Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Mental Health Bill, whether he plans to include a statutory duty to provide early intervention strategies to detect and address mental health issues for children and young people within primary and secondary schools; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The draft Mental Health Bill, published in June 2022, is intended to modernise the Mental Health Act and work better for people with serious mental illness. The draft Bill has completed its pre-legislative scrutiny and the Joint Committee published its report on 19 January 2023 on the Draft Mental Health Bill. The Department will consider the Committee’s recommendations carefully and we will introduce the Bill when parliamentary time allows.
Separate to the provisions in the draft Bill, there are currently 287 mental health support teams in place in around 4,700 schools and colleges across the country, offering support to children experiencing anxiety, depression and other common mental health issue. These
teams now cover 26% of pupils, a year earlier than originally planned and this will increase to 399 teams, covering around 35% of pupils by April 2023 with over 500 planned to be deployed by 2024.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many to UK-based randomised clinical trials for cannabis-based medicinal products (a) have been completed since 2018 and (b) are currently ongoing.
Answered by Will Quince
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency advised there have been 20 United Kingdom-based randomised clinical trials for cannabis-based medicinal products completed since 2018 and 13 are currently ongoing.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
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 effectiveness of the medicines regulatory system at supporting novel clinical trials for rare disease treatments.
Answered by Will Quince
No specific assessment has been made. However, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) offers a 10-year period of market exclusivity for orphan designated products, which can encourage the pharmaceutical industry to develop medicines for rare diseases. There are flexibilities in the licensing system which consider novel clinical trials and data generation aspects for small population research, such as a Conditional Marketing Authorisation.
The Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) supports bespoke product development programmes and aims to accelerate the time to market, facilitating more rapid and efficient patient access to medicines. The entry criteria for the ILAP include a rare disease aspect and a toolkit encourages the use of novel approaches to the clinical trial design and development programme. The MHRA supports the design of novel clinical trials through formal scientific advice, where the methodology, challenges and opportunities of the approach can be considered by a team of experts and the study sponsor.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to encourage manufacturers of cannabis-based medicinal products to (a) conduct clinical trials and (b) pursue regulatory approval for their products.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has issued two calls for research proposals and a highlight notice on medicinal cannabis. Manufacturers are responsible for generating evidence to support the use of these products and to seek regulatory approval. The Government has encouraged manufacturers to do so and offered scientific and research advice from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the NIHR.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to bring forward a workforce strategy for the dental sector which includes (a) NHS, (b) mixed and (c) private dentist practices.
Answered by Will Quince
In July 2022, we announced measures to reform National Health Service dental services to increase access for patients and remunerate dentists fairly for caring for patients with complex needs. We are also working with NHS England and the sector on longer-term improvements. Health Education England has undertaken a three-year review of education and training which is being implemented through the Dental Education Reform Programme to improve recruitment and retention.
The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term plan for workforce groups and professions in the NHS for the next 15 years, which will include dental care professionals. The conclusions of this work will be available in due course.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made for the implications of her policies of the level of recruitment and retention of dentists in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Will Quince
No specific assessment has been made.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
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 ensure integrated pre-operative, operative and post-operative care for people with arthritis.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
NHS England's Best MSK Health Collaborative is working with local systems, those with direct lived experience, patient groups and organisations representing clinicians to deliver integrated musculoskeletal services, including for those with arthritis.
Through the Health and Care Act 2022 integrated care boards have a duty to promote integration where it would improve the quality of services and reduce inequalities of access or outcome.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
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 reduce waiting times for joint replacement surgery for arthritis; and what steps his Department is taking to support people awaiting that surgery.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Joint replacement surgery is being prioritised through the High Volume Low Complexity programme, which focuses on improving clinical pathways and quality of care. The programme adopts best clinical and operational practice and aims to establish fast-track surgical hubs for high volume elective procedures, such as hip and knee joint replacements, to reduce waiting times. An additional £1.5 billion is being invested in elective services, including for new surgical hubs and increased bed capacity, including for joint replacement surgery.
In the ‘Delivery Plan for tackling the Covid-19 backlog of elective care’, sets out how care pathways will be simplified for patients and their carers. The pathway improvement programme will focus on the most common types of care, including musculoskeletal (MSK) services. NHS England is currently working with Versus Arthritis on the development of new MSK pathways and a MSK strategy. This includes long-term conditions, pain management, personalised care and supporting patients waiting and preparing for surgery.
Through collaboration with the British Orthopaedic Association, the British Society for Rheumatology, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance and Versus Arthritis, NHS England has also developed self-management resources for patients awaiting surgery to manage the physical and mental aspects of their condition at home.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
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 reduce waiting times for joint replacement surgery; and what steps his Department is taking to support people awaiting that surgery.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Joint replacement surgery is being prioritised through the High Volume Low Complexity programme, which focuses on improving clinical pathways and quality of care. The programme adopts best clinical and operational practice and aims to establish fast-track surgical hubs for high volume elective procedures, such as hip and knee joint replacements, to reduce waiting times. An additional £1.5 billion is being invested in elective services, including for new surgical hubs and increased bed capacity, including for joint replacement surgery.
In the ‘Delivery Plan for tackling the Covid-19 backlog of elective care’, sets out how care pathways will be simplified for patients and their carers. The pathway improvement programme will focus on the most common types of care, including musculoskeletal (MSK) services. NHS England is currently working with Versus Arthritis on the development of new MSK pathways and a MSK strategy. This includes long-term conditions, pain management, personalised care and supporting patients waiting and preparing for surgery.
Through collaboration with the British Orthopaedic Association, the British Society for Rheumatology, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance and Versus Arthritis, NHS England has also developed self-management resources for patients awaiting surgery to manage the physical and mental aspects of their condition at home.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to increase radiotherapy cancer treatment (a) capacity and (b) access; what assessment he has made of the role of radiotherapy treatment services in (i) reducing waiting times and (ii) tackling the cancer treatment backlog; and if he will meet with leading radiotherapy professionals to discuss the backlog in cancer care and treatment.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In 2022/23, NHS England and NHS Improvement intend to undertake a capacity and demand review of external beam radiotherapy capacity, to support local systems to plan radiotherapy provision, including the replacement of equipment. NHS England and NHS Improvement have committed to review the payment arrangements for radiotherapy, to ensure that appropriate incentives are in place to encourage providers to increase access to new treatments and techniques and to upgrade and replace equipment.
New radiotherapy methods are being delivered to address current backlogs through targeted treatment in fewer hospital visits, minimising patient time in hospital. Radiotherapy activity is also included in the Elective Recovery Fund, which aims to support National Health Service providers increase capacity in elective services, including for cancer treatment.
On 18 May 2022, I met with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Radiotherapy to discuss a range of issues, including the backlog in cancer care. The meeting included radiotherapy professionals.