Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
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 the early (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of pancreatic cancer in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Department is working with NHS England to deliver interventions to improve outcomes for those with pancreatic cancer across England, including Cheshire and mid-Cheshire.
Early diagnosis is imperative to improving outcomes for all types of cancer, especially pancreatic due to the non-specific nature of its symptoms. As the first step to ensuring faster diagnosis and treatment, we will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week.
For pancreatic cancer specifically, NHS England is providing a route into pancreatic cancer surveillance for those at inherited high-risk to identify lesions before they develop into cancer. NHS England is additionally creating pathways to support faster referral routes for people with non-specific symptoms and is increasing direct access for general practitioners to diagnostic tests.
NHS England is also funding a new audit into pancreatic cancer, aiming to provide regular and timely evidence to cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, to increase the consistency of access to treatments and to stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients.
Information on the average time to diagnose pancreatic cancer in Chester, Cheshire and England is not available in the format requested.
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
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 reduce waiting times for children requiring an autism assessment in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently considering next steps to improve access to autism assessments. It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people and adults referred to an autism assessment service. In 2024/25 £4.3 million is available nationally to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services.
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to help improve access to ADHD medication.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has been working with industry to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of intensive work, some issues have been resolved. All strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available. We are working to resolve medicine supply issues, where they remain, for some strengths of methylphenidate. These are anticipated to be resolved by October 2024.
We are asking suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term.
The Department has worked with specialist clinicians to develop management advice for National Health Service clinicians to consider prescribing available alternative brands of methylphenidate prolonged release tablets. We would expect ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance to offer rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice or opinion for the management of patients, including those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.
To aid ADHD service providers and prescribers further, we have widely disseminated our communications and continually update a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website, helping ensure that those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients, which is available at the following link:
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/prescribing-available-medicines-to-treat-adhd/
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
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 tackle shortages in ADHD medications.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has been working hard with industry to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of this intensive work, some issues have been resolved. Many strengths of lisdexamfetamine and all strengths of atomoxetine capsules and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available. We are working to resolve medicine supply issues, where they remain, for some strengths of lisdexamfetamine and methylphenidate. These are anticipated to resolve by August and October 2024, respectively.
We are asking suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term.
The Department has worked with specialist clinicians to develop management advice for National Health Service clinicians, to consider prescribing available alternative brands of methylphenidate prolonged release tablets. We would expect ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance to offer rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice for the management of patients, including those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.
To aid ADHD service providers and prescribers further, we have widely disseminated our communications, and continually update a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website, helping ensure that those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/prescribing-available-medicines-to-treat-adhd/
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on producing statutory guidance under the Down Syndrome Act 2022.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently considering next steps on producing the Down syndrome statutory guidance, as required under the Down Syndrome Act 2022, and further information will be provided in due course.
Officials have engaged with stakeholders to progress the development of draft guidance. This has included the establishment of an advisory group to inform the development process, and carrying out a national call for evidence and review of the evidence to gain a better understanding of the specific needs of people with Down syndrome and how these can be met by relevant authorities. The call for evidence received over 1,500 responses, including responses from people with Down syndrome, their families and carers, professionals, organisations, and stakeholder groups representing people with genetic conditions.