models offering patients care closer to home as well as the piloting of gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres for patients with post-menopausal bleeding.
We encourage any woman or girl with symptoms of endometriosis to contact their general practice (GP). Within the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, a GP may then refer a patient to a secondary care service, and in the Scarborough and Whitby area this will likely be to one of two services. Firstly, there is an endometriosis centre based in York Hospital, with further information available at the following link:
This is accredited by the British Society of Gynaecology Endoscopy and includes a multi-disciplinary team of experts providing high-quality, evidence-based care and treatment for people with all grades of endometriosis. Secondly, there is a Gynaecology Service at South Tees Hospital, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.southtees.nhs.uk/services/gynaecology/
This includes an endometriosis specialist, provided from James Cook University Hospital in Middlesborough, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.southtees.nhs.uk/consultants/miss-pinky-khatri/