Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
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 rates at which children born preterm receive follow-up health and developmental assessments at ages (a) two and (b) four.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. To help deliver this, we are strengthening health visiting services, which are responsible for monitoring and assessing the health and development of children aged zero to five years old, including preterm children, as well as referring them to other professionals wherever needed.
In 2023, 77% of preterm children at two years old received a follow up assessment, up from 68.4% in 2020. However, further work is required to achieve the National Neonatal Audit Programme standard of 90%, and integrated care systems and local providers are expected to be working towards full implementation of the guidelines set. Further data relating to babies discharged from neonatal care is available in the National Neonatal Audit Programme Summary report on 2023, at the following link:
https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/NNAP-summary-report-2023-data
For children aged four years old, the data we possess on the percentage of children who received a follow-up assessment is inconsistent and unclear. This is because there is no inclusion of the requirement for follow-up assessments for children aged four years old in the NHS Standard Contract, and therefore which services and requirements fall under community paediatric services is for local determination.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
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 training for (a) health visitors and (b) community healthcare professionals on the needs of (i) preterm babies and (ii) their families.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. To achieve this, we must ensure families have the support they need to give their babies and children the best start and the building blocks for a healthy life. This will take time, but we are committed to building a health service fit for the future with the workforce it needs. The training provided to health visitors specifically, and community healthcare professionals more generally, is outlined below.
To practice as a health visitor, a registered nurse must complete the Specialist Community Public Health Nurse qualification. Health visitor training includes a requirement for staff to be able to assess the impact of complexity and comorbidity and their impact on children and loved ones, which includes prematurity.
The Government has laid out in the Plan for Change its commitment to strengthen health visiting services. A strengthened health visiting service will enable the needs of premature babies and their families to be better supported.
NHS England has worked in partnership with key stakeholders, for instance the Tiny Lives Trust charity and clinical psychologists, to develop online learning specifically for community healthcare professionals, including health visitors. This training covers subject matters such as professionals’ work with families as they transition from neonatal units to home, as well as psychologically informed neonatal care.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made representations to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology to encourage increased funding for research into preterm birth (a) prevention, b) treatment and (c) long-term outcomes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and over the last five years, NIHR research programmes invested in 77 research awards focusing on preterm birth which, across their full duration, totalled £93 million of funding.
In addition, in March 2024 the NIHR launched a £50 million research challenge with an explicit focus on maternity inequalities, including those observed in preterm birth rates. This initiative will increase the evidence base, to drive actions to reduce maternity inequalities and lead to better outcomes for women and their babies.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of maternal health, including research into the prevention, treatment, and longer-term outcomes of preterm birth.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
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 the adequacy of the (a) availability and (b) quality of overnight accommodation for parents in neonatal units.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We understand that not all neonatal estates allow parents to be fully involved in their babies' care, and the impact this has on providing the appropriate level of care to meet a baby's needs.
NHS England has conducted a survey to understand compliance with current estates standards, which includes the requirements for neonatal parental accommodation. This information will inform future investment decisions regarding maternity and neonatal estates.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
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 expand access to (a) neonatal outreach services and (b) specialist perinatal mental health support for families of preterm babies following hospital discharge.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
From 1 April 2025, commissioning responsibilities for neonatal services in England have been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs). The neonatal service specification sets out the standards for neonatal provision. It states that a neonatal unit-based outreach service, or other designated neonatal unit staff, should coordinate pre-discharge planning for complex or long stay patients or patients with any safeguarding concerns.
ICBs are encouraged to develop locally tailored plans to expand access to neonatal outreach and specialist mental health services. The neonatal specification also outlines that clinical psychologists have a role in providing specialist psychological assessments and interventions to support the mental health of babies and families.
In addition to this, NHS England’s guidance sets out that all women who have given birth should be offered a postnatal check-up with their general practitioner (GP) after six to eight weeks. This check-up provides an important opportunity for women to be listened to by their GP in a discreet, supportive environment, and for women to be assessed and supported not just in their physical recovery post-birth, but also their mental health.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
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 NHS Trusts implement interventions set out in (a) the guidance entitled Saving Babies’ Lives Version Two: A care bundle for reducing perinatal mortality, published on 15 March 2019, and (b) other best practice guidance on preterm birth care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All trusts are now implementing Version 3 of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, which was published in May 2023, and provides maternity units with detailed guidance to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal deaths, and preterm births.
The National Health Service has taken action to reduce variation in maternal and neonatal care through the Maternity Incentive Scheme, and through implementation of the latest version of the bundle, which is one of the safety actions that trusts must comply with. As of April 2024, during the fifth year of the scheme, 104 out of 120, or 87% of, providers were considered to be on track to fully implement Version 3 of the bundle. We are delivering other key initiatives to reduce preterm birth, such as:
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2025 to Question 20760 on Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on increasing the UK's manufacturing capacity of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapies.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There have been no recent discussions with Cabinet Office colleagues on increasing the United Kingdom’s manufacturing capacity of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) or increasing access to the raw ingredients required for the production of PERT. However, we have established incentives to encourage UK life sciences manufacturing, including via the Life Science Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF). The LSIMF is now live and open to Expressions of Interest from all life science manufacturers, with formal application windows open on a quarterly basis, the next being in February 2025. The Government has committed up to £520 million to support businesses investing in life science manufacturing projects in the UK, and this would be open to applicants interested in setting up PERT manufacture in the UK.
Department officials continue to engage with all suppliers of PERT to boost production to mitigate the supply issue. Increased volumes of PERT are expected for 2025, and specialist importers have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the gap in the market. In December, the Department issued further management advice to healthcare professionals. This directs clinicians to unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable and includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure local mitigation plans are implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a public facing page to include the latest update on PERT availability and easily accessible prescribing advice.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2025 to Question 20760 on Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on increasing access to the raw ingredients required for the production of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There have been no recent discussions with Cabinet Office colleagues on increasing the United Kingdom’s manufacturing capacity of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) or increasing access to the raw ingredients required for the production of PERT. However, we have established incentives to encourage UK life sciences manufacturing, including via the Life Science Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF). The LSIMF is now live and open to Expressions of Interest from all life science manufacturers, with formal application windows open on a quarterly basis, the next being in February 2025. The Government has committed up to £520 million to support businesses investing in life science manufacturing projects in the UK, and this would be open to applicants interested in setting up PERT manufacture in the UK.
Department officials continue to engage with all suppliers of PERT to boost production to mitigate the supply issue. Increased volumes of PERT are expected for 2025, and specialist importers have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the gap in the market. In December, the Department issued further management advice to healthcare professionals. This directs clinicians to unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable and includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure local mitigation plans are implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a public facing page to include the latest update on PERT availability and easily accessible prescribing advice.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of surgical hubs on waiting times for (a) trauma and (b) orthopaedic treatment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No formal assessment has been made on the impact of surgical hubs on waiting times for trauma and orthopaedic treatment.
Surgical hubs enable trusts to increase resilience for elective procedures and minimise cancellations during periods of high pressure. This can reduce uncertainty for patients around last-minute cancellations, maximise the use of available capacity, and helps to reduce waiting times. In the Budget, we committed additional funding to set up new surgical hubs to help with our commitment to get the waiting lists down.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, HC 295, whether any of the new surgical hubs will focus solely on orthopaedic procedures.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, will outline details of the funding allocation for surgical hubs at the earliest opportunity. This will include the number of hubs to be established, and their specialty focus. Each hub will be developed based on the needs of patients and the current waiting list pressures in the areas that they cover.