Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 July 2022 to Question 39768 on Numed Healthcare: Medical Equipment, whether Numed Inc Products has indicated to NHS Supply Chain whether it intends to stop importing any equipment specifically made for the treatment of children with heart disease.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Numed Inc Products gave notice to NHS Supply Chain in August 2022 that there are two cardiac products it intends to discontinue in the European Union and the United Kingdom in February and May 2024. While two of these products are no procured through via NHS Supply Chain, it is engaging with the company to ensure that any products required remain available.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of NHS Trusts have a six month termination clause in contracts for the supply of clinical waste services.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The information requested is not collected centrally. Contractual decisions are made by individual trusts locally and the Department does not mandate terms of each contract.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research is being undertaken into the (a) cause of and (b) potential treatments for Distal Myopathy-5 and ADSSL1 Myopathy.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Department funds the majority of research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR has not funded any research into the cause and potential treatments for Distal Myopathy-5 and ADSSL1 Myopathy in the last five years.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2022 to Question 11557 on Numed Healthcare: Medical Equipment, whether NHS Supply Chain has received communication from Numed Inc Products’ United Kingdom distributor as of 19 July 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
NHS Supply Chain has received routine communication from NuMED Inc Products’ United Kingdom distributor.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
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 improve the (a) identification and (b) treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
NHS England and NHS Improvement are accelerating access to cancer diagnosis and treatment, through non-symptom specific pathways and the new Faster Diagnosis Standard. In addition, we are investing £2.3 billion in community diagnostic centres and endoscopy services in the next three years, to improve the diagnosis and the detection of cancers, including pancreatic cancer.
The current ‘Help us help you’ campaign focuses on the barriers to earlier presentation across all cancer types. A further campaign is planned later in 2022 to address abdominal and urological symptoms, which can include symptoms relevant to pancreatic cancer.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have commissioned a new audit of pancreatic cancer services to support the National Health Service to identify and address variation in access to treatment. NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with Pancreatic Cancer UK to raise awareness of Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy and shared guidance with Cancer Alliances.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to help ensure that NuMed Healthcare will not cease to import equipment made for the treatment of children with heart disease from the US after January 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar
NHS Supply Chain has not received communication from NuMed Inc Products’ United Kingdom distributor on potential disruptions to the supply of paediatric cardiology devices, once new regulatory requirements come into effect on 1 July 2023. Due to the large volume of suppliers and the array of specialised products available under NHS Supply Chain’s framework, the incoming regulation changes are not expected to cause supply or resilience issues within the National Health Service as there are suitable alternatives available.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is currently finalising the response to the public consultation on future medical device regulation, which will outline the new regulatory requirements from 1 July 2023 and appropriate transitional arrangements. The consultation considered routes to market for medical devices once regulatory changes take place and any proposals will be outlined in the response. Officials are engaging with industry stakeholders on the future approach to regulating medical devices.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued to GP services in England about the treatment of excessive ear wax which has led to deafness.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) no longer advises manual ear syringing due to the associated risks, such as trauma to the ear drum or infection. NICE suggests alternative arrangements for treatment of excessive ear wax, such as ear irrigation using an electronic irrigator, micro-suction or another method of earwax removal. General practitioner services are increasingly recommending self-care methods as the primary means to support the safe removal of ear wax, such as in cases of deafness. Commissioners should ensure that there is appropriate access to ear wax removal services where it is clinically appropriate for the patient.