Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to routinely monitor and report miscarriage rate trends; and what steps he has taken to reduce the rate of miscarriages.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The risk of miscarriage is estimated at 15%, or approximately 100,000-150,000 miscarriages per year in the United Kingdom. However, due to lack of data on the earliest losses, the true figure could be higher at approximately 250,000 a year.
An update to digital record standards on maternity means that the National Health Service is now able to record the pregnancy outcome for any woman, including miscarriage, where they have been in contact with NHS maternity services.
The Tommy’s Miscarriage Centre at Birmingham Women and Children’s Hospital has completed its pilot assessing the effectiveness of a graded model of sporadic or recurrent miscarriage care and is in the final stages of evaluating the study. Under the ‘Graded Model of Care’, women receive dedicated care from their first miscarriage. It includes bereavement support, health advice and risk assessment for women who wish to become pregnant again, screening for mental health support, and a clear pathway to manage congenital risks.
Research on the feasibility and affordability of this care is due to be published later this year. The Department has received headline positive early findings from Tommy’s and will continue to engage with Tommy’s through our planning for maternity and neonatal services.
We look forward to discussing the full findings of this important work with Tommy's in the coming weeks, and to consider what immediate and longer-term actions the Government can put in place that will help to transform care and deliver the outcomes and experience we want to see.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 potential implications for his policies of average (a) stillbirth and (b) neonatal mortality rates among (i) Black and Asian babies and (ii) babies born to mothers in the most deprived areas; and (b) what steps he is taking to help reduce maternal inequalities.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises that there are stark inequalities for women and babies, and that they should receive the high-quality care they deserve, regardless of their background, location or ethnicity.
A number of interventions specifically aimed at addressing maternal and neonatal inequalities are underway. These include the Perinatal Equity and Anti-Discrimination Programme, delivery of an inequalities dashboard and projects on removing racial bias from clinical education and embedding genetic risk equity. Additionally, all local areas have published Equity and Equality action plans to tackle inequalities for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas.
An important aspect of both the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation and the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce announced in June, is to address inequalities in maternal and neonatal care and promote health equity in the delivery of those services.
We are putting in place immediate actions to improve safety across maternity and neonatal care, which includes the implementation of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle in all Trusts to reduce the rates of stillbirth, preterm birth and neonatal care.
NHS England is also introducing a Maternal Mortality Care Bundle to set clear standards across all services, and address the leading causes of maternal mortality. Women from Black and Asian backgrounds are more at risk of specific clinical conditions that are the leading causes of death. This bundle will target these conditions, and we expect a decline in deaths and harm.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to improve access to interpreters for pregnant women and their families who are receiving maternity and neonatal care; and whether he plans to introduce national guidance to ensure consistency of interpretation provision across all maternity and neonatal services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community language translation and interpretation services are crucial for patient safety. The responsibility to commission these services sits with integrated care boards and National Health Service providers as they are better placed to make decisions about how they use their funding based on the needs of their local populations. Local commissioners are responsible for applying the highest quality standards possible.
To identify the most effective way to improve interpretation provision across all clinical services including maternity and neonatal care, NHS England has completed a strategic review, building on the recommendations of independent safety investigations.
In response, NHS England has developed a Framework for NHS action on Community Language Translation and Interpreting, to help improve interpretation services so that they meet the needs of communities and support equitable access, experience, and outcomes for all. A six-month period of engagement work ensured that issues relating to maternal and neonatal care were considered in the development of the Improvement Framework, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 26 June 2025 to Question 60418 on medical testing, how much of the £600 million capital spending this year on diagnostics including funding all pathology networks will be allocated to (a) Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and (b) Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the £1.65 billion for investment to improve National Health Service performance against constitutional standards in 2025/26, £600 million was allocated to diagnostics. Final allocation of this funding will be agreed via national panels upon receipt and review of business cases.
To date, the Department has approved £2,267,000 capital to Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust from this overall allocation.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 potential implications for his policies of trends in the number of patients who have been referred by their GP for a possible Parkinson's diagnosis and are not seen by a neurologist or geriatrician within 18 weeks in line with NICE guidance.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of a timely diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and remain committed to delivering the National Health Service constitutional standard for 92% of patients to wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. This includes patients waiting for elective treatment on neurological pathways.
We are investing in additional capacity to deliver appointments to help bring lists and waiting times down. We provided additional investment in the Autumn Budget 2024 that has enabled us to fulfil our pledge to deliver over two million more elective care appointments early. More than double that number, 4.9 million more appointments, have now been delivered.
The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the specific productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard.
The Getting It Right First Time programme, which provides tailored regional and national support to providers, also has a neurology specific Further Faster workstream. This is a clinically led initiative supporting peer to peer learning and improvement. A neurology 'handbook' and checklist with benchmarked data and case studies has been published and there are regular neurology online sessions for clinical and operational leads.
