Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she has taken to support (a) research into and (b) treatment of heart disease in (i) England and (ii) Romford constituency.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department supports research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including those relating to heart disease. Over the past five financial years, the NIHR has spent over £64 million on heart-disease related research projects. In addition, the NIHR infrastructure provides clinical expertise, specialist facilities, workforce, and support services to support research across a range of clinical areas, including heart disease.
The Be Part of Research campaign makes it easier for people to find out about, and take part in, health and care research. Currently, there are seven high quality studies related to heart and circulation, which are being supported by the NIHR and are within five miles of Romford.
The NHS Long Term Plan sets out that by 2028 the proportion of patients accessing cardiac rehabilitation will be amongst the best in Europe, with up to 85% of those eligible accessing care. This will prevent up to 23,000 premature deaths and 50,000 acute admissions over 10 years. The NHS Health Check programme is a core component of England's cardiovascular diseases prevention pathway. Over 15 million people are eligible for an NHS Health Check every five years, and it delivers 1.3 million checks a year, preventing an estimated 500 heart attacks and strokes.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she has taken to support (a) research into and (b) treatment of sickle cell disease in (i) England and (ii) Romford constituency.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We’re working hard to support research, and provide the best possible care to those living with sickle cell disease (SCD) across the country. The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Over the past five financial years, the NIHR has invested more than £8 million in funding and support for SCD research.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is the largest provider of apheresis services, a blood transfusion used to treat SCD. NHSBT will be delivering projects over the next 12 months that will increase both nursing capacity and the physical space in which apheresis occurs. We are also working to increase Ro subtype blood donation numbers, the blood type used to treat SCD, identify opportunities to improve clinical pathways, and deliver world-leading treatments, such as the new blood matching genetic test announced by NHS England earlier this year, which will reduce the risk of side effects and offer more personalised care.
NHS England’s Chief Executive Officer has committed to improving the treatment and outcomes of patients with SCD, and has commissioned a Sickle Cell Pathway Quality Improvement work package. A quality improvement review of existing processes has led to a range of improvements including awareness, education, and training of both patients and professionals.
The National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme (HiQiP) has recently introduced a number of initiatives as part of the wider aim of tackling inequalities for people living with SCD. This includes: piloting of urgent and emergency department bypass units in London and Manchester, which will ensure people with SCD with an uncomplicated vaso-occlusive crisis are assessed and given pain relief in a timely manner; the provision of a credit card sized Sickle Cell Alert Card to all people with SCD, to alert medical and clinical staff that the carrier is a registered SCD patient and that they should be managed as a medical emergency; a London wide commissioning for the design and upload of a patient care record onto an interoperable digital platform which, when fully operational, will give clinicians and medical personnel in different regions access to a patient’s personalised care and analgesia record, removing ambiguity on effective treatment; and several products to support the above, including a communications campaign to raise awareness of existing NHS England arrangements to support people with SCD to save money on the costs of regular prescriptions, as well as the Can you tell it's Sickle Cell campaign and an e-learning module, both from NHS England. Further information on the Can you tell it's Sickle Cell campaign and the e-learning module is available respectively, at the following links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/2022/06/nhs-launches-lifesaving-sickle-cell-campaign/
https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/health-inequalities/
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if her Department will take steps to encourage the England-wide roll-out of the drug Enhertu to aid the treatment of people with breast cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits.
The NICE published guidance in 2021 and 2023 recommending Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) for the treatment of NHS patients with HER2-positive breast cancer through the Cancer Drugs Fund, and it is now available to eligible NHS patients in line with the NICE’s recommendations.
The NICE is currently evaluating Enhertu for the treatment of metastatic HER2-low breast cancer, and published final draft guidance on 5 March 2024 that does not recommend it as a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources. Stakeholders have until 19 March 2024 to lodge an appeal against the NICE’s recommendations. The NICE currently expects to publish final guidance on 3 April 2024.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to improve the capacity of the Accident and Emergency department of Queen’s Hospital Romford.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services aims to increase capacity and improve accident and emergency wait times, so that 76% of patients are seen within four hours, by March 2024.
The management of specific accident and emergency services is a decision for local National Health Service commissioners and providers. In making these decisions they will take into account the needs of their local populations and make the best use of available resource to maximise patient outcomes. A surgical assessment unit recently opened at Queen’s Hospital Romford, which should increase capacity and reduce accident and emergency wait times.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she has taken to work with (a) the NHS and (b) other stakeholders to help improve the prognoses of people living with metastasized lung cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England meet regularly to discuss a wide range of issues regarding cancer. The Department's ministers and officials also frequently meet with key stakeholders within the cancer community.
