Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if will he make an oral statement to the House on the Government's response to Lord O’Shaughnessy's review into commercial clinical trials in the UK.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government will publish a full response to the Lord O’Shaughnessy independent review into commercial clinical trials in autumn 2023.
The response will include an update on progress and implementation of the initial five headline commitments and foundational actions that the Government made in May 2023.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, as part of the NHS Prevention Programme, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure the safe (a) management and (b) removal of asbestos from (i) schools and (ii) hospitals.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government provided £4.2 billion capital last financial year for the National Health Service to support local priorities, including to maintain and refurbish their premises, and a further £8.4 billion will be available over this financial year and next.
NHS England continues to work with trusts to ensure their estates are a safe environment for patients and staff. Where asbestos may pose a safety risk, such as when disturbed during building works, experts are brought in to dispose of it safely.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department has allocated to support the safe removal of asbestos from hospitals.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government provided £4.2 billion capital last financial year for the National Health Service to support local priorities, including to maintain and refurbish their premises, and a further £8.4 billion will be available over this financial year and next.
NHS England continues to work with trusts to ensure their estates are a safe environment for patients and staff. Where asbestos may pose a safety risk, such as when disturbed during building works, experts are brought in to dispose of it safely.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce the number of people dying from asbestos related diseases.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There is no cure for asbestosis, as the damage to the lungs is irreversible. The National Health Service may recommend pulmonary rehabilitation for people with asbestosis or, for more severe cases, oxygen therapy if they have low levels of oxygen in their blood
People with chronic respiratory diseases, such as asbestosis, are one of the groups offered vaccinations under the national influenza vaccination programme.
The NHS announced the first new mesothelioma treatment to be approved in nearly 15 years in July 2022. At the time of approval, the life-extending treatment, combining nivolumab and ipilimumab, was estimated to benefit around 1,000 patients in England each year.
In Great Britain, the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 are in place to protect workers from asbestos exposure. These regulations require duty holders to assess whether asbestos is present in their buildings, the condition it is in and to draw up a plan to manage the risk associated with asbestos, including removal if it cannot be safely managed in place.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
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 impact of joint working between (a) health services, (b) social care services and (c) local councils on the prevention of fractures caused by osteoporosis.
Answered by Will Quince
The integration white paper, ‘Joining up care for people, places and populations’, published on 9 February 2022, set out opportunities to progress further to join up health and social care services at a local level for citizens in England.
To support this joint working, the Government will invest £1.6 billion over the next two years through the Better Care Fund to improve hospital discharge and outcomes for people with long term conditions, including osteoporosis.
The Government has also set out national requirements for local authorities and integrated care boards to jointly spend nearly £17 billion over the next two years to invest in preventative services and tackle delayed discharges.
The Major Conditions Strategy is an opportunity to tackle musculoskeletal conditions, including osteoporosis, to improve outcomes for patients. The strategy will set out a clear vision for musculoskeletal conditions, covering treatment and prevention.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what budget his Department has allocated to fall prevention initiatives in the 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
This information is not held centrally.
NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs then decide how that money is spent within the local integrated care system.
The allocations process is independent of Government and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation.
NHS England produces a target allocation, or “fair share”, for each area, based on a complex assessment of factors, such as demography, morbidity, deprivation and the unavoidable cost of providing services in different areas.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide a breakdown the allocation of funding in the fall prevention budget.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
This information is not held centrally.
NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs then decide how that money is spent within the local integrated care system.
The allocations process is independent of Government and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation.
NHS England produces a target allocation, or “fair share”, for each area, based on a complex assessment of factors, such as demography, morbidity, deprivation and the unavoidable cost of providing services in different areas.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce fragility fractures; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Fragility Liaison Services on reducing (a) re-fracture rates and (b) hip fractures.
Answered by Will Quince
Fracture Liaison Services are commissioned by integrated care boards (ICBs), who are best placed to make decisions according to local need. ICBs are responsible for developing a forward plan that sets out how the ICB intends to arrange health services within its area, including secondary fracture prevention services such as Fracture Liaison Services.
The Government recognise the value of quality assured secondary fracture prevention services, including Fracture Liaison Services. NHS England is working with commissioners to support the mobilisation and implementation of Fracture Liaison Services in each area and to establish a greater number of clinics. This includes their work through the Getting it Right First Time Programme, with a specific workstream on musculoskeletal health, and they are exploring how best to support integrated care systems in the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis. This includes a focus on improving provision of and equity of access to high quality, secondary fracture prevention services, such as Fracture Liaison Services, which help to identify those most at risk and offer preventative support.
To help support trends in the identification rate for patients with osteoporotic fracture and to improve early identification of osteoporosis, the Quality Improvement Partnership commissions and manages the Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit on behalf of NHS England. This includes the Hip Fracture Database, as well as an audit focusing on Fracture Liaison Services. This audit has developed the Fracture Liaison Service Database to benchmark services and drive quality improvement.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) identify and (b) treat osteoporosis patients to avoid re-fracture; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the use of Fracture Liaison Services.
Answered by Will Quince
Fracture Liaison Services are commissioned by integrated care boards (ICBs), who are best placed to make decisions according to local need. ICBs are responsible for developing a forward plan that sets out how the ICB intends to arrange health services within its area, including secondary fracture prevention services such as Fracture Liaison Services.
The Government recognise the value of quality assured secondary fracture prevention services, including Fracture Liaison Services. NHS England is working with commissioners to support the mobilisation and implementation of Fracture Liaison Services in each area and to establish a greater number of clinics. This includes their work through the Getting it Right First Time Programme, with a specific workstream on musculoskeletal health, and they are exploring how best to support integrated care systems in the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis. This includes a focus on improving provision of and equity of access to high quality, secondary fracture prevention services, such as Fracture Liaison Services, which help to identify those most at risk and offer preventative support.
To help support trends in the identification rate for patients with osteoporotic fracture and to improve early identification of osteoporosis, the Quality Improvement Partnership commissions and manages the Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit on behalf of NHS England. This includes the Hip Fracture Database, as well as an audit focusing on Fracture Liaison Services. This audit has developed the Fracture Liaison Service Database to benchmark services and drive quality improvement.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will takes steps to ensure that the Major Conditions Strategy identifies Fracture Liaison Services as an exemplar of good practice to be deployed across Integrated Care Systems.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Musculoskeletal conditions which includes osteoporosis is one of the group of conditions included in the Major Conditions Strategy. The strategy will aim to identify actions in the areas of prevention, treatment and long term management of care to improve outcomes for individuals across the six major condition groups.
To inform the development of the strategy and to ensure a wide range of experiences are considered, the Department launched a call for evidence to seek wider views and ideas from the public and organisations.