Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time was for an autism diagnosis in Kent in (a) 2025 and (b) 2020; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for receiving an autism diagnosis.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not held centrally in the format requested, but may be held by individual providers or integrated care boards (ICBs). Some relevant information is available on autism assessment waiting times for the NHS Kent and Medway ICB.
In the NHS Kent and Medway ICB, the Autism Waiting Time Statistics published by NHS England show that there were a total of 8,695 patients with an open suspected autism referral in September 2024, the latest available data, and a total of 3,015 patients with an open suspected autism referral in September 2020. The median waiting time of all patients in this ICB with an open suspected autism referral, where their first care contact was in the quarter, was 483 days in September 2024, and 139 days in September 2020.
Data on children and young people in this dataset is expected to be an underestimate and caution should be used when interpreting these statistics since they are experimental rather than official statistics.
It is the responsibility of ICBs to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism assessments and diagnosis, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of issuing guidance to hospitals on using withheld numbers to contact patients about appointments.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Services may sometimes choose to use withheld numbers when contacting patients, including to protect patient privacy and confidentiality, but we appreciate the frustration that patients can feel when they are unable to contact clinical staff, especially following a call from a withheld number, and recognise the importance of patients being able to establish channels of two-way communication.
The Elective Reform Plan, launched as part of the Government’s Plan for Change, sets out the reform and productivity efforts needed to ensure patients are seen on time, but also to improve their experience of care, which includes enhancing and improving two-way communication between patients and NHS services, whether through digital options such as an enhanced NHS App or non-digital routes.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
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 that people with long covid are adequately supported.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
I know firsthand how complex and debilitating long COVID can be.
Since 2020, specialist long COVID services have been made available in England, and NHS England is now completing a stocktake of these services.
This will provide an accurate national picture, identify key challenges and make strategic recommendations for future service improvement, development and assurance.
We have also invested over £57 million in long COVID research.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a British supplier of Creon.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has been working with suppliers to address current supply issues with Creon, which is a brand of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) used by patients with conditions such as cystic fibrosis and certain cancers, including pancreatic cancer. The supply issues with Creon are impacting countries throughout Europe and have been caused by the limited availability of raw ingredients and manufacturing capacity constraints to produce volumes needed to meet demand. These issues have resulted in knock-on supply disruptions of alternative PERT medications.
The Department is continuing to work with all suppliers of PERT to help resolve the supply issues in the short and longer term by asking that they expedite deliveries, source stock from other markets, and increase production. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers of unlicensed medicine to understand whether they can source unlicensed imports of Creon to help mitigate this supply issue. Where such imports have been sourced, the Department has worked with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to expedite regulatory processes.
There are no plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a British supplier of Creon. However, we have established incentives to encourage United Kingdom life sciences manufacture, including via the Life Science Innovative Manufacturing Fund. The Government has committed up to £520 million to support businesses investing in life science manufacturing projects in the UK, and this would be open to applicants interested in setting up PERT manufacture in the UK.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
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 supply chain issues surrounding the importing of Creon into the United Kingdom on patients with pancreatic diseases; and what steps he is taking to increase the amount of Creon being imported into the United Kingdom.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has been working with suppliers to address the current supply issues with Creon, which is a brand of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) used by patients with conditions such as cystic fibrosis and certain cancers, including pancreatic cancer. The supply issues with Creon are impacting countries throughout Europe and have been caused by the limited availability of raw ingredients and manufacturing capacity constraints to produce volumes needed to meet demand. These issues have resulted in knock-on supply disruptions of alternative PERT medications.
The Department is continuing to work with all suppliers of PERT to help resolve the supply issues in the short and longer term by asking that they expedite deliveries, source stock from other markets, and increase production. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers of unlicensed medicine to understand whether they can source unlicensed imports of Creon to help mitigate this supply issue. Where such imports have been sourced, the Department has worked with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to expedite regulatory processes.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a Medicines Shortages Task Force.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While there are no plans to establish a Medicines Shortages Task Force, there is a team within the Department that deals specifically with medicine supply problems. They work closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when shortages do arise.
The resilience of United Kingdom’s supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues, and avoid shortages for patients. The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve our ability to mitigate and manage shortages and strengthen our resilience. However, medicine shortages are a complex and global issue and everyone in the supply chain has a role to play in addressing them, as any action will require a collaborative approach.
There are approximately 14,000 medicines licensed for supply in the UK, and while most are in good supply, there can sometimes be supply issues with a limited number of medicines. Supply disruption is an issue which affects the UK, as well as the other countries around the world. High-profile medicine supply issues have been global in their nature.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
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 25 November 2024 to Question 15983 on General Practitioners: Kent, how much it cost to set up Bromleag Care Practice in 2019.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) commenced the procurement process for an Enhanced Medical Support in Care Homes provider in May 2018.
Following the completion of that process, on 10 January 2019, the Bromley CCG primary care committee gave approval for the Alternative Provider Medical Services contract to be awarded to the Bromley GP Alliance, who run Bromleag Care Practice, for a term of five years, with an option to extend for a further five years.
The indicative financial envelope approved for the contract was £1.26 million. The costs of setting up the practice were included as part of that contract. The Bromleag Care practice was set up specifically to provide enhanced care for residents of nursing homes, residential homes, and those in extra care housing in Bromley.
To note, the total National Health Service payments paid to the Bromleag Care Practice in 2022/23 were reported as £5,317,351, which included payments received by the practice on behalf of the local Primary Care Network. The total NHS payments to general practice minus deductions was £1,434,316.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many private GP surgeries were set up in (a) England, (b) Kent and (c) Tunbridge Wells constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on the number of private general practice (GP) surgeries is not held centrally. The majority of GPs operate under the GP Contract, to provide National Health Service GP services. Private GP surgeries must be registered with the Care Quality Commission, and doctors must be registered with the General Medical Council.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many private GP surgeries there are in (a) England, (b) Kent and (c) Tunbridge Wells constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on the number of private general practice (GP) surgeries is not held centrally. The majority of GPs operate under the GP Contract, to provide National Health Service GP services. Private GP surgeries must be registered with the Care Quality Commission, and doctors must be registered with the General Medical Council.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
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 27 November 2024 to Question 15347 on Pectus Excavatum: Surgery, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact on the (a) mental and (b) physical health of children who fall below the Haller index threshold of not receiving that surgery.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
In April 2023, the National Health Service published an urgent policy statement for the clinical treatment of pectus excavatum and the eligibility criteria for surgical intervention.
Any physical or psychological assessment of children who fall below the eligibility threshold for surgery to treat pectus excavatum is the responsibility of their clinician. Pectus excavatum may also be treated by non-surgical interventions.
As part of its five long-term missions, the Government has begun work on a 10-year plan for change and modernisation, to make the NHS fit for the future, ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area.