Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce a National Brain Tumour Strategy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers regularly meet with a wide range of cancer partners, including brain cancer charities and patient groups. Ministers also regularly meet with teams from the National Health Service, including clinical specialists where this is appropriate. These meetings are valuable opportunities to discuss raising awareness, screening, treatments, innovation, and the care experiences of people living with cancer.
The Department, NHS England, and the National Institute for Health Care and Research (NIHR) are taking several steps to help improve outcomes for brain tumour patients. NHS England is committed to ensuring that all cancer patients are offered Holistic Needs Assessment and Personalised Care and Support Planning, ensuring care is focused on what matters most to each person. As well as this, all patients, including those with secondary cancers, will have access to the right expertise and support, including a Clinical Nurse Specialist or other support worker.
Further to this, in September 2024, the NIHR announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. This includes a national NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, to ensure the most promising research opportunities are made available to adult and child patients, and a new funding call to generate high quality evidence in brain tumour care, support, and rehabilitation. We will get the NHS diagnosing cancer, including brain tumours, on time, diagnosing it earlier, and treating it faster, so more patients survive this horrible set of diseases, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many integrated care boards had strategies in place to meet the needs of local populations affected by dementia (a) as of 28 October 2024, (b) in 2023 and (c) in 2022.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is committed to improving diagnosis rates and recovering them to the national ambition for two thirds of people with dementia to have a formal diagnosis. This commitment is included in the operational planning guidance for 2024/25, giving clear direction for integrated care boards (ICBs) to prioritise dementia.
Local authorities are required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population, including carers, under the Care Act 2014. It is the responsibility of ICBs to work with the third sector in their geographical area to offer services that meet the needs of their population. NHS England would expect ICBs to take account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines when commissioning services for their local population.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of specialist dementia nurses working in Acute Trusts.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England does not hold this information centrally. The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Primary Care Networks have used the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to fund enhanced practice nurse roles to deliver specialist dementia nursing support in primary care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England does not hold this information centrally. The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines.
The Additional Role Reimbursement Scheme aims to grow and diversify the general practice workforce. The scheme provides funding for additional roles in primary care networks, to help create bespoke multi-disciplinary teams.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
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 improve (a) diagnosis, (b) treatment and (c) ongoing care for (i) endometriosis, (ii) polycystic ovary syndrome and (iii) other menstrual health conditions in (A) Redditch and (B) England; and what steps he is taking to align these efforts with the Women's Health Strategy for England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health and improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for gynaecological conditions. We are considering how to take forward the Women’s Health Strategy for England.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines support healthcare professionals to diagnose and treat conditions. The NICE has published Women’s and reproductive health guidelines, which are available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/hub/indevelopment/gid-hub10001
In April 2024, the NICE published updated recommendations on the treatment of endometriosis when fertility is a priority. The NICE is also updating the guidance on the diagnosis of endometriosis, and is planning the development of a guideline on the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. The NICE has also published a guideline on heavy menstrual bleeding assessment and management. Women's health is also embedded into the Royal College of General Practitioners curriculum for trainee general practitioners (GPs).
Women’s health hubs also play a key role in improving care for gynaecological conditions. The Department has invested £25 million over 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support the establishment of at least one pilot women’s health hub in every integrated care system. NHS England has asked the integrated care boards (ICBs) to report regularly on their progress implementing the funding. The Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB has reported to NHS England that it is using the funding to set up two pilot hubs, one within Herefordshire and one within Worcestershire. To date, the pathway redesign as part of the women’s health hubs has been priority for Herefordshire and Worcestershire, with initial focus on menopause. Following implementation of a menopause pilot, focus will be on the remaining core services, specifically menstrual health.
Healthcare services in Herefordshire and Worcestershire offer advice, care, and treatment for menstrual conditions, including endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. The integrated care system is focused on women’s health and hosts a monthly Gynaecology Forum which incorporates clinical and operational discussion on all elements of women’s health. The Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust qualifies as a Specialist Endometriosis Centre, with clinics and operations offered in Kidderminster, Redditch, and Worcester. GP referral pathways, specialist endometriosis and pain clinics, and multi-disciplinary meetings provide diagnosis and treatment of all stages of endometriosis. The Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust also employs a dedicated Endometriosis Specialist Nurse and hosts an Endometriosis Support Group for patients.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to update the NHS website to include up-to-date information on menstrual health conditions using (a) plain and (b) accessible English.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department worked with NHS England to introduce a new women’s health area on the National Health Service’s website in 2023. This brings together over 100 health topics including periods, gynaecological conditions, fertility, pregnancy, heart health, and cancers, and is designed to be a first port of call for women seeking health information. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/womens-health/
As part of this work, a number of pages were updated, including pages on heavy periods and endometriosis, and a new page on adenomyosis was created. One of the key goals of the NHS website is to provide users with clear and accurate health information. There are no current plans to further update the NHS website on menstrual conditions, subject to the standard review of all editorial content at least every three years.
