Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 help ensure that new disease-modifying treatments for dementia will be available on the NHS.
Answered by Will Quince
To be made routinely available to National Health Service patients in England, new medicines must receive a marketing authorisation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and a positive recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to demonstrate clinical and cost effectiveness.
A number of potential new disease modifying treatments for Alzheimer’s disease are in development and MHRA, NICE, NHS England and the Department are working closely to ensure that arrangements are in place to support the adoption of any new licensed and NICE recommended treatment for Alzheimer’s disease as soon as possible.
NICE’s appraisal of lecanemab for treating early Alzheimer's disease is currently underway and, subject to licensing and the company engaging in the process, NICE expects to publish final guidance in July 2024 as close to licence as possible. NICE is also due to begin its appraisal of donanemab for treating early Alzheimer’s disease later this year.
To prepare for these appraisals, and the expected pipeline of further disease modifying dementia treatments, the NICE Health Technology Assessment Innovation Laboratory has already started working on identifying potential challenges that might face the evaluation of these medicines and ways of addressing them.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government is taking steps to reduce inequalities in access to medicinal cannabis prescribed under the NHS.
Answered by Will Quince
Licensed cannabis-based medicines are routinely available on the National Health Service. However, clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines.
Funding of unlicensed products is subject to local National Health Service decisions on a case-by-case basis. These decisions follow clearly developed procedures that ensure equitable distribution of funding, prioritising those medicines that have proved their safety, quality, and clinical and cost effectiveness.
We continue to call on manufacturers to conduct research to prove if their products are safe and effective and we are working with regulatory, research and NHS partners to establish clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of these products.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 help manage the (a) affordability and (b) value for money in the cost of medicines purchased by patients.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department has no role in the costs of medicines purchased in the private sector.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 help support patients receiving end-of-life care.
Answered by Will Quince
As set out in the Health and Care Act 2022, it is the legal duty of integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission palliative and end of life care to meet the needs of their local population. To support commissioners to fulfil this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications for both adults, and children and young people, which provide guidance to ICBs on enabling high-quality commissioning of services that meet both population need and preferences.
In addition, ICBs are supported by Palliative and End of Life Care Strategic Clinical Networks which work to progress and implement sustainable commissioning models for equitable, high-quality services.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 improve access to (a) early diagnosis and (b) treatment for people living with pulmonary fibrosis.
Answered by Will Quince
Patients with pulmonary fibrosis are cared for by National Health Service regional specialist Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) services, who are commissioned by NHS England. To be referred to a specialist service patients need to be identified in primary and secondary care. Early and accurate diagnosis is a priority for NHS England, and the work to improve this area of clinical care is underway, which should have an impact on reducing delayed diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis.
NHS England is responsible for the commissioning of services for ILD and funds the cost of anti-fibrotic treatments to treat this disease. Access to these treatments has recently been expanded to patients with non-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis following the publication of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s technology appraisal ‘Nintedanib for treating progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases’ in November 2021.
The Department has no plans for an awareness campaign.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 awareness of pulmonary fibrosis.
Answered by Will Quince
Patients with pulmonary fibrosis are cared for by National Health Service regional specialist Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) services, who are commissioned by NHS England. To be referred to a specialist service patients need to be identified in primary and secondary care. Early and accurate diagnosis is a priority for NHS England, and the work to improve this area of clinical care is underway, which should have an impact on reducing delayed diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis.
NHS England is responsible for the commissioning of services for ILD and funds the cost of anti-fibrotic treatments to treat this disease. Access to these treatments has recently been expanded to patients with non-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis following the publication of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s technology appraisal ‘Nintedanib for treating progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases’ in November 2021.
The Department has no plans for an awareness campaign.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 help support people living with epilepsy.
Answered by Will Quince
The majority of health services for people with epilepsy are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs are best placed to make decisions regarding the provision of health services to their local population, including for the treatment of epilepsy, subject to local prioritisation and funding.
At a national level, there are several initiatives supporting service improvement for those with epilepsy, including NHS England’s Neuroscience Service Transformation Programme and RightCare Epilepsy Toolkit.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will increase funding for water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure in healthcare facilities to contain antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Statistics on International Development publication confirmed that UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend on WASH totalled £46 million in 2022. Multilateral spend on WASH was £63 million in 2021. At this stage we are unable to confirm FCDO's future allocations to WASH.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implication for his policies of the joint statement of 15 September 2023 by the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy and the Pharmacists’ Defence Association entitled Conflict, natural disaster and the risk of rising resistance.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The joint statement was right to highlight antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a pressing global challenge, including in conflict-affected countries and natural disasters. The FCDO champions action through its diplomacy and bilateral and multilateral investments to better prevent, detect and respond to AMR, supporting stronger health and water, sanitation and hygiene systems and tackling infectious and vaccine-preventable diseases. In 2022, the UK provided £1.1 billion in humanitarian aid, including support for Emergency Medical Team deployment. We look forward to engaging domestic and global stakeholders to identify joint action to tackle AMR at the UN High-Level Meeting on AMR in 2024.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) material and (b) financial support his Department has offered to countries affected by (i) armed conflict and (ii) natural disasters to help control and contain the spread of (A) drug-resistant and (B) other infections in the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Through a combination of diplomacy and funding, the FCDO works bilaterally and with multilateral agencies to support countries affected by conflict and natural disasters. Our work strengthening health and water, sanitation and hygiene systems supports countries to be better prepared to prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks and tackle antimicrobial resistance. Our humanitarian response includes deployment of Emergency Medical teams, supporting WHO (World Health Organisation) and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) and bolstering national responses with key medical supplies, such as recent deployment to Malawi to combat cholera, or responding to the previous Ebola outbreak in Uganda. In 2022, the UK provided £1.1 billion in humanitarian aid.