Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of variations in waiting times for glaucoma diagnosis and treatment across England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No formal assessment has been made. The Department does not hold data on waiting times for glaucoma treatment. However, for ophthalmology, which covers glaucoma treatment, as of May 2026, 74.1% of patient pathways were waiting within 18 weeks. This is an improvement of 3.9% over the past year.
We are committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment across England, including for ophthalmology. We are investing in and modernising NHS services to support this, including through our new online hospital, NHS Online, which will help reduce patient waiting times across England by giving people on glaucoma pathways the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home. NHS Online will deliver the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointment and assessments in its first three years across all specialities. We are also expanding the number of surgical hubs, which provide dedicated and protected elective capacity to drive improvement in six specialities, including ophthalmology.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
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 ensure Integrated Care Boards are (a) adopting the recent Get It Right First-Time guidance on glaucoma and (b) commissioning enhanced referral and filtering schemes.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary and secondary eye care services to meet the needs of their local populations. This can include community-based glaucoma services, delivered by high street optical practices.
The Department welcomed the publication of the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) glaucoma best practice guidance, which highlights a range of approaches to improving glaucoma care and reducing avoidable sight loss. These include making greater use of primary care optometry to undertake additional testing for patients suspected of having glaucoma to help reduce unnecessary referrals, and, where appropriate, supporting the monitoring of patients with glaucoma in the community.
The GIRFT team will be hosting a webinar for ICB commissioners on 28 July, to promote the guidance and encourage consideration of its recommendations. Decisions on the commissioning of local services will remain a matter for ICBs.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
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 ensure that ICBs commission community minor and urgent eye care services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
Decisions on whether to commission these services are for integrated care boards, which are responsible for assessing local population needs and determining how best to meet them.
The Department worked with the eye care sector to develop a standard clinical specification for the commissioning of Community Minor and Urgent Eye Care Services, and this was published in February 2024. The specification is available at the following link:
https://locsu.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/1.-CUES-Service-specification-vs-1.43-Feb-2024.pdf
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
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 ensure commissioners are making use of capacity and expertise in primary care optometry to improve access to care for those (a) at risk of and (b) with glaucoma.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary and secondary eye care services to meet the needs of their local populations. This can include community-based glaucoma services, delivered by high street optical practices.
The Department welcomed the publication of the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) glaucoma best practice guidance, which highlights a range of approaches to improving glaucoma care and reducing avoidable sight loss. These include making greater use of primary care optometry to undertake additional testing for patients suspected of having glaucoma to help reduce unnecessary referrals, and, where appropriate, supporting the monitoring of patients with glaucoma in the community.
The GIRFT team will be hosting a webinar for ICB commissioners on 28 July, to promote the guidance and encourage consideration of its recommendations. Decisions on the commissioning of local services will remain a matter for ICBs.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
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 potential merits of aligning the General Ophthalmic Services contract in England with Scotland and Wales.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
Health services are a devolved matter and arrangements for the commissioning and delivery of primary eye care services differ across the United Kingdom, although the Government recognises the value of learning from the different approaches to the delivery of eye care services across the United Kingdom.
In England NHS funded sight testing services are widely available for eligible groups, including children, people aged 60 years old and over and individuals on income related benefits. Integrated care boards can also commission enhanced eye care services from optical practices, including minor and urgent eye care services and glaucoma services.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
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 tackle the (a) palliative, (b) end of life care and (c) other medical needs of older prisoners.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
As a signatory to the National Partnership Agreement for Health and Social Care for people in contact with the criminal justice system, the Department is committed to working with the Ministry of Justice, HM Prison and Probation Service, NHS England, and the UK Health Security Agency to ensure that safe, legal, decent, and effective care that improves health outcomes and reduces health inequalities is provided for all prisoners, including those who are elderly.
NHS England is responsible for providing a full range of healthcare services to meet the needs of the prison population. Every prison will have a health needs assessment undertaken on a regular basis which is then used to locally determine the health needs and requirements of that prison’s population. This includes supporting elderly prisoners in their palliative care, end of life care, and other health needs such as dementia care. Local authorities also have a duty to support elderly prisoners with their social care needs.
The Dying Well in Custody Charter and supporting self-assessment framework describes a set of national standards for local adoption and provides a tool for a local multi-disciplinary approach to providing agreed standards of palliative and end of life care to people in prison. The charter is available at the following link:
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider the merits of implementing safety recommendation R/2025/055 in the report by the Health Service Safety Investigations Body entitled Mental health inpatient settings: Creating conditions for the delivery of safe and therapeutic care to adults, published on 30 January 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
We are grateful to the Health Services Safety Investigations Body for their report on creating conditions for learning from deaths in mental health inpatient settings. The report highlights important concerns and safety recommendations that can help us to improve inpatient mental health services.
We will formally respond to all the recommendations for the Department made within this report in due course.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an estimate of the potential savings to the public purse from increased levels of malnutrition (a) screening and (b) treatment.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Malnutrition is a clinical condition affecting all ages, across all communities, and in all health and care settings. Most cases of malnutrition will be secondary to another health condition, which may impact on nutritional needs or a person’s ability to eat and drink. All National Health Services are recommended to adhere to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) clinical guideline, Nutrition support for adults: oral nutrition support, enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg32
This sets out the recommendations, based on best available evidence, of the organisation, screening, and delivery of nutritional support in hospitals and communities. This includes screening for malnutrition and the risk of malnutrition. The NICE guidelines recommend that all hospital inpatients should be screened for malnutrition on admission, as well as all outpatients at their first clinic appointment. Screening should be repeated weekly for inpatients, and when there is clinical concern for outpatients. People in care homes should be screened on admission, and when there is clinical concern.
