Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Tuesday 11th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jeremy Hunt]

I will tell the hon. Lady what this Government have done. We have legislated for parity of esteem for mental health. We are treating 1,400 more people every single day for mental health conditions compared with six years ago. We have a new plan that will see 1 million more people treated every year by 2020, including a transformation of child and adolescent mental health services. That is possible because we are putting into the NHS extra money that her party refused to commit to.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

T9. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Government have a moral obligation to end the raid on poorer countries for their skilled doctors and nurses and to make our NHS recruitment more self-sufficient?

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I find it extraordinary that the Labour party said that our plan to train more doctors was “nonsense”. We currently have 800 doctors in the NHS from Sri Lanka, 600 from Nigeria, 400 from Sudan and 200 from Myanmar. They are doing a brilliant job and I want them to continue doing that job, but we have to ask ourselves whether it is ethical for us to continue to recruit doctors from much poorer countries that really need their skills.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Tuesday 5th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

We have accepted that, which is why in our manifesto at the last election we were committed to putting £5.5 billion more into the NHS than was being promised by the hon. Gentleman’s party, but we have to live within the country’s financial envelope, because we know that without a strong economy we will not have a strong NHS. We will continue to make sure we get that balance right.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

T5. In May, the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Jane Ellison), gave me a very encouraging answer about improving the treatment and diagnosis of Lyme disease. Will she meet me and other concerned colleagues to discuss what more can be done to tackle that terrible condition?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Jane Ellison)]

I am pleased to report that the commissioning of the systematic reviews of the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease, which I mentioned at that time, is under way. We expect that work to start in the autumn, and the researchers will approach relevant stakeholders. Once that work is under way, I would be happy to organise a meeting for colleagues at which the experts leading it can brief them further.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Tuesday 10th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[George Freeman]

My hon. Friend makes a really interesting point. It goes to the heart of the work that we are doing at the moment with CCGs, in terms of use of data to map and track prescribing practice across the system. I will happily pick up the point about ensuring that biosimilars are incorporated in that.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

4. What progress has been made on improving diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Jane Ellison)]

Lyme disease is a complex infection, so we recognise that there are real challenges in diagnosis and treatment. In the light of this, I am pleased to say that the Department plans to commission three reviews on the diagnosis, treatment and transmission of Lyme disease to inform future decision making.

[Andrew Stephenson]

A constituent in Earby was struck down with a debilitating illness several years ago, which has totally destroyed her quality of life. Since then, I have been visiting her regularly at home every few months, as she has fought to get a diagnosis. Over recent months, all the evidence has started to point towards Lyme disease, but there seems to be precious little support out there for people with this condition. What more can my hon. Friend do to support constituents like mine?

[Jane Ellison]

In addition to the reviews that the chief scientific adviser is overseeing, we have commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to develop a new evidence-based guideline for care, specifically to respond to the sort of situation that my hon. Friend describes with his constituent. That is for publication in 2018 and it is being prioritised because of the interest in this area.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd March 2016 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

1. What progress has been made on improving cancer survival rates.

[Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

11. What progress has been made on improving cancer survival rates.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Jane Ellison)]

Before I answer the questions, may I start by saying that I am sure the thoughts of the whole House are with the people of Brussels today after the shocking events that they have witnessed? As the Prime Minister made clear this morning, we will do all we can to support them.

Cancer survival rates are at a record high. We are on track to save an estimated 12,000 more lives a year for people diagnosed between 2011 and 2015, but we know that we need to strive to be better. The independent cancer taskforce report, “Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes”, which was published last summer, recommends improvements across the cancer pathway and sets a clear ambition for further improvement of survival rates.

[Andrew Stephenson]

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer, and I associate myself with her comments about the terrorist outrage in Brussels.

As my hon. Friend may be aware, the Rosemere cancer foundation has been fundraising for a new chemotherapy unit at Burnley general hospital, which will be a huge boost for cancer patients in my area. Because of the huge generosity of Pendle residents, Rosemere has already raised £90,000 towards its target of £100,000. Will she join me in congratulating Rosemere on its efforts and encouraging residents to help it to meet its full target?

[Jane Ellison]

Absolutely. It is a delight to associate myself with my hon. Friend’s support for that excellent local group. The Rosemere cancer foundation supports world-class cancer treatment throughout Lancashire and south Cumbria. Around 4,000 chemotherapy treatments are delivered each year at Burnley general hospital, and the new unit will be of real benefit to local cancer patients from my hon. Friend’s constituency—for which, as he knows, I have great affection—and from the surrounding area.

NHS Trusts: Finances

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Monday 1st February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Ben Gummer]

No. I cannot assure the hon. Gentleman that we will stop trying to find efficiencies across the NHS. The important thing is to make sure that we channel money right to the frontline, which means doing so in his hospital, as in others. It will sometimes mean finding efficiencies in individual trusts and commissioning groups, and making sure that the money is rediverted. I should say to the hon. Gentleman that the problems at Addenbrooke’s go much further than A&E. The hospital is in special measures and there is much to put right. I am confident that that will be managed, under the stewardship of the new chief executive, who has proven himself to be excellent.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

Will my hon. Friend the Minister thank the Secretary of State for supporting calls for extra investment in Burnley general hospital? The additional £15.6 million committed last year for a phase 8 development at Burnley general will create a state-of-the-art ophthalmology unit and allow the hospital to centralise all out-patients in one location. Following the new £9 million urgent care centre, this is the latest boost for our local hospital, which lost its accident and emergency department and other key services under the previous Labour Government.