The shifts outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan will free up hospital-based neurologists’ and geriatricians’ time by shifting care from hospitals to communities, utilising digital technology to reduce administrative burdens, and promoting prevention to reduce the onset and severity of neurological conditions that lead to hospital admissions. This includes expanding community-based services, employing artificial intelligence for productivity, developing integrated neighbourhood health teams, and investing in digital tools and data. These shifts will enable earlier identification and management of Parkinson's disease, allowing specialists to focus on complex cases and improve patient outcomes.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to provide people with Parkinson's disease with a personal plan to allow (a) access to, (b) advice from and (c) treatment by a multidisciplinary team of (i) Parkinson’s nurses, (ii) physiotherapists, (iii) nutritionists, (iv) speech therapists and (v) other relevant health professionals.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our 10-Year Health Plan will ensure that people with complex needs are supported to be active participants in their own care. As part of this, 95% of people with complex needs or long-term conditions like Parkison’s disease will have an agreed personalised care plan by 2027. Care plans will be a feature of the developing Neighbourhood Health Service, which will provide integrated, accessible, and localised services that will focus on early detection and diagnosis, and comprehensive multidisciplinary care. By being community-based, the centres will reduce barriers to care and ongoing support and will empower patients to manage their condition more effectively.
From 2026, ‘Diagnosis Connect’ will ensure patients are referred directly to trusted charities and support organisations as soon as they are diagnosed. It will ensure that patients are provided with timely, personalised advice, information, and guidance to help them manage their condition, improve their control over it, and navigate the complex support systems they may face. The Department has already had conversations with Parkinson’s UK about its ‘Parkinson’s Connect’ programme and will continue to do so in the context of ‘Diagnosis Connect’.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider the potential merits of providing a leaflet to people diagnosed with Parkinson's disease with (a) information about the disease, (b) the relevant contact numbers for their (i) hospital and (ii) nurse and (c) local support groups available to them.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our 10-Year Health Plan will ensure that people with complex needs are supported to be active participants in their own care. As part of this, 95% of people with complex needs or long-term conditions like Parkison’s disease will have an agreed personalised care plan by 2027. Care plans will be a feature of the developing Neighbourhood Health Service, which will provide integrated, accessible, and localised services that will focus on early detection and diagnosis, and comprehensive multidisciplinary care. By being community-based, the centres will reduce barriers to care and ongoing support and will empower patients to manage their condition more effectively.
From 2026, ‘Diagnosis Connect’ will ensure patients are referred directly to trusted charities and support organisations as soon as they are diagnosed. It will ensure that patients are provided with timely, personalised advice, information, and guidance to help them manage their condition, improve their control over it, and navigate the complex support systems they may face. The Department has already had conversations with Parkinson’s UK about its ‘Parkinson’s Connect’ programme and will continue to do so in the context of ‘Diagnosis Connect’.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 the provision of adequate levels of funding for seeking a cure for Parkinson's disease.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Government responsibility for delivering research into Parkinson’s disease is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation.
The Government is investing in Parkinson’s disease research across all areas, from causes, prevention, and diagnosis to treatment and care, including for carers. Between financial years 2019/20 and 2023/24, the Government spent a total of £79.1 million on research into Parkinson’s disease.
One example of ongoing research into Parkinson’s disease is the UK Dementia Research Institute’s new partnership with Parkinson’s UK to establish a £10 million research centre dedicated to better understanding the causes of Parkinson’s and finding new treatments.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including Parkinson’s disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on Parkinson’s disease to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 patients seeking fertility treatment are protected from unregulated concierge IVF clinics that fall outside the remit of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Digital clinics do not currently fall within the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act and therefore are out outside of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s (HFEA) remit at present.
The HFEA published Modernising Fertility Law in November 2023, which made a number of recommendations for legislative change, including around its regulatory powers.
Ministers have met with the HFEA Chair and discussed the emerging regulatory challenges. The Government is considering the HFEA’s priorities for changing the law and will decide how to take this forward at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 30 June 2025 to Question 60420 on Health Services: Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of cancelled appointments (a) at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and (b) in England; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of missed appointments at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals in the last three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Plan for Change, we will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. The Government is clear that to help achieve this target we must reduce the cancellation of procedures wherever possible.
The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, states that systems and providers will be expected to consistently focus on the smaller aspects of service delivery that can make a big difference in reducing cancellations, including embedding theatre scheduling for elective surgery, and reviewing list allocation for past and upcoming theatre lists.
At the Lancashire Teaching Hospital, a number of initiatives are in place to reduce the number of cancelled appointments, including theatre efficiency and utilisation programmes, focused on the reduction of late starts, improved turnaround times, and reduced overruns. The opening of the new elective admissions unit, the Lancashire Elective Surgery Unit, at the Royal Preston Hospital supports improved admission processes and theatre efficiency. Investment in the Hospital Sterilisation and Decontamination Unit workforce and tracking systems within theatres helps reduce the number of cancellations due to equipment issues. This is in addition to improved administrative processes to ensure care is delivered in the most productive way.
No specific assessment has been made of the cost of cancelled appointments at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals.