Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the (a) adequacy of the entry criteria for the Innovative Medicines Fund and (b) whether these present barriers to patients accessing medicines in areas of high unmet need.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF) was launched in June 2022, building on the successful Cancer Drugs Fund and supporting patient access to the most promising new medicines while further evidence is collected on their use to address clinical uncertainty.
The IMF’s principles ensure that patients can access promising but still clinically uncertain medicines while supplementary data is collected over a time limited period, to allow for more informed decision making about patient access and long-term National Health Service funding.
Since the IMF was established in June 2022, over 1,050 patients have been registered to receive treatment with 16 products, treating 16 different conditions. NHS England has made interim funding available via the IMF for 14 products, and two products have been recommended for managed access across three indications in the IMF.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of levels of young people dying from sudden cardiac death in (a) England and (b) other European countries; and what steps he plans to take to reduce levels of sudden cardiac death in young people.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease is a priority for the Government. We want people to have the best chance of survival from cardiac arrest, and rapid intervention is central to improving outcomes. NHS England has published a national service specification for inherited cardiac conditions that covers patients who often present as young adults with a previously undiagnosed cardiac disease or from families requiring a follow up due to a death from this cause. Further information on the national service specification for inherited cardiac conditions is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf
The service specification describes the service model and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for specialised inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification in line with the national service specification methods review process. NHS England is working with a broad range of stakeholders as part of this review, including National Health Service clinical experts, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice, and the British Heart Foundation.
The consensus at present is to focus on the rapid identification and care of people who are likely to be at risk of sudden cardiac death and automated external defibrillator use for people who suffer a cardiac arrest.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the NHS National Program for IT.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The final cost and benefits statement for the programmes delivered under the National Programme for Information Technology was published on 6 June 2013, and can be found online on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of NHS trusts having electronic records.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment of these trends has been made. Currently, we have achieved a 91% rollout of Electronic Patient Records (EPR), with work underway to provide tailored support to the remaining 19 trusts that do not yet have an EPR.
The programme is forecasting to achieve 96% EPR coverage by the programme’s end in March 2026, with the remaining 4% of trusts having advanced in their plans for an EPR.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter of 5 February 2025 from the Hon. Member for Henley and Thame on building a new Royal Berkshire Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I replied to the hon. Member’s letter on 21 March 2025.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 potential impact of the adequacy of access to gluten-free products on people with coeliac disease in rural areas.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In addition to the wide variety of naturally gluten-free food, a wide range of gluten-free products is now readily available for purchase. The national prescribing position in England remains that gluten free bread and mixes can be provided to coeliac patients in England, including in rural areas, on National Health Service prescription and a wide range of these items continue to be listed in part XV of the Drug Tariff.
Decisions about the commissioning and funding of local health services are the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England guidance should be considered when ICBs formulate local policies, and prescribers are expected to reflect local policies in their prescribing practice. Guidance does not remove the clinical discretion of prescribers in accordance with their professional duties.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will direct NHS England to update the guidance on gluten-free food prescriptions in the document entitled Prescribing Gluten-Free Foods in Primary Care: Guidance for Clinical Commissioning Groups, published on 28 November 2018.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England currently has no plans to update the guidance. NHS England’s guidance on prescribing gluten-free foods in primary care was developed in 2018 to communicate to the then clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). The guidance stated that CCGs may further restrict the prescribing of gluten-free foods by selecting bread and mixes only, or that they may choose to end the prescribing of such foods altogether, having considered whether it is appropriate for their population, taking account of their legal duties to advance equality and have regard of reducing health inequalities.
Decisions about the commissioning and funding of local health services are now the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs), rather than the CCGs. NHS England’s guidance should be taken into account when ICBs formulate local policies, and prescribers are expected to reflect local policies in their prescribing practice. The guidance does not remove the clinical discretion of prescribers in accordance with their professional duties.
The national prescribing position in England remains that gluten free bread and mixes can be provided to coeliac patients on a National Health Service prescription, and a wide range of these items continue to be listed in part XV of the Drug Tariff. This means that prescribers can issue NHS prescriptions, based on a shared decision between a prescriber and a patient, while also being mindful of local and national guidance.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 (a) ensure the interoperability of NHS IT systems and (b) reduce duplication across NHS IT systems.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Regulations will be introduced shortly to Parliament to commence section 95 of the Health and Care Act 2022 and establish the process for preparing and publishing information standards, which will be mandatory for public and private health and adult social care providers. In addition, the Data (Use and Access) Bill, which is currently before Parliament, will make information standards mandatory for IT suppliers in the health and care system and will provide support for ensuring compliance.
Information standards define a common set of requirements that must be followed when health and adult social care information is used, processed, and shared. Mandatory information standards can be set to provide for interoperability between IT systems, allowing for information to be shared easily, in real time, between organisations that use different systems, to improve outcomes for patients, and the productivity of the National Health Service.
To achieve the vision of a digitised NHS by March 2026, the current patchwork of digitisation across the system must be remedied, to reduce duplication and ensure that the NHS is better able to harness the power of data and technology.
Through the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP), we have been supporting trusts and integrated care boards to access the information they already hold in a single, secure place. The NHS FDP is software that sits across existing systems, making it possible to connect them, and thereby reducing duplication and improving efficiency.
Through the Frontline Digitisation programme, we are supporting levelling up integrated care systems (ICS) and trusts to a baseline level of digital capability, as defined in our Minimum Digital Foundation. The What Good Looks Like guidance sets a common vision for good digital practice to empower frontline leaders to accelerate digital transformation in their organisations and reduce duplication.
The NHS App provides the digital front door for citizens to access whichever national or locally commissioned services will best meet their needs. Each ICS can use these channels to support the delivery of their own digital transformation programmes. We also provide services that can be utilised by health and care organisations through their own system solutions, for example NHS.UK website’s syndicated content or the NHS App notification and messaging service. By enabling others to use our channels and services, we reduce duplication of investment and effort, and create efficiencies across the system.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 commissioning of the use of Visualase for Inoperable brain tumours on the NHS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The decision to commission new services sits with integrated care boards (ICBs), overseen by NHS England. For proposed new treatments which require additional investment, NHS England carries out a relative prioritisation process to determine which services will be routinely commissioned.
NHS England and the National Institution for Clinical Excellence have conducted literature reviews on the effectiveness of MRI-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT), which includes Visualase, to treat different conditions relating to inoperable brain tumours. Studies have shown very low certainty of treatment success, and it was not possible to draw reliable conclusions about the clinical effectiveness, safety or cost effectiveness of MRgLITT compared with continued medical therapy.
However, the Government is invested in driving new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours. 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 to ensure the most promising research opportunities are made available to adult and child patients.
Furthermore, we will publish a new National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including improvement treatment options for cancer patients.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the meeting between PANS PANDAS and his Department on 19 November 2024, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for research into that condition.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are supportive of the progress made by PANS PANDAS UK and the PANS PANDAS Steering Group to undertake a national surveillance study, develop a clinical guideline, and produce guidance for professionals, children, young people, and families.
Funding for research into rare diseases such as pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome and pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infections is available through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and researchers in this area are encouraged to come forward with proposals that can further our understanding.