[Ben Gummer]

The reality, as my hon. Friend recounts in relation to his own constituency, is that satisfaction in the NHS is at near-record levels, and that dissatisfaction in the NHS is at record lows. We rank No. 1 in the Commonwealth Fund rankings of hospital and health systems across the world. Far from the picture painted by Opposition Members, the fact is that people feel the NHS is getting better. There is increasing proof that the NHS is safe in the hands of the Conservative party, and it will continue to be so for the next five years.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Tuesday 5th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

Does the Minister agree that clamping down on expensive temporary agency staff is an important step in helping to sort out the NHS and allowing it to balance the books?

[Ben Gummer]

My hon. Friend is entirely right, and we are already having an impact. We had to bring in the requirement for safer staffing rotas because of the catastrophe at Mid Staffs and the need to try to staff hospitals better, and that had an immediate consequence which called for agency workers. Unfortunately, some companies have taken advantage of that situation, but we have introduced measures to stop that and are already having an impact across the service.

Junior Doctors’ Contracts

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Wednesday 28th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Heidi Alexander]

My hon. Friend is completely right. The lack of clarity in all these negotiations is something that I will come on to later.

The truth is that if the Secretary of State wanted to persuade junior doctors that industrial action is not the answer, he has the power to do so; it is his political choice.

Junior doctors are the lifeblood of the NHS. Two weeks ago, I spent a morning shadowing a junior doctor at Lewisham hospital. It was the single most powerful thing I have done since taking on this role. I was blown away by the skills, knowledge, humanity and professionalism I saw. The junior doctor I shadowed was working a gruelling 11-hour night shift and regularly works 60-hour weeks. I left the hospital asking myself how it could possibly be right to say to that individual, “You might be paid less for the work that you do.”

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

I think we would all join the hon. Lady in her glowing tributes to our tireless junior doctors, working long hours across the NHS. Considering that not a penny is planned to be cut from the junior doctors’ pay bill, does she not agree that it is irresponsible for the BMA to suggest there will be pay cuts of 30% to 40% for some doctors?

[Heidi Alexander]

As I have already said, there is absolutely no clarity. The hon. Gentleman might do well to read the article that appeared in The Guardian on 4 October, written by the former Health Minister, who quite clearly states that he has concerns about the fact that the new contract might be used as a lever to find some of the £22 billion of efficiency savings that the NHS needs to find over the next few years.

Secondary Breast Cancer

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Wednesday 21st October 2015 Westminster Hall

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. He is making a powerful case—a case that has also been made to me by my constituent Jade Braithwaite from Colne, whose mother sadly lost her life to secondary breast cancer. Given that it is already mandatory for hospitals to collect the data on secondary breast cancer, does he agree that it is absolutely shocking how few data we currently have?

[Craig Tracey]

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I am coming on to that point now—well anticipated! As I said, it is surprising that we do not have accurate figures and it is therefore difficult to plan and commission effectively. That is acutely demonstrated in the lack of specialist nurses and poor access to palliative care, which both Breast Cancer Care and the secondary breast cancer taskforce first raised in 2008.

In 2010, Breast Cancer Care, along with other breast cancer charities and the APPG, met the Prime Minister to discuss the issue. He agreed that data collection was necessary and committed to achieving that. As a result, in the 2011 cancer strategy, “Improving Outcomes”, there was a commitment to collecting data for the first time. It stated:

“During 2011/12 we will pilot the collection of data on recurrence/metastasis on patients with breast cancer with the aim of undertaking full collection from April 2012.”

The pilot was run by the National Cancer Intelligence Network, the NCIN, in collaboration with Breast Cancer Care, and it involved 15 breast cancer units across England. The pilot report published in March 2012 identified 598 patients with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer. Of those, only 53% were recorded as having been referred to a clinical nurse specialist, palliative care nurse or specialist keyworker at the time of diagnosis. The pilot recommended that all breast cancer units in England submit data on patients with recurrent and metastatic breast cancer using the existing data collection mechanisms, and in January 2013 that was made mandatory in all new diagnoses recorded in England. Unfortunately, the data have yet to be published, and I understand that hospitals are not collecting them consistently. Indeed, a report was due to be published by the NCIN on the topic earlier this year but, disappointingly, it has been repeatedly delayed.

