Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 monitor the implementation of the (a) UK Rare Diseases Framework and (b) England’s Rare Disease Action Plans.
Answered by Will Quince
The UK Rare Diseases Framework Board provides high level oversight and coordination of rare disease policy and action plans across the four nations. National implementation and delivery groups continue to meet regularly to report on and monitor the implementation of action plans. England’s Action Plan contains a concise set of deliverables, each with an owner, key milestones, and metrics. Progress will be reported in annual updates of England’s action plan and continual community engagement.
The Department is currently working with National Institute of Health and Care Research to commission policy research which will develop metrics and methodology to measure improvement of the lives of people living with rare diseases in the United Kingdom across the four priority areas of the UK Rare Diseases Framework. These metrics will be applied to assess the outcomes of the Framework as delivered through England’s action plans.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 adopt Allergy UK's Patient Charter as a plan for patient rights for people living with allergic conditions.
Answered by Will Quince
The majority of allergy services are commissioned locally by integrated care boards, with a small number of specialist allergy services for patients with complex and severe allergies commissioned nationally by NHS England. The service specification specifies that centres provide equity of access to best practice standards for diagnosis and management, based on current national and international guidelines.
The Department and NHS England continue to engage with stakeholders, including Allergy UK, to understand the needs of people with allergies and how services could be improved. This includes patient and public voice membership in NHS England’s clinical reference group which provides clinical advice and leadership on specialised immunology and allergy services.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 mitigate increases in the number of hospital admissions associated with (a) allergies and (b) anaphylaxis.
Answered by Will Quince
People with allergies continue to be supported through locally commissioned NHS services. For people with rare and complex allergic conditions, specialised allergy services are commissioned by NHS England in line with the published service specification.
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced a range of guidance to support the care of people with allergies, including recommendations on what information and support should be provided to the child or young person and their families to help manage one’s condition and avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.
On 1 October 2021, Natasha’s Law made it a legal requirement for food operators to display allergen labelling on food items pre-packed for direct sale, protecting those with allergies and giving them more confidence in the food they buy.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is currently considering how to improve the provision of information for people with allergies and are researching different approaches for the provision of written and verbal information to improve the accuracy and communications of allergen information. The FSA has recently commissioned several pieces of research in this area. These will provide new evidence on the nature and extent of food hypersensitivity reactions, different international approaches to written information, and the business operating models of small and micro businesses in the non-prepacked sector. These reports will be published in due course and will be presented to the FSA Board to consider next steps.
In June 2023, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published new guidance on the use adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs), highlighting the latest safety advice on the steps to take during anaphylaxis. The new guidance includes a step infographic guide and video outlining the latest advice from the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM’s) working group on the safe and effective use of AAIs. It includes an easy step-by-step guide on what to do in an emergency and provides updated advice on body positioning.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merit of each Intrgetated Care System having a (a) specialist allergy nurse and (b) specialist dietician.
Answered by Will Quince
No assessment has been made. Most services for people living with allergies are commissioned locally through integrated care boards, which are best placed to commission services according to local need.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to reduce respiratory health inequalities.
Answered by Will Quince
The NHS Long Term Plan made a commitment to tackling health inequalities and earlier intervention to detect and treat respiratory disease. NHS England has set out Core20PLUS5, a national approach to reduce healthcare inequalities at both national and system level. The approach defines a target population (the ‘Core20PLUS’) and identifies ‘5’ focus clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement.
The approach will include a focus on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease driving up uptake of COVID-19, flu and pneumonia vaccines to reduce exacerbations of the disease and to reduce emergency hospital admissions due to those exacerbations, as well as smoking cessation given the strong social gradient in smoking rates that contributes to inequalities in respiratory disease and other major causes of death.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the (a) adequacy and (b) availability of allergy training for GPs.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We have made no assessment. General practitioners (GPs) are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by the National Institute for Care Excellence, to ensure that they can continue to provide high-quality care to all patients.
All UK registered doctors are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) Good Medical Practice. In 2012, the GMC introduced revalidation which supports doctors in regularly reflecting on how they can develop or improve their practice. This gives patients confidence doctors are up to date with their practice and promotes improved quality of care by driving improvements in clinical governance.
The training curricula for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the relevant medical Royal College and has to meet the standards set by the GMC. The Royal College of General Practitioners has developed an allergy e-learning online resource to support their continuing professional development which aims to educate GPs about the various presentations of allergic disease.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to promote the potential role hydration may play in tackling obesity.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There has been no specific assessment. Government advice on a healthy, balanced diet is encapsulated in the United Kingdom’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide. This recommends that people should aim to drink six to eight cups or glasses of fluid a day.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential role hydration may play in tackling obesity.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There has been no specific assessment. Government advice on a healthy, balanced diet is encapsulated in the United Kingdom’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide. This recommends that people should aim to drink six to eight cups or glasses of fluid a day.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the term probiotic being used as an ingredient descriptor on (a) food and (b) food supplement labels.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
‘Probiotic’ is a term used to describe live bacteria used in food and food supplements. The current Regulation governs the use of nutrition and health claims on foods to protect consumers from being misled, by ensuring that any health claims made are backed by substantiated scientific evidence. Under the Regulation, the term ‘probiotic’ can be considered a non-specific health claim, as it suggests a relationship between the substance and health. It can already be used, providing it is accompanied by an approved health claim for the specific strain of live bacteria. No further assessment of merit has been undertaken although the Department continues to engage with industry on any potential future application for new assessment. To date the Department has not received any application for approving claims on specific strains of live bacteria. Companies would be required to include the specific strain in the ingredient listing.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of working directly with the WAVE Trust 70/30 campaign.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The 1,001 critical days from conception to the age of two set the foundations for an individual’s cognitive, emotional and physical development. That is why the Government is investing around £300 million to improve support for babies, children and families through the joint Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Education Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme.
The safeguarding of children and young people is also an important part of the National Health Service’s role. This is why we have also published and disseminated a working definition of trauma-informed practice for the health and care sector. In England, at the local authority level, the police, integrated care board and local authority are under a statutory duty to make arrangements to work together, and with other partners locally, to safeguard children in their area.
Officials in the Department of Health and Social Care would be happy to meet with the WAVE Trust to discuss our joint commitment to giving every baby the best start in life.