The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership commissions, develops, and manages the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme, on behalf of NHS England, Wales, and other devolved administrations. The programme includes 10 funded cancer audits, including in lung cancer, which were established in 2004. The audit aims to improve standards across the National Health Service for patients with lung cancer.
The NHS Long Term Plan states that, where appropriate, every person diagnosed with cancer will have access to personalised care, including needs assessment, a care plan, and health and wellbeing information and support. This is being delivered in line with the NHS Comprehensive Model for Personalised Care, empowering people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer, and maximise the potential of digital and community-based support. Every patient with cancer is getting a full assessment of their needs, an individual care plan, and information and support for their wider health and wellbeing.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she has taken to support (a) research into and (b) treatment of lung cancer caused by mutations in the TP53, EGFR, and KRAS genes.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Since 2018/19 the NIHR has invested more than £44 million in funding and support for lung cancer research.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including lung cancer caused by genetic mutations. As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including scientific potential, and the number and scale of successful funding applications.
The NIHR also supports the delivery, in the health and care system, of lung cancer research funded by research funding partners in the charity and public sectors. Since 2018/19 the NIHR Clinical Research Network has supported over 400 lung cancer research studies.
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, including for all lung cancers. The focus on improving cancer treatment includes supporting advances in radiotherapy using cutting-edge imaging and technology to help target radiation doses at cancer cells more precisely.
The Department is supporting the National Health Service to roll out innovative lung cancer treatments, offered through the Cancer Drugs Fund and approved by the National Institute of Care and Excellence. Sotorasib was made available from March 2022 to target the kirsten rat sarcoma virus genetic mutation. Mobocertinib has been made available as treatment options for patients with the epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutation.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she has taken to work with (a) the NHS and (b) other stakeholders to increase earlier cancer diagnoses.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving early diagnosis of cancer remains a priority for NHS England and the Government. NHS England is working towards the NHS Long Term Plan’s ambition of diagnosing 75% of stageable cancers at stage one and two by 2028. The latest published data shows this was 54% between January to December 2021. Achieving this ambition will mean that, from 2028, 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis. Ministers and officials from the Department regularly meet with NHS England and other stakeholders, to discuss progress towards the ambition.
NHS England’s comprehensive Early Diagnosis strategy is based on six core strands of activity, from raising awareness of cancer symptoms and encouraging people to come forward, to implementing targeted interventions for particular cancer types that we know have previously experienced later stages of diagnosis.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS has sufficient doses of measles vaccines.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are sufficient doses of the measles mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for the National Health Service immunisation programme in England. The UK Health Security Agency is responsible for the MMR vaccine supply across the United Kingdom, and there is sufficient supply for all of the UK, including for ongoing catch-up efforts.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to prevent the selling of prescription drugs online without requiring a prescription.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the regulator in the United Kingdom for human medicines and is responsible for enforcing the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, which are available at the following link:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1916/contents/made
The MHRA has identified the illegal sale and supply of human medicines as a global challenge. This includes the sale of prescription drugs without a prescription from unregulated sources. Criminal gangs, often based overseas, advertise medicines through illicit websites resembling those of legitimate pharmacies, while others exploit online marketplaces or sell social media platforms.
The MHRA has a dedicated Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) that works with partners across the Government, policing to prevent and disrupt this illegal trade and to bring to justice those involved. The CEU monitors online channels for evidence of illegal activity and takes proportionate regulatory action. This includes using the full range of the Agency’s powers to investigate and prosecute offenders where necessary and appropriate. The unit also works to remove illegally trading websites and remove criminal profits from offenders. Through its #FakeMeds communications campaign the MHRA also provides quick and easy tools to help the public avoid buying illegally traded medicines when they shop online.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 help support people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To support the provision of optimal support for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological conditions, NHS England has established the Neuroscience Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme aimed at improving specialised adult neuroscience services in England and developing a new model of integrated care for neurology services.
The Neuroscience Transformation Programme seeks to support emerging regional teams in addition to Integrated Care Systems in the National Health Service, through establishing a ‘what good looks like’ for specialised neuroscience services for a local population.
NHS England has also established the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) national programme, which is designed to improve the treatment and care of patients through in-depth, clinically led review of specialties to examine how things are currently being done and how they could be improved.
The GIRFT National Specialty Report on Neurology, published in September 2021, focuses on improving access to care and ensuring services are available close to patients’ homes where feasible. The report highlights differences in how services are delivered and highlights examples of local good practice to improve patient services nationally.
NHS systems should also continue to implement the guidance set out in the Progressive Neurological Conditions RightCare Toolkit, which was developed in collaboration with key stakeholders such as the MS Trust and the MS Society. The Toolkit supports improvements to pathways for progressive neurological patients, ensuring that commissioners focus on quicker and more accurate diagnoses and increasing the availability of neurorehabilitation, reablement, and psychosocial support.