An investigation with health professionals by Breast Cancer Care into why data are not being collected consistently revealed that many of the barriers lie in the practicalities. Time constraints mean that there is often not enough time to input data manually, because patients’ needs, rightly, come first. Structural constraints were cited. Many of the data are expected to be collected through discussion at the multidisciplinary team meeting, but healthcare professionals tell us that most secondary patients are not discussed at MDT level. I welcome the recommendation in the new cancer strategy to review the role and function of the MDT in relation to secondary cancers. IT constraints cause further problems, because online record forms are not set up to collect the data in the cancer outcomes and services dataset, and there is a lack of access to online systems in some hospitals, especially in tertiary centres outside main hospital sites. Finally, there is a lack of awareness about what data are required and confusion about who is responsible for inputting various data items.

Leadership is required to help to drive robust data collection in all hospitals, and we want the Minister, who has responsibility for public health, to make that a priority and lead the way in ensuring that data are collected in every hospital. The new cancer strategy, “Achieving world-class cancer outcomes”, which was published earlier this year, includes a recommendation that data should be collected on all secondary cancer patients. We urgently need the implementation of the plan for how that will happen. In theory, as I have said, breast cancer data should be submitted through the COSD, which replaced the previous national cancer dataset in January 2013 as the new national standard for reporting cancer data in the NHS in England. It has the potential to provide a much broader overview of the treatment, care and outcomes of secondary breast cancer patients. Unless that happens consistently across England, however, we will not see the data that we need to improve care.

Cities and Local Government Devolution [Lords] Bill

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Wednesday 21st October 2015 Commons Chamber

[James Wharton]

The hon. Gentleman will recognise from the quote by the Chancellor that I just read out that where areas want significant devolution on the scale that Greater Manchester has and where they have metropolitan areas at their heart, the Government will ask for that requirement to be part of that deal process. However, nothing in this Bill will allow the Government to compel any area to have a mayor or to have devolution. This is an enabling piece of legislation. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that in the deal that we are discussing with the leadership in the north-east area—all of it from his party—there is that expectation and requirement, and it is a deal on which great progress is being made.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

This point was covered very well on Second Reading. My hon. Friend may remember the speech of my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham) about who is in charge. Many members of the public cannot answer the question about who is in charge of their area. If we are devolving significant powers, surely it is right and proper that we have one person who is accountable to the people in that area.

[James Wharton]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. If we want to drive forward the opportunities that devolution presents, the best model to use in many areas is that of metro mayor. We will have an answer to the question: who do I ring when I want to speak to the north-east, to Tees Valley and to Manchester? We will have a person who can bring together those opportunities and drive the potential that this devolution agenda delivers.

--- Later in debate ---

[James Wharton]

My hon. Friend pre-empts what I was coming on to say. He is, of course, absolutely right, and is perhaps more generous than I would be inclined to be when he says that there is only “some” confusion on the shadow Front-Bench. He makes an important and relevant point—one that I intend to develop in my later remarks this afternoon.

[Andrew Stephenson]

I appreciate the Minister’s confirmation that nothing will be imposed on any area where it is not wanted. However, in areas where it is wanted and councils want to come together to get powers devolved from Westminster to their areas, does my hon. Friend agree that it is important to have a single person who can be held accountable by the public for those new powers and new responsibilities?

Cancer Drugs

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Tuesday 20th October 2015 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon]

I am unable to answer that question effectively and honestly. I know that question will be brought to the attention of the Minister back home and the Minister here will have a response to it. Today’s debate highlights the issue and raises awareness. We have concerns about the long waiting list. As the hon. Member for South Down (Ms Ritchie) said, we need diagnoses early—the earlier the better. I find it frustrating when I hear from some of my constituents who might wait 12 weeks for a diagnosis and perhaps longer for treatment. We need to address that.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

I join other hon. Members in congratulating the hon. Gentleman on securing the debate. I agree with the point that he is making about the availability of cancer drugs across the United Kingdom. Does he agree with me that the environment in which patients are treated is also important? Will he join me in congratulating my local hospital trust, East Lancashire Hospitals, on its commitment to build a new cancer unit at Burnley general hospital with the support of the Rosemere Cancer Foundation?

[Jim Shannon]

As the hon. Gentleman says, there are many good examples across the whole United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, where things are done well. We thank the doctors and nurses, who work energetically, and the many charities.

The national target for accessing these life-changing drugs is 19 weeks. The move in Northern Ireland will go a long way towards enabling the health service there to reach that target. My hon. Friend the Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) was correct that we need to focus on that target. Each day in Northern Ireland, 23 people are diagnosed with cancer and 11 people die of it. According to Cancer Research UK, there were 331,487 new cases of cancer in 2011 and 161,823 deaths from cancer in 2012. That tells us a wee bit about the magnitude of cancer and its importance to every person in the whole United Kingdom. More should be done but I can only welcome the recent developments in the Province. I hope that other areas of the country can follow suit by freeing up the funds necessary and introducing legislation to prioritise fighting this awful disease to the best of our ability.

In England and Wales, cancer remains one of the biggest killers, causing 29% of all deaths. Progress has been made and all progress is welcome, but it is opportunities like today when we can really make a difference to the lives of individuals and families from all walks of life. Recent developments across the water—here—are deeply concerning. In September, 16 drugs were removed from the Cancer Drugs Fund list in addition to another 16 drugs that were removed from the list in January.