Medical Technology Regulations and the NHS

Andrew Gwynne Excerpts

Tuesday 28th March 2023 Westminster Hall

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure, as always, to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Gary, especially now that this radiator down at my ankles is working. It is also a pleasure to contribute on behalf of the Labour Front Bench in this important debate.

I commend the way in which the hon. Member for Gosport (Dame Caroline Dinenage) presented the case for medical technology. She is absolutely right, because whether it is diagnostic or surgical devices or the digital tools that assist us in making healthcare more accessible, medical technology underpins much of the work that the NHS does. It is also, as has been highlighted in this debate, a key contributor to the UK economy. Medtech generates an annual turnover of over £27 billion and provides around 138,000 jobs. The importance of supporting and, indeed, turbocharging this sector cannot be overstated.

Labour has been clear that it wants to see Britain leading medical science and technology on the world stage. That ambition will be at the heart of our 10-year plan for change and modernisation, which will revolutionise care in this country, transforming our healthcare system from one that just treats the symptoms of illness to one that addresses the root cause of ill health. Imagine a country where we could get out into communities and harness new technology to spot cancer cases early or support individuals at potential risk of developing rare diseases—a country where, using genomics, we do not just treat illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease, but predict and prevent those conditions.

All that might sound a little far-fetched or sci-fi, but the technology to do it exists in British laboratories and research centres today, and it is ready and waiting to be realised fully. It is therefore extremely welcome that the Government have finally published their medical technology strategy. That is an important step in better utilising this sector, but it must be followed up by concrete action. Crucially, it must come alongside targeted work to reduce waiting times and the elective care backlog. I note that the strategy states that medtech will help the NHS to use

“fewer resources…through informing effective healthcare purchasing, championing sustainability, embracing innovative technology and improving health data”.

I do not disagree. We must maximise the use of medtech across the NHS. It is not a party political point; it is a common sense one for the future.

For medtech to realise its full potential, we need staff—an area on which the Government have had little to say. I am hoping that something will come in the weeks ahead. In fact, the Government have the opportunity to nick Labour’s workforce strategy; they did not do it in the spring Budget, but I am sure the Minister is on the case.

Put simply, there is no one silver bullet to solve the crisis in our NHS—we need a whole-system approach—but medtech has a massive role to play in the future. What does a whole-system approach mean? It means giving the NHS the tools, staff and reform it needs to survive. Without all three, we will not be able to rebuild our health system, which is sadly under enormous pressure right now.

With regard to the strategy, I would appreciate some clarity on a few points from the Minister in his response. The first relates to the adoption routes for new technologies. The Health Tech Alliance estimates that it takes approximately 17 years for a device to be adopted into the NHS. The Government strategy mentions adoption rates, but it is relatively light on detail. If new technology is safe and effective, we should be doing everything we can to get it into the hands of NHS clinicians. What further work is he planning to undertake in that respect, and will he provide more detail on how he plans to improve technology adoption rates?

I will touch on regulatory requirements, which the hon. Member for Gosport mentioned, and the speed with which we get new treatments to patients. Last year, we had an agonising to and fro over the pre-exposure prophylaxis Evusheld. The drug was designed to protect those who are acutely vulnerable to covid-19 and still shielding, but the process for approving it for use in the NHS took far too long. By the time the drug had been fully reviewed, it no longer responded as effectively to covid variants, and it was therefore not recommended for use.

NICE recognised that fact in recently published guidance, and it has committed to developing a new review process to streamline approval for covid-19 treatments. Has the Minister had any discussions with NICE on the timeline of that process, and what action is he taking to ensure that future safe and effective treatments and technologies do not face similar regulatory delays? Similarly, with unwelcome reports that the antivirals taskforce is being wound up at the end of this week, what steps is he taking to ensure that suitable provision of those essential treatments continues?

Finally, I will press the Minister on small and medium-sized enterprises. A recent study found that up to 24% of UK-based health tech SMEs are now looking to launch their innovations outside the United Kingdom. That would be a travesty, and I am sure it concerns him as much as it concerns me, the hon. Member for Gosport and the SNP spokesperson, the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (Martyn Day). The UK should be empowering home-grown tech, not missing out on it because of neglect and miscommunication. Despite the problem, the medical technology strategy made little reference to SMEs, aside from saying that the Government would support improved management of SMEs and upskilling of workers. That is just not good enough for companies that make up 85% of the medtech sector.

What more is the Minister doing to ensure that SMEs are sufficiently supported to launch their innovative new products here in the United Kingdom? I appreciate that he will be required to work across Departments to ensure that this growing sector, which has so much potential to grow further, is as supported as we would expect. What more can be done to streamline the regulatory processes that many SMEs are grappling with?

To close, we need to ensure that Governments of whatever political colours are not too slow to harness the medical technology sector. If we are, ultimately it is patients—the people we are sent here to represent as Members of Parliament—who pay the price. We need to build an NHS that is fit for the future, where patients are seen on time and technology is employed to tackle ill health and inequalities. That is something that I and the Labour party support, and I suspect the Government will say they support it too. Let us just get on with it.