Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was recovered by NHS England from dental providers in Cornwall in 2021-22; and how much recovered funding was reallocated for the delivery of NHS dentistry in (i) Cornwall and (ii) St Ives, West Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
Sums recovered from dentists in Cornwall for underperformance on contracts during 2021/2022 amounted to £4,562,496. The amount recovered is not available for reinvestment in the same financial year due to the calculations being finalised in the following financial year. Dental contracts are paid at the start of each financial year at 100% and so all contractors receive their full contract value to deliver activity in 2022/23.
£334,049.67 was recovered from under-performance of commissioned activity from the 2020/21 contract year and was reinvested for additional urgent dental care appointments that same year.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on the rollout of the direct access scheme for GPs to order diagnostic tests for patients with symptoms of cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
In November 2022, NHS England announced that general practitioners (GPs) would have direct access to a range of key diagnostic tests. NHS England is rolling out this direct access scheme across all GP practices in England for patients with concerning symptoms, but who fall outside the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline threshold for an urgent suspected cancer referral.
Phase 1 of the direct access scheme will deal with urgent cancer referral pathways, and Phase 2, which will be built up in 2023/24, will include a wider range of tests, which will involve dialogues with GPs, integrated care boards and key stakeholders.
Alongside this, the introduction of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDC) provides additional diagnostic capacity, with 114 CDCs currently in operation, supporting primary care teams to boost the number of GP Direct Access tests available
NHS England continues to actively support those trusts requiring the greatest help to cut cancer waiting lists, and the Department is working with NHS England to make further improvements.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
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 increase the number of glioblastoma patients who are offered whole genome sequencing.
Answered by Will Quince
Genomic testing for glioblastoma is included in the National Genomic Test Directory. Testing can be delivered using a range of technologies, including whole genome sequencing or Next Generation Sequencing technology (large cancer gene panels) to ensure that a patient receives the most appropriate genomic testing depending on their individual circumstances. Anyone who meets the eligibility criteria outlined in the National Genomic Test Directory will be able to access this genomic testing.
In addition, glioblastomas are one of four cancer indications included in an innovative £26 million programme, led by Genomics England in partnership with the National Health Service, to evaluate cutting-edge genomic sequencing technology to improve the accuracy and speed of cancer diagnosis.
Genomics England are also collaborating with a lead researcher to support research into glioblastomas through the Brain Matrix study. Patients who have consented to this study will have whole genome sequencing performed via the NHS Genomic Medicine Service. Further information about the study is available at the following link:
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the number and proportion of patients diagnosed with glioblastoma who had received whole genome sequencing of their tumours before the end of 2022.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS England, supported by a Genomics Clinical Reference Group and Test Evaluation Working Groups, continually review the National Genomic Test Directory to keep pace with scientific and technological advances, while delivering value for money for the National Health Service. This review will include the genomic testing offer for patients with a suspected glioblastoma diagnosis, as per the eligibility criteria outlined in the National Genomic Test Directory.
A robust, evidence-based process and policy is in place to ensure testing continues to be available for all patients for whom it would be of clinical benefit. The policy is available at the following link:
The performance of the NHS Genomic Medicine Service is monitored quarterly through an assurance framework, which ensures all seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs are operating to national quality standards. This identifies and minimises any potential variation and ensures consistent delivery of the criteria outlined in the National Genomic Test Directory.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Minister of Health and Secondary Care’s oral contribution of 9 March 2023, Official Report, column 509, on Brain Tumour Research Funding, if he will provide a breakdown of the £33.9 million spent on brain cancer research in the last five years.
Answered by Will Quince
The information is shown in the attached tables.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
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 merits of introducing regulations for the professional use of the title psychologist.
Answered by Will Quince
In the United Kingdom, practitioner psychologists are already subject to statutory regulation by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and HCPC’s legislation protects nine designated psychologist professional titles in law. This means that anyone not registered with the HCPC as a practitioner psychologist who uses one of these designated titles may be breaking the law and could be prosecuted.
The Government keeps the professions subject to statutory regulation under review and recently published a consultation, ‘Healthcare regulation: deciding when statutory regulation is appropriate’. The consultation ran from 6 January to 31 March 2022 and sought views on the criteria that should be used to determine when statutory regulation of a healthcare profession is appropriate.
Officials are currently analysing the responses to this consultation and the Government will publish its response in due course.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the letter dated 10 November 2022 from Andrew Cox, Senior Coroner for the coroner area of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, to the Secretary of State setting out matters revealed by inquests giving rise to concern and requesting a response by 10 January 2023, for what reason his Department has not responded to that correspondence.
Answered by Will Quince
We replied to Andrew Cox on 4 April 2023.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of including the partners of immunocompromised people in the vaccination programme in spring 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
In February 2023, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provided advice for the spring 2023 COVID-19 vaccination programme. As a precautionary measure, the JCVI advised a spring booster dose for the most vulnerable in the population, as a proportionate response, those over the age of 75 years, residents in a care home for older adults and those over five years old who are immunosuppressed. These groups were chosen as they continue to be at highest risk of severe COVID-19.
The JCVI advice for the spring 2023 COVID-19 booster vaccination programme is consistent with that for the spring 2022 COVID-19 booster programme which also did not include household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
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 staff vacancies in the care sector that resulted from policy on vaccination status; and what steps he is taking to encourage staff to return to the profession.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
No specific assessment has been made.
We launched our new domestic national recruitment Made with Care campaign on 2 November 2022, highlighting the extraordinary work that care workers do to attract both former care workers and new entrants into the sector.