Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of prescribing Mounjaro for Cushing's syndrome on the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no assessment. Mounjaro is not licensed as a treatment option for Cushing’s syndrome. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) would consider an evaluation of Mounjaro for Cushing’s syndrome if the company, Eli Lilly, were to apply to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for a marketing authorisation, or licence, for use in the treatment of Cushing’s syndrome.
Clinicians can prescribe medicines outside of their licensed indication, known as “off-label” use, where there is sufficient evidence and/or experience of using the medicine to show its safety, quality, and efficacy, provided there is no suitable alternative licensed medicine, and subject to funding by the National Health Service locally.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to improve access to mental health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
People with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, so that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it.
Nationally, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment. We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school and roll out Young Futures hubs in every community.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 support community pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities, as an easily accessible front door to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.
The Government is committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists. To support these private contractors, NHS England is providing fully funded national training opportunities to help them deliver quality NHS services.
We have now recommenced our consultation with Community Pharmacy England regarding funding arrangements for 2024/25 and 2025/26.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to increase access to GP appointments.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that patients are finding it difficult to see a general practitioner (GP), and we are committed to fixing the front door to the National Health Service to ensure that patients receive the care they deserve. That is why, in October 2024, we provided an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme enabling the recruitment of 1,000 newly qualified GPs across England. This will increase the number of appointments delivered in general practice, which will benefit thousands of patients that are struggling to care the care they desperately need. This will also secure the future supply of GPs and take pressure off those currently working in the system.
Additionally, we have announced a proposed £889 million uplift to the GP contract in 2025/26, with a rising share of total NHS resources going to general practice. We are also currently consulting on key proposals to improve access, continuity of care and GP recruitment. This uplift reflects this government’s commitment to bring back the family doctor, slash red tape and put general practice at the heart of the neighbourhood health service.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 potential impact of the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on NHS GP practices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have made necessary decisions to fix the foundations of the public finances in the Autumn Budget. Resource spending for the Department will be £22.6 billion more in 2025/26 than in 2023/24, as part of the Spending Review settlement. The employers’ National Insurance rise will be implemented in April 2025.
We recently announced a proposed funding uplift for general practices (GPs) for 2025/26 of £889 million, representing a 7.2% cash growth, estimated at approximately 4.8% in real terms growth. This is the largest uplift to GP funding since the beginning of the five-year framework, and means that we are reversing the recent trend, with a rising share of total National Health Service resources going to GPs. We are currently consulting the profession on corresponding reforms to the GP Contract that would improve access, increase continuity of care, enhance GP recruitment, and reduce bureaucracy.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to reduce waiting times for cancer treatment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that patients are waiting too long for cancer treatment, and we will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer on time or earlier, treating it faster, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system.
As we set out in our new plan for reforming elective care, we are committed to improving performance on cancer waiting times. Further details will be set out in a dedicated national cancer plan and the NHS’s annual operational planning guidance.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 adequacy of access to emergency dentistry.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Dental Statistics - England 2023-24, published by the NHS Business Services Authority on 22 August 2024, is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324
In England, in 2023/24, 3,674,731 urgent dental treatments in the National Health Service were delivered, which was 10.8% of all treatments delivered.
This Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency, this is the NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough ICB.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 support community pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system. We are committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and to better using the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists as part of the shift from hospital to community and from treatment to prevention.
Now that the budget for Government has been set, we will shortly be resuming our consultation with Community Pharmacy England regarding the funding arrangements for community pharmacy.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to improve access to mental health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are too long. As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across children and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment.
We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school and roll out Young Futures Hubs in every community.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has a strategy to reduce waiting times on the 111 Option 2 crisis response service.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To ensure that crisis care services are safe, effective, and consistently provide high quality care across England, NHS England has asked all crisis care services accessible via NHS 111 option two to move at pace and begin reporting access, responsiveness, and patient feedback measures from quarter two of 2024/25.
The collected data will enable a better understanding of where pressures exist in the system and help to drive improvements in waiting times and overall service delivery. These measures will allow NHS England and local providers to monitor performance and implement targeted strategies to reduce waiting times, therefore ensuring a timelier response for individuals in crisis.