Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 encourage (a) trainee and (b) newly qualified healthcare professionals to specialise in blood cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will publish a refreshed Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.
We will ensure the National Health Service has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it, including for blood cancer.
NHS England is working to strengthen pathways into cancer specialties, including blood cancer, by expanding training opportunities and creating structured career routes. This includes increasing medical training posts in haematology, with an expansion of 20 posts in 2024, and enhancing the scientific workforce supply through initiatives such as the Scientist Training Programme and Higher Specialist Scientist Training.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 reduce reliance on locum consultants in blood cancer teams at district general hospitals.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The planning guidance states that trusts should reduce their agency spend by 30% this year, and reduce bank spend by 10%. It also sets our ambition to eliminate agency use in the coming years.
NHS England is investing in expanding specialty training posts in high-demand cancer disciplines, including haematology, and is supporting local systems to retain and develop multidisciplinary teams. This includes workforce modelling, to identify gaps, and rolling out an appropriate workforce skill mix through scientific workforce pathways.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to include provisions for radiotherapy cancer treatment in the upcoming National Cancer Plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has announced that the National Cancer Plan (NCP) will be published this year, following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan. We are now in discussions about what form it should take, including how we will ensure that cancer patients across England have access to the latest treatments and technology.
It is a priority for the Government to improve cancer outcomes, optimise cancer treatments and technologies, and reduce waiting times. The Department is committed to supporting the National Health Service to diagnose cancer as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes for all patients across England.
To ensure the most advanced radiotherapy treatment is available to patients, the Department recently invested £70 million in 28 new radiotherapy machines. We are committed to improving waiting times for cancer treatment across England and aim to ensure that no one is waiting longer than they should for lifesaving treatment. As a first step to achieving this, we will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, helping to ensure earlier diagnoses and faster treatment for those who need it most, providing better outcomes for cancer patients.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 the retention of blood cancer clinical expertise following the merger of NHS England with his Department.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead the formation of a new joint centre. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.
We continue to work collaboratively across both organisations to put in place plans to ensure continuity of services and patient safety, including for retaining blood cancer clinical expertise.
We will publish a refreshed Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.
We will ensure the National Health Service has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it, including for blood cancer.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 Cancer Plan on increasing the number of blood cancer (i) nurses and (ii) doctors over the next 10 years.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to developing a skilled blood cancer workforce, including nurses and doctors, so that patients receive care from the right professionals, at the right time, and in the right place. A refreshed Workforce Plan will be published later this year to ensure the National Health Service has the necessary staff and expertise to deliver high-quality care, from diagnosis through to treatment.
To ensure that people diagnosed with blood cancer have access to a Clinical Nurse Specialist, NHS England has committed to all patients, including those with blood cancer, having access to the right expertise and support, including a Clinical Nurse Specialist or other support worker. This is being delivered in line with the NHS Comprehensive Model for Personalised Care, empowering people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer and maximise the potential of digital and community-based support.
Beyond the Workforce Plan, NHS England is currently working to strengthen pathways into cancer specialties by expanding training opportunities and creating structured career routes. This includes increasing medical training posts in haematology by 20 in 2024 and enhancing the scientific workforce supply through initiatives such as the Scientist Training Programme and Higher Specialist Scientist Training.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Cancer Plan will include measures to ensure people diagnosed with blood cancer have access to a Clinical Nurse Specialist (a) after diagnosis and (b) during treatment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to developing a skilled blood cancer workforce, including nurses and doctors, so that patients receive care from the right professionals, at the right time, and in the right place. A refreshed Workforce Plan will be published later this year to ensure the National Health Service has the necessary staff and expertise to deliver high-quality care, from diagnosis through to treatment.
To ensure that people diagnosed with blood cancer have access to a Clinical Nurse Specialist, NHS England has committed to all patients, including those with blood cancer, having access to the right expertise and support, including a Clinical Nurse Specialist or other support worker. This is being delivered in line with the NHS Comprehensive Model for Personalised Care, empowering people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer and maximise the potential of digital and community-based support.
Beyond the Workforce Plan, NHS England is currently working to strengthen pathways into cancer specialties by expanding training opportunities and creating structured career routes. This includes increasing medical training posts in haematology by 20 in 2024 and enhancing the scientific workforce supply through initiatives such as the Scientist Training Programme and Higher Specialist Scientist Training.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the National Cancer Plan will include healthcare professionals working in blood cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to developing a skilled blood cancer workforce, including nurses and doctors, so that patients receive care from the right professionals, at the right time, and in the right place. A refreshed Workforce Plan will be published later this year to ensure the National Health Service has the necessary staff and expertise to deliver high-quality care, from diagnosis through to treatment.
To ensure that people diagnosed with blood cancer have access to a Clinical Nurse Specialist, NHS England has committed to all patients, including those with blood cancer, having access to the right expertise and support, including a Clinical Nurse Specialist or other support worker. This is being delivered in line with the NHS Comprehensive Model for Personalised Care, empowering people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer and maximise the potential of digital and community-based support.
Beyond the Workforce Plan, NHS England is currently working to strengthen pathways into cancer specialties by expanding training opportunities and creating structured career routes. This includes increasing medical training posts in haematology by 20 in 2024 and enhancing the scientific workforce supply through initiatives such as the Scientist Training Programme and Higher Specialist Scientist Training.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to funding announced in the Autumn Budget 2024, how many hospital trusts were given funding for (a) new radiotherapy machines and (b) replacing out-of-date radiotherapy machines.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
28 trusts submitted applications for funding, and each trust has been awarded funding to replace one machine. For further information, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Wells and Mendip Hills on 7 April 2025 to Question 41043.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a rolling replacement programme for out-of-date radiotherapy machines.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently no plans to have a rolling replacement programme for out-of-date radiotherapy machines. Responsibility for funding replacement machines lies with local systems.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 address regional inequalities in access to radiotherapy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To help to address regional inequalities in access to radiotherapy, the Department has allocated £70 million of funding for 28 new radiotherapy machines to trusts across the country, to replace outdated machines.
Reducing inequalities is a priority for the National Cancer Plan, which will look at the targeted improvements needed across different cancer types to reduce disparities in cancer survival, and will develop interventions to tackle these. This includes looking at inequalities related to geographic location.