The NHS has also used its YouTube channel to provide up-to-date information on endometriosis and heavy menstrual bleeding, with further information on both topics available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABi1ncHorBY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pgm30RYVIs&list=PLnhASgDToTkvLigKt1XBE-iwZVJxd7Lto
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
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 help improve the (a) information and (b) resources on menstrual health conditions provided to primary healthcare professionals to help (i) diagnosis and (ii) referrals to specialist treatment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A range of information and resources are available to help primary care professionals to diagnose and treat menstrual health conditions, and where needed refer to secondary care.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published Women’s and reproductive health guidelines, which cover a range of menstrual health conditions including heavy menstrual bleeding, endometriosis, and menopause. The NICE has also published several clinical knowledge summaries focused on menstrual health conditions. The guidelines and clinical knowledge summaries are available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.nice.org.uk/hub/indevelopment/gid-hub10001
https://cks.nice.org.uk/specialities/womens-health/
The Royal College of General Practitioners has developed a Women’s Health Library, drawing together educational resources and guidelines on women’s health so primary healthcare professionals have the most up-to-date information for their patients.
NHS England has developed a shared decision tool to help women and general practitioners (GPs) make decisions about the best treatments for heavy menstrual bleeding, which is available at the following link:
NHS England is developing a set of responses to common questions asked by GPs to help manage menstrual health and other common women’s health conditions, which will soon be available.
The Department has invested £25 million over 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support the establishment of at least one pilot women’s health hub in every integrated care system. These provide more specialist care for women in the community, and many of them also act as a point of training and support for their local GP community.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been waiting over six months to access CAMHS support in (a) Redditch and (b) Worcestershire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of new referrals, the number of new referrals who received a first contact at any point within the referral, and the number of referrals who subsequently received a first contact over six months from the referral request date, for those aged zero to 17 years old within the Redditch local authority, from 2019/20 to 2023/24:
Year | New referrals | Referrals who received a first contact | Referrals starting in the year who subsequently received a first contact over six months from the referral request date |
2019/20 | 885 | 625 | 35 |
2020/21 | 845 | 585 | 60 |
2021/22 | 1,265 | 920 | 100 |
2022/23 | 1,465 | 725 | 135 |
2023/24 | 1,565 | 680 | 15 |
Source: Mental Health Dataset.
The number of referrals still waiting for a contact having waited at least six months, regardless of when the referral started, within the Redditch local authority at the end of March 2024, was 645.
In addition, the following table shows the number of new referrals, the number of new referrals who received a first contact at any point within the referral, and the number of referrals who subsequently received a first contact over six months from the referral request date, for those aged zero to 17 years old in Worcestershire County, from 2019/20 to 2023/24:
Year | New referrals | Referrals who received a first contact | Referrals starting in the year who subsequently received a first contact over six months from the referral request date |
2019/20 | 5,290 | 3,740 | 200 |
2020/21 | 5,410 | 3,800 | 160 |
2021/22 | 7,525 | 5,370 | 740 |
2022/23 | 8,035 | 3,880 | 750 |
2023/24 | 8,720 | 3,675 | 70 |
Source: Mental Health Dataset.
The number of referrals still waiting for a contact having waited at least six months, regardless of when the referral started, in Worcestershire County at the end of March 2024, was 4,000.
Provided is the number of referrals where the person was aged between zero and 17 years old at the time of referral, from 2019/20 through to 2023/24. This is because the definition of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in the dataset is not clear cut, and the methodology for deriving CAMHS changes over time. As such, the use of age at referral is the most reliable way of defining those referred to CAMHS.
The number provided includes all new referrals in each year where the person was a resident of the local authority of Redditch or Worcestershire county. In addition, the number of referrals who have had a contact is included to provide context around the numbers of referrals which have been received and subsequently had a care contact.
For some referrals it may not be expected that a contact would be recorded. For example, in some circumstances, referrals are received by triage teams. These referrals are subsequently closed without a contact, with a new referral opened once triaged. Additionally, in some scenarios, referral IDs are being re-used. For the purposes of this analysis, the care contact must take place within the same referral for the same person, as such a small number of contacts may not be included within a specific referral, although this is a data quality issue.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to review the list of medical conditions for which a medical exemption certificate for free NHS prescriptions may be issued.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to review the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate. Approximately 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in the community in England, and there are a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for which those with chronic illnesses may be eligible. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.
People on low incomes can apply for help with their health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme. Prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) are also available. PPCs allow people to claim as many prescriptions as they need for a set cost, with three-month and 12-month certificates available. The 12-month PPC can be paid for in instalments.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) hospices there are in the UK and (b) patients are supported by hospices on average each year.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are over 200 adult and 50 children’s hospices in the United Kingdom. It is estimated that those hospices support over 300,000 people each year, including people at the end of life, their families, carers, and bereaved relatives.
Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people, and their loved ones, at end of life.