Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will meet representatives of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Muscular Dystrophy and Muscular Dystrophy UK to discuss the provision of hydrotherapy for people with muscle-wasting conditions.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The provision of National Health Service hydrotherapy services is a local matter. NHS England’s neurosciences services specification sets out what providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services, including for patients with muscular dystrophy. Specialised neuromuscular care may include referral to local physiotherapy, hydrotherapy or rehabilitation if appropriate, however the commissioning of hydrotherapy services is a matter for clinical commissioning groups.
The specification can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d04-neurosci-spec-neuro.pdf.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessments he has made of the reasons for the increase in excess winter mortality rates in England in the winter of 2014-15.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The increased excess deaths in 2014-15 coincided with the circulation of a strain of flu, A(H3N2), that particularly affects older people. Cold snaps and other respiratory infections may also have contributed to an increase in excess mortality. There was evidence also that the flu vaccine provided reduced protection due to some drift of the circulating A(H3N2) virus.
These observations were not unique to the United Kingdom, with 14 other European countries also reporting an increase in excess mortality. Throughout the last decade, there has generally been a good match between the strains of flu in the vaccine and those that subsequently circulate, highlighting the importance of flu vaccination for at risk groups, including older people and also the childhood flu vaccine programme, which when rolled out, aims to provide protection for both children, but also the general population.
Public Health England has no such data available for North East England.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in excess winter mortality rates in North East England in the winter of 2014-15.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The increased excess deaths in 2014-15 coincided with the circulation of a strain of flu, A(H3N2), that particularly affects older people. Cold snaps and other respiratory infections may also have contributed to an increase in excess mortality. There was evidence also that the flu vaccine provided reduced protection due to some drift of the circulating A(H3N2) virus.
These observations were not unique to the United Kingdom, with 14 other European countries also reporting an increase in excess mortality. Throughout the last decade, there has generally been a good match between the strains of flu in the vaccine and those that subsequently circulate, highlighting the importance of flu vaccination for at risk groups, including older people and also the childhood flu vaccine programme, which when rolled out, aims to provide protection for both children, but also the general population.
Public Health England has no such data available for North East England.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of demand for clinical trial capacity at UK muscle centres; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Freeman
The United Kingdom is a world–leader in neuromuscular research, bringing a combination of excellent translational science, well-defined patient cohorts and a sophisticated and successful clinical research system. These attributes make the UK an outstanding location for the global life sciences industry to undertake clinical trials and collaborate with leading clinical scientists.
The National Health Service and the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) are working collaboratively to support the increasing number of clinical trials in neuromuscular disease.
The current pipeline of neuromuscular studies for 2016 includes four phase I studies, six phase II studies, three phase III studies and one phase IV study.
Currently, the most intensive trials are supported in Great Ormond Street Hospital, London and in the John Walton Neuromuscular Centre in Newcastle, where NIHR supports dedicated clinical research facilities alongside the Medical Research Council funded muscle research centres. These centres supported colleagues at Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool, to collaborate in a recent study supported by the NIHR Alder Hey Clinical Research Facility.
Building on these successes, the NIHR is using its Clinical Research Network and Biomedical Research Centres to increase capacity and expertise at existing sites and prepare other muscle centres to be able to support the pipeline of studies. Additionally, NIHR leaders have engaged with patient organisations for neuromuscular disease and presented innovative models to enable charities to partner the NHS in developing more capacity in existing and new sites.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress is being made in establishing NHS funded neuromuscular networks in each region of England.
Answered by Jane Ellison
NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised neurological services, including some services for patients with neuromuscular disorders. NHS England has published a service specification for neurological care that includes an exemplar service specification for neuromuscular conditions that sets out what providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. The specification can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d04-neurosci-spec-neuro.pdf.
National Health Service providers, working with local area teams, may establish neuromuscular networks if they consider it would benefit service provision. However, such decisions are a local matter.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on implementation of a national screening programme for prostate cancer.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy.
The UK NSC re-affirmed in March 2012 that a national screening programme for prostate cancer should not be offered. This is because:
- The test for prostate cancer, the prostate specific antigen test, is not effective enough and does not identify a large proportion of men who in fact have prostate cancer;
- A positive test will lead in most cases to a biopsy, which often does not give a definitive answer and leads to anxiety and to further investigations; and
- Current research indicates for every 100,000 men at age 50 offered screening, 748 would end up being treated. The men accepting screening would have their lives extended on average by a day – while 274 men would be made impotent, 25 incontinent and 17 would have rectal problems as a result of the treatment.
The UK NSC is currently reviewing its recommendation on whether a national screening programme for prostate cancer should be offered. Ministers expect to receive a recommendation shortly.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of junior doctors likely to lose income as a result of proposed contractual changes.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The proposed contractual changes will be cost-neutral and average pay for junior doctors will not reduce. This is not a cost-cutting exercise and we are not seeking to save any money from the junior doctors’ pay bill. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has given the British Medical Association a public, categorical assurance on this and made clear that the details of the new contract should be developed to ensure that the great majority of junior doctors are at least as well paid as they would be now.
The proposed new contract for doctors and dentists in training will: ensure that pay relates more fairly to actual work done; increase basic pay, recognising the professional nature of the role in a seven day National Health Service and pay a higher rate for work at the most unsocial times
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England are taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (i) children and (ii) adults in Blaydon meet NICE guidance.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to gather information that can be shared between areas that have arrangements in place to meet National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism: support for commissioning and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations.
NHS Newcastle Gateshead CCG is working with Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust to refine their autism pathway, from diagnosis through to therapy and support if appropriate, to be in line with the NICE recommendations. In October 2013, Sheffield CCG commissioned a service to be NICE compliant. However, the service has received a higher volume of referrals than had been anticipated, and is currently the subject of a review to ensure the right model and level of service is delivered in Sheffield.We are not aware of any issues in Carshalton and Wallington.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to increase the awareness of autism among the public and encourage patients to request a referral for diagnosis from their GP.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to gather information that can be shared between areas that have arrangements in place to meet National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism: support for commissioning, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations.
NHS England has also been working with the Health and Social Care Information Centre to develop the Mental Health Minimum Data Set. This will include provision for the diagnosis of autism to be recorded. This mandatory data set will, for the first time, provide data about diagnosis rates. The data will be published and available for everyone to use to support and develop services. NHS England has a commitment, over the next five years, to improve waiting times and this data will be invaluable for this. Information on average waiting times for autistic diagnosis in each clinical commissioning group area is not collected centrally.
The Department issued new statutory guidance in March this year for local authorities and NHS organisations to support the continued implementation of the 2010 Autism Strategy, as refreshed by its 2014 Think Autism update. This guidance sets out what people seeking an autism diagnosis can expect from local authorities and NHS bodies including general practitioners.
We are due to consult on how we set the mandate to NHS England prior to publication of the mandate itself. The mandate will be published following the Government’s Spending Review which is due to complete on 25 November.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to address the effect of the overuse of antibiotics in farms animals.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Tackling the inappropriate use of antibiotics in both humans and animals is a key part of the UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2013-18, which was developed by the Department of Health jointly with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).
Oversight of the implementation of the UK Strategy is the responsibility of the High Level Steering Group which is chaired by a senior Department of Health official and includes representatives from both Defra and VMD. The Steering Group produced an annual report and implementation plan in December 2014. This plan includes steps to reduce antibiotic usage in livestock production in real terms over the next four years. The document is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/progress-report-on-the-uk-five-year-amr-strategy-2014