Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to make primary care optometry the default option for glaucoma care.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
In England, optometrists and ophthalmic medical practitioners play a vital role in the early detection of glaucoma, which is usually picked up during a routine sight test. Patients with suspected glaucoma will be referred for further investigation and any clinically necessary treatment.
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning secondary care services and are also able to commission out-of-hospital services from primary eye care providers to meet local needs, which could include the ongoing management and monitoring of selected glaucoma patients.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 issue guidance on hospital eye services partnering with local optometrists to deliver local care.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
In England, integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the planning and commissioning of services to meet local needs. This includes decisions on how to configure services and whether to commission enhanced eye care services from primary eye care providers, which could include glaucoma monitoring and pre- and post-operative cataract checks.
NHS England have commissioned a range of pathfinder projects to examine how the current eye care pathways could be improved, including by the greater use of primary eye care providers. The outcomes of these projects will inform future commissioning decisions by ICBs.
In addition, to support ICBs in this area we are working with the profession and NHS England to develop a standard service specification for minor and urgent eye care services. These services have the potential to remove demand from hospital services and provide care for minor conditions closer to home.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 increase the availability of non-invasive cancer treatment technologies in the NHS.
Answered by Will Quince
The adoption of new treatments, including increasing the number of minimally invasive cancer treatments, into the National Health Service in England is generally the result of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance and commissioner decisions. Both NHS England and integrated care boards (ICBs) 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 NHS 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.
The NHS continues to increase investment in minimally invasive cancer therapies and 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.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued guidance to NHS bodies in East Antrim constituency on the use of out-of-date cancer treatment machinery.
Answered by Will Quince
Health policy is largely devolved, and the Government therefore has not issued guidance to National Health Service bodies in Northern Ireland on the use of out-of-date cancer treatment machinery. However, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is keen to work together with the Devolved Governments to improve health and care policy, including cancer policy, across the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 implications for his polices of the amendments to World Health Organization's International Health Regulations; and when he plans to publish his response to those proposed amendments.
Answered by Will Quince
The negotiations taking place at the World Health Organization (WHO) on the proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) are Member State led and no text or amendments have been agreed yet. We anticipate negotiations to continue until the 76th WHO World Health Assembly in May 2024.
The United Kingdom continues to negotiate the text of the amendments to the IHR to ensure they deliver on our priorities and provide the tools to achieve improvements globally in key areas of health emergency preparedness, prevention, and response.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 merits of mapping the UK's immunological research capacity for pandemic preparedness.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Life Sciences Vision committed the Government to delivering a Vaccines Healthcare Mission which will build on the United Kingdom’s deep expertise in vaccines to strengthen the UK life sciences ecosystem, with a particular focus on new and novel technologies.
The Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre has been established to strengthen UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) work in vaccine discovery, development and evaluation, with the aim of strengthening preparedness for future pandemics and other high consequence infectious diseases.
Through UKHSA the Government works on an ongoing basis with academia and industry to understand capacity and capability needs for pandemic preparedness and wider health threats. The UKHSA’s strategic approach to pandemic preparedness includes understanding and regularly reviewing UKHSA’s research capacity.