Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which body within the NHS will be conducting the review into the case for lowering the screening age for prostate cancer; what the scope of this review will be; and when he expects to receive recommendations.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Screening for prostate cancer is currently not recommended in the United Kingdom, due to the inaccuracy of the current best test Prostate Specific Antigen.
A UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) review looking at whether to offer screening for prostate cancer is currently underway. This evidence review will cover modelling the clinical effectiveness and cost of several approaches to prostate cancer screening. This will include different potential ways of screening the whole population and targeted screening aimed at groups of people identified as being at higher-than-average risk, such as black men or men with a family history of cancer.
Once the modelling and evidence review are complete, it will be considered by the UK NSC. Subject to no further revisions being required, the UK NSC plans to look at the findings towards the end of 2025.
Further details of the UK NSC’s evidence review process are available at the following link:
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make shingles vaccinations available to all people aged over 65.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Shingles vaccination was originally routinely offered as part of the national immunisation programme to those aged 70, using the Zostavax vaccine. In 2019, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that the programme should be changed to offer the Shingrix vaccine routinely at 60 years of age, that those aged between 60 and 70 years old should also be offered the vaccine, and that individuals would require two doses of Shingrix to complete the course.
Based on JCVI advice, the Department, the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England decided that the programme would be implemented in phases, with the first phase being that between 1 September 2023 and 31 August 2028, those who reach 65 or 70 years old should be called in on or after their 65th or 70th birthday. The second phase would be that from 1 September 2028 to 31 August 2033, those who reach age 60 or 65 years old should be called in on or after their 60th or 65th birthday. From 1 September 2033 onwards, vaccination will be routinely offered to those turning 60 years of age on or after their 60th birthday.
The JCVI also recommended that all severely immunosuppressed individuals aged 50 years old and older should be eligible for shingles vaccination due to their higher risk of complications from shingles. This programme change was also implemented on 1 September 2023. These individuals have been prioritised as part of the early roll-out of the programme to ensure those who are most vulnerable are protected.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children in receipt of the NHS Special Schools Eye Care Service have had (a) a need for glasses, (b) another sight problem, (c) no previous known history of eye care and (d) a history of hospital-based eye care since its commencement.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England have piloted sight testing and the dispensing of glasses in special schools since 2021. Between April 2021 and August 2024 a total of 23,832 sight tests were provided.
There were a total of 9,909 pairs of glasses issued between April 2021 and August 2024 as part of the service. Between April 2021 and March 2024, 859 sight tests were recorded with another sight problem identified, 14,048 sight tests were recorded where there was either no previous history or previous history was unknown and 6,083 sight tests were recorded where there was a history of hospital-based eye care.
The legislation that will underpin the roll out of this service across the country was laid on 28 November 2024.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children are in receipt of the NHS Special Schools Eye Care Service.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England have piloted sight testing and the dispensing of glasses in special schools since 2021. Between April 2021 and August 2024 a total of 23,832 sight tests were provided.
There were a total of 9,909 pairs of glasses issued between April 2021 and August 2024 as part of the service. Between April 2021 and March 2024, 859 sight tests were recorded with another sight problem identified, 14,048 sight tests were recorded where there was either no previous history or previous history was unknown and 6,083 sight tests were recorded where there was a history of hospital-based eye care.
The legislation that will underpin the roll out of this service across the country was laid on 28 November 2024.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
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 sustainability of the funding model for the hospice sector.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
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 at end of life and their loved ones.
The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.
We, alongside key partners NHS England, will continue to proactively engage with our stakeholders, including the voluntary sector and independent hospices, on an ongoing basis, in order to understand the issues they face, and we will consider next steps on palliative and end of life care, including funding, in the coming months.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what was the average (a) cost and (b) waiting time for an outpatient paediatric ophthalmology appointment in the 2023-24 financial year..
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need, including children awaiting hospital-based eyecare. The Government will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment (RTT) within our first term, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. Outpatient services make up most of elective activity, so transforming outpatient services is a key part of our approach to cutting paediatric waiting times.
In 2023/24, the national mean average unit cost of an outpatient paediatric ophthalmology attendance without a procedure was £140, and the mean average national unit cost of a paediatric ophthalmology outpatient procedure was £248. In 2023/24, the median average waiting time for a first outpatient attendance for paediatric ophthalmology was 58 days, and the mean average waiting time was 97 days.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps with NHS England to involve sexual health stakeholders in the development of the 10 Year Health Plan for England.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Improving sexual health services is a priority for the Government and it is important that we capture the views of stakeholders as we develop our 10-Year Health Plan. To support this, we have launched a national engagement exercise. This will be the biggest conversation in the National Health Service’s history. We want to hear from a wide range of individuals and organisations, including many sexual health stakeholders. Organisations are encouraged to log onto the online portal and submit a response by 2 December 2024. The online portal is available at the following link:
We have also published a Workshop in a Box that will support organisations to conduct their own local engagement activities. This is available from the community engagement tab on the abovementioned website from Monday 18 November 2024, with a request that partner organisations collate and upload their insights to the website by 14 February 2025.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the 10 Year Health Plan for England development team plan to meet with sexual health stakeholders.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Improving sexual health services is a priority for the Government and it is important that we capture the views of stakeholders as we develop our 10-Year Health Plan. To support this, we have launched a national engagement exercise. This will be the biggest conversation in the National Health Service’s history. We want to hear from a wide range of individuals and organisations, including many sexual health stakeholders. Organisations are encouraged to log onto the online portal and submit a response by 2 December 2024. The online portal is available at the following link:
We have also published a Workshop in a Box that will support organisations to conduct their own local engagement activities. This is available from the community engagement tab on the abovementioned website from Monday 18 November 2024, with a request that partner organisations collate and upload their insights to the website by 14 February 2025.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
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 support student nurses.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To supplement the student loan support provided by the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care provides non-repayable and non-income assessed funding via the NHS Learning Support Fund. All eligible nursing students receive a grant of £5,000 per academic year. Additional funding of £1,000 per year is also available for those studying certain course, for example, Mental Health Nursing and Learning Disabilities Nursing, with a further £2,000 per year for childcare, as well as support for placement travel and accommodation costs. Students in exceptional hardship can also access up to a further £3,000 per year.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
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 trends in the levels of applications to nursing university courses.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of applicants, by the June deadline, to undergraduate nursing courses, for all domiciles, in England, each year from 2019 to 2024:
Year | Applicants |
2019 | 31,780 |
2020 | 37,990 |
2021 | 45,740 |
2022 | 43,170 |
2023 | 36,400 |
2024 | 33,560 |
Source: published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), available at the following link:
Final applicant numbers for the 2024 cycle will be published by UCAS before the end of the year. The drop in nursing applicants follows the unprecedented demand for healthcare courses during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number of applicants continues to outstrip the places on offer. Nursing training places are competitive, and lead to an attractive and important career in the National Health Service.
We are working closely with NHS England, universities, and UCAS to ensure that everyone who wants to pursue a rewarding healthcare career in nursing has the support and opportunities to do so.