All people who are identified as being malnourished or at risk of malnutrition should be assessed by an appropriately qualified health professional, such as a dietitian, to receive an individualised care plan in line with their individual circumstances, dietary preferences, and medical needs.
NHS England’s Nursing Directorate is leading on a review and refresh of the National Nutrition and Hydration guidance, which builds on NHS England’s previous Commissioning Excellent Nutrition and Hydration guidance 2015-2018. This previous guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/nut-hyd-guid.pdf
A National Hydration and Nutrition Advisory Board was established in June 2023, providing strategic advice, direction, and oversight across the review, codesign, and development of the policy.
There is no current estimate on the savings that could be made as a result of increasing the screening and treatment of malnutrition. However, efforts to prevent malnutrition and to treat it early could potentially reduce both the clinical and economic burden to the healthcare system. Malnourished patients spend on average 30% longer in hospital than patients who are not malnourished.
Integrated care systems, made up of local partners including the NHS, councils, the voluntary sector, and others, are responsible for planning and commissioning health services for their local population. Integrated care systems and providers will be responsible for implementation and delivery of the refreshed National Nutrition and Hydration policy.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what role he plans integrated care systems will play in addressing malnutrition across their localities.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Malnutrition is a clinical condition affecting all ages, across all communities, and in all health and care settings. Most cases of malnutrition will be secondary to another health condition, which may impact on nutritional needs or a person’s ability to eat and drink. All National Health Services are recommended to adhere to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) clinical guideline, Nutrition support for adults: oral nutrition support, enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg32
This sets out the recommendations, based on best available evidence, of the organisation, screening, and delivery of nutritional support in hospitals and communities. This includes screening for malnutrition and the risk of malnutrition. The NICE guidelines recommend that all hospital inpatients should be screened for malnutrition on admission, as well as all outpatients at their first clinic appointment. Screening should be repeated weekly for inpatients, and when there is clinical concern for outpatients. People in care homes should be screened on admission, and when there is clinical concern.
All people who are identified as being malnourished or at risk of malnutrition should be assessed by an appropriately qualified health professional, such as a dietitian, to receive an individualised care plan in line with their individual circumstances, dietary preferences, and medical needs.
NHS England’s Nursing Directorate is leading on a review and refresh of the National Nutrition and Hydration guidance, which builds on NHS England’s previous Commissioning Excellent Nutrition and Hydration guidance 2015-2018. This previous guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/nut-hyd-guid.pdf
A National Hydration and Nutrition Advisory Board was established in June 2023, providing strategic advice, direction, and oversight across the review, codesign, and development of the policy.
There is no current estimate on the savings that could be made as a result of increasing the screening and treatment of malnutrition. However, efforts to prevent malnutrition and to treat it early could potentially reduce both the clinical and economic burden to the healthcare system. Malnourished patients spend on average 30% longer in hospital than patients who are not malnourished.
Integrated care systems, made up of local partners including the NHS, councils, the voluntary sector, and others, are responsible for planning and commissioning health services for their local population. Integrated care systems and providers will be responsible for implementation and delivery of the refreshed National Nutrition and Hydration policy.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
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 ensure that NHS patients receive appropriate (a) screening and (b) treatment for malnutrition.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Malnutrition is a clinical condition affecting all ages, across all communities, and in all health and care settings. Most cases of malnutrition will be secondary to another health condition, which may impact on nutritional needs or a person’s ability to eat and drink. All National Health Services are recommended to adhere to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) clinical guideline, Nutrition support for adults: oral nutrition support, enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg32
This sets out the recommendations, based on best available evidence, of the organisation, screening, and delivery of nutritional support in hospitals and communities. This includes screening for malnutrition and the risk of malnutrition. The NICE guidelines recommend that all hospital inpatients should be screened for malnutrition on admission, as well as all outpatients at their first clinic appointment. Screening should be repeated weekly for inpatients, and when there is clinical concern for outpatients. People in care homes should be screened on admission, and when there is clinical concern.
All people who are identified as being malnourished or at risk of malnutrition should be assessed by an appropriately qualified health professional, such as a dietitian, to receive an individualised care plan in line with their individual circumstances, dietary preferences, and medical needs.
NHS England’s Nursing Directorate is leading on a review and refresh of the National Nutrition and Hydration guidance, which builds on NHS England’s previous Commissioning Excellent Nutrition and Hydration guidance 2015-2018. This previous guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/nut-hyd-guid.pdf
A National Hydration and Nutrition Advisory Board was established in June 2023, providing strategic advice, direction, and oversight across the review, codesign, and development of the policy.
There is no current estimate on the savings that could be made as a result of increasing the screening and treatment of malnutrition. However, efforts to prevent malnutrition and to treat it early could potentially reduce both the clinical and economic burden to the healthcare system. Malnourished patients spend on average 30% longer in hospital than patients who are not malnourished.
Integrated care systems, made up of local partners including the NHS, councils, the voluntary sector, and others, are responsible for planning and commissioning health services for their local population. Integrated care systems and providers will be responsible for implementation and delivery of the refreshed National Nutrition and Hydration policy.