Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 through the NHS 10-Year Health Plan to improve glaucoma care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to preventing and managing conditions such as glaucoma in all parts of the country. More tests and scans delivered in the community and better joint working between services will support the management of conditions, including glaucoma, closer to home.
The plan will draw directly from the extensive engagement we have undertaken with the public, patients, and staff, including in the eye care sector. We are in the final stages of working on the plan and will publish it shortly.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will continue to play a crucial role in evaluating new medicines, medical devices, and other technologies, to determine their clinical and cost-effectiveness, before recommending them for NHS use.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 prevent irreversible blindness due to glaucoma progression.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Regular sight tests play a crucial role in the early detection of glaucoma, which is often symptomless in the early stages. Free National Health Service sight tests are available for many, including individuals diagnosed with glaucoma or those aged 40 years old and over with a close family history of glaucoma. Patients with suspected glaucoma will be referred for further investigation, any clinically necessary treatment, and ongoing monitoring, which can delay its progression.
NHS England has been testing how IT connectivity between primary and secondary eye care services and the development of a single point of access could improve the referral and triage of patients, reducing the time from referral to treatment. It could also allow for more patients to be managed closer to home, within community optometry. This could benefit all patients with eye care needs, including those with suspected or diagnosed glaucoma.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of combined cataract and trabecular bypasses on glaucoma progression.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The best treatment options for any individual patient will be decided by the treating clinician in discussion with the patient, taking into account relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. NICE guidance on trabecular stent bypass microsurgery for open-angle glaucoma sets out that trabecular bypass surgery can be combined with a cataract operation and has shown its ability to reduce intraocular pressure.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 reduce the waiting time for access to mental health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is delivering new and innovative models of care in the community. As part of this, we have launched six neighbourhood adult mental health centres to bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care; these are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2025/26 makes clear that for this year, to support reform and improvements, we expect all providers to reduce the variation in children and young people accessing services and improve productivity
We are also improving data quality so we can support providers in understanding demand across their areas. Since July 2023, NHS England has included waiting times metrics for referrals to urgent and community-based mental health services in its monthly mental health statistics publication to help services target the longest waits.
Our 10-Year Health Plan will inform the future vision and delivery plan for mental health services in England. Earlier intervention remains a key focus of the plan with the aim of reducing pressure on mental health services.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of eye problems as part of its 10-Year Plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we have launched a significant public engagement process, and we would encourage all those with an interest in eye care services to take part in that process so that we can fully understand what is not working as well as it should and what the potential solutions are. More information is available at the following link:
Alongside the development of the 10-Year Health Plan, NHS England has been testing how integrating primary and secondary eye care services, through IT connectivity and the development of a single point of access, could improve the referral, triage and management of patients with eye care needs and reduce the time from diagnosis to treatment.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to maximise take up of the Healthy Start scheme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Healthy Start scheme was introduced in 2006 to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households. It can be used to buy, or put towards the cost of, fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk, and infant formula. Those on the scheme have access to free Healthy Start Vitamins for pregnant women and children aged under four years old.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. The NHSBSA is committed to increasing uptake of the scheme to ensure as many children as possible have a healthy start in life.
The NHSBSA promotes the Healthy Start scheme through its digital channels and has created free tools to help stakeholders promote the scheme locally. The NHSBSA has also reached out to stakeholders to see how it can support them to promote the scheme. In January 2025, Healthy Start supported over 353,000 people.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 impact of poor dietary health on the UK economy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that poor diet and obesity are major drivers of physical and mental ill health and early mortality. Ill health leads to increased sickness absence and early death which reduces workforce productivity, putting a burden on businesses and the wider economy.
Frontier Economics estimates that the total cost of obesity to society was approximately £74.3 billion per year in the United Kingdom in 2021, expressed in 2023 prices. Included in these costs is an £8.9 billion per year cost to businesses and the economy from productivity losses due to obesity related diseases.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to extend eligibility for the NHS Learning Support Fund to include pharmacy students.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no immediate plans to make changes to the NHS Learning Support Fund scheme design. The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare students under close review. At all times, the Government must strike a balance between the level of support students receive and the need to make best use of public funds to deliver value for money.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many eye care professionals are delivering NHS Special School Eye Care Service under Primary Ophthalmic Service contracts; and how many special schools are in receipt of that service.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of March 2024, 38 optometrists and 29 dispensing opticians had been recorded as delivering sight testing services within the 83 special educational settings, participating in the proof-of-concept programme. Regulations were laid on 28 November 2024 to support the roll out of this service across England.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 (a) meet demand for radiation treatment and (b) reduce NHS waiting times for people with cancers that require urgent treatment.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government is committed to improving cancer care and reducing waiting times for treatment. We understand that cancer patients are waiting longer than they should for the care they need, and we are taking action to address this.
To ensure the most advanced treatment is available to patients, we are investing £70 million in new radiotherapy machines. In addition, we are committed to improving waiting times for cancer treatment across England. As a first step, we will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, helping to ensure earlier diagnoses and