Asked by: Jared O'Mara (Independent - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has to facilitate commercial discussions between manufacturers and NHS England at an early stage in its evaluations of highly specialised technologies.
Answered by Steve Brine
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) it has recently set up a commercial function that specifically focuses on engaging in discussions around commercial arrangements - The Commercial and Managed Access Programme. Through this function, NICE will provide companies with opportunities to engage in commercial and managed access conversations with both NICE and NHS England.
Asked by: Jared O'Mara (Independent - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the introduction of a cost-effectiveness threshold in the NICE highly specialised technologies appraisal process, what steps he is taking to ensure equity of access to treatment for different subgroups of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Answered by Steve Brine
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) evaluates all medicines referred to its highly specialised technologies (HST) programme, including medicines for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, consistently in accordance with its published methods and processes. In 2017, following public consultation, NICE introduced an assessment of cost-effectiveness into its HST methodology that provides a consistent and transparent mechanism for evaluating technologies while recognising the need for greater flexibility in the evaluation of very high cost drugs for the treatment of very rare diseases.
Asked by: Jared O'Mara (Independent - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to ensure that there is a secure medicine supply for hospitals in (a) England and (b) Sheffield in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Steve Barclay
On 23 August 2018, the Department wrote to a number of pharmaceutical companies that supply the United Kingdom with medicines from, or via, the European Union/European Economic Area, asking them to ensure they have a minimum of six weeks’ additional supply in the United Kingdom, over and above their business as usual operational buffer stocks, by 29 March 2019 in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Since writing to pharmaceutical companies, we have received good engagement from the industry who share our aims in ensuring continuity of medicines supply is maintained for patients across the UK. The Department continues to work closely with these companies to ensure that their UK stockpiles of medicines are sufficient to cope with any potential delays at the border that may arise in the short term in a no-deal Brexit scenario.
Asked by: Jared O'Mara (Independent - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to ensure that there is a secure medicine supply for hospitals in (a) England and (b) Sheffield in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Steve Barclay
On 23 August 2018, the Department wrote to a number of pharmaceutical companies that supply the United Kingdom with medicines from, or via, the European Union/European Economic Area, asking them to ensure they have a minimum of six weeks’ additional supply in the United Kingdom, over and above their business as usual operational buffer stocks, by 29 March 2019 in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Since writing to pharmaceutical companies, we have received good engagement from the industry who share our aims in ensuring continuity of medicines supply is maintained for patients across the UK. The Department continues to work closely with these companies to ensure that their UK stockpiles of medicines are sufficient to cope with any potential delays at the border that may arise in the short term in a no-deal Brexit scenario.
Asked by: Jared O'Mara (Independent - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has in place to support the recruitment of employees by health services in Sheffield in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Steve Barclay
We do not want or expect a no deal scenario. As a result of the significant progress made in negotiations, we remain confident we will agree a mutually advantageous deal with the European Union. We are not, however, complacent, and have plans in place in the event the United Kingdom leaves the EU with no deal. These plans are comprehensive, thorough and continuously updated.
We have been clear from the beginning of this process that we want EU nationals currently working in the National Health Service, to stay after we leave the EU. We will be working with NHS and social care employers across Sheffield as well as the whole of England to ensure their EU employees are aware of the straightforward and user-friendly EU settlement scheme which will allow them to secure settled status in the UK and enjoy broadly the same rights and benefits as they do now. This offer will stand irrespective of whether a deal is reached by the time the UK leaves the EU.
We have also introduced a range of measures to support increased recruitment and retention across the health and care system, including national recruitment campaigns that illustrate the diverse and fulfilling career opportunities available in the NHS and social care.
Asked by: Jared O'Mara (Independent - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the proposed average payments to community pharmacies were in Sheffield Hallam constituency under the Pharmacy Access Scheme in (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18.
Answered by Steve Brine
The average payments for community pharmacies located in the Sheffield Hallam constituency made through the Pharmacy Access Scheme were:
£8,007 per year in 2016/17; and
£15,173 per year in 2017/18.