Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what initiatives are currently in place to ensure that military veterans receive timely access to (1) physical rehabilitation services, and (2) mental health services, specifically those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Op RESTORE is a bespoke physical health and wellbeing service, commissioned by NHS England, which supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the British Armed Forces and have physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the armed forces.
NHS England also commissioned Op COURAGE, which is the comprehensive veterans’ mental health and wellbeing service. Access to Op COURAGE is via referral or by direct contact from veterans. A campaign to raise awareness of Op COURAGE launched on 9 January 2024.
In addition, The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC), which is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, is a new 70-bed facility which will benefit all patients, including veterans. Construction started in 2023.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve early diagnosis and support for individuals with autism, particularly in educational and healthcare settings.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education to ensure that children and young people with Special Educational Need and Disability (SEND), including autistic children, receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time. We are doing this through working together to implement the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, which was published 2 March 2023
In 2023/24, £4.2 million is available to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services, pre and post diagnostic support, and the continuation of the Autism in Schools programme
On 22 November 2023, we announced the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme. This new programme, backed by £13m of investment, is a partnership between the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Education and NHS England. It will bring together ICBs, local authorities, and schools, working in partnership with parents and carers to support schools to better meet the needs of neurodiverse children, including autistic children. The programme is expected to reach around 10% of mainstream primary schools. It will be evaluated, and learning will be used to inform future policy development around how schools support neurodiverse children.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that patients diagnosed with dementia are able to access breakthrough treatments as soon as possible.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Several potential new disease modifying treatments for dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease are in development. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (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 dementia as soon as possible.
NICE’s evaluations of two new potential treatments, lecanemab and donanemab, are now underway. NICE has begun work in readiness for the companies submitting their evidence. This includes work done by NICE’s Health Technology Assessment Innovation Laboratory (HTA Lab) to identify the key issues that might arise during planned and future evaluations, based on current knowledge, publicly available evidence and in-depth discussions with researchers, patient groups and National Health Service colleagues. The NICE HTA Lab report found that NICE’s methods and processes for evaluating new treatments for use in the NHS are appropriate for the new class of Alzheimer’s drugs and identified key issues that need to be considered during evaluation.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to increase the availability of non-invasive cancer treatment technologies.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service continues to increase investment in minimally invasive cancer therapies, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy services. Since April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines has sat with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 Spending Review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the NHS from 2022 to 2025.
The adoption of new treatments, including increasing the number of minimally invasive cancer treatments and technologies, into the NHS in England is generally the result of National Institution of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance and commissioner decisions. Both NHS England and integrated care boards are required to put in place access for any treatment that carries a positive recommendation from the Technology Appraisal programme, operated by NICE.
Where treatments are approved by NICE through the Technology Appraisals programme, the National Health Service is required to make them available within agreed timescales, which vary by technology. Implementation of any NICE approvals will be supported by the service readiness assessment and the development of additional capacity where necessary.
NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning team has been undertaking work to expand the number of providers offering minimally invasive cancer therapies, such as selective internal radiation therapy. The market engagement and Prior Information Notice aspects of this have now been completed, with regional teams now putting in place the necessary contractual arrangements with NHS trusts.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) nurses, and (2) GPs, there are per head of population in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not held in the format requested. However, as of September 2022, there were 58.5 full time equivalent nurses per 10,000 head of population in England. This includes nurses in Hospital and Community Health Services and general practice settings. This excludes nurses working in social care, the voluntary sector or in the private sector. As of September 2022, there were 6.5 full time equivalent doctors working in general practice per 10,000 head of population in England.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that NHS Trusts are equipped with the resources needed to (1) diagnose, and (2) treat, hemochromatosis.
Answered by Lord Kamall
Genomic testing for haemochromatosis is available through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service for patients in England showing unexplained iron overload suggestive of hereditary haemochromatosis. This testing is delivered via NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs), which ensures that testing is available for all eligible patients in England. Any clinician who suspects haemochromatosis can order this testing via the local GLH.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is developing an evidence-based guideline to define high quality care for haemochromatosis and reduce variation in practice. Following the publication of this guideline, the National Health Service will review service provision to implement any treatment pathways recommended.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the levels of support available for the (1) hospice, and (2) end-of-life, care sector, for core services in (a) England, and (b) Wales.
Answered by Lord Kamall
No specific assessment has been made. Palliative and end of life care services are commissioned by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), which are responsible for planning and commissioning high-quality, cost-effective services to meet the needs of local populations.
Most hospices are independent, charitable organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing these services. NHS England and NHS Improvement have developed seven palliative and end of life care strategic clinical networks, working with CCGs to develop and implement sustainable commissioning models for palliative and end of life care.
Palliative and end of life care service provision in Wales is a devolved matter.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent progress they have made in ensuring equality in cancer treatment across England.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Reducing unwarranted variation in cancer treatment and outcomes is a strategic priority for the National Health Service Cancer Programme. To support cancer services and target local and national actions for improvement, monthly equality data showing first treatment rates by ethnicity, deprivation, sex and age is directly informing the restoration and recovery of cancer services. This includes targeted messaging in the national ‘Help us help you’ campaign to support people coming forward with symptoms indicative of cancer to their general practitioner. In May 2021, urgent general practitioner referrals were 14% higher than in May 2019.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have put in place single national commissioning arrangements for a number of cancer treatments to mitigate the risk of unwarranted variation in terms of access and clinical outcomes. Audits are currently being carried out for lung, bowel, prostate and oesophageal cancers and for breast cancer in older people to drive improvements in care and ensure equity. Five new clinical audits will be commissioned for ovarian, pancreatic, non-hodgkin lymphoma, kidney and metastatic breast cancer to ensure that care is being provided in line with standards and reduce variations.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the quality of NHS care for veterans.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Several bespoke veterans’ services have been developed to meet the needs of military personnel, veterans and their families. This includes Op Courage, the new specialist mental health service for veterans, which focuses on those in crisis, at risk of self-harm or suicide, or suffering other problems such as homelessness and addiction. To date, Op Courage has received over 10,000 referrals.
NHS England are also working with the Royal College of General Practitioners to accredit general practitioner practices as ‘veteran friendly’. To date, 982 practices have been accredited and the accreditation scheme is being widened to Primary Care Networks.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent steps they have taken to address the level of adherence to proper hand hygiene in (1) hospitals, and (2) other care settings.
Answered by Lord Bethell
NHS England’s guide Standard infection control precautions: national hand hygiene and personal protective equipment policy, specifies what standard infection control precautions, including hand hygiene, are to be adhered to by all staff in all care settings, at all times and for all patients. A copy of the guide is attached.
Implementation of and adherence to hand hygiene policy by providers of healthcare is monitored locally, regionally and nationally by standard contractual and regulatory processes. In addition, the Care Quality Commission conducts regular inspections of hospitals to confirm compliance with and adherence to current regulations, legislation and good practice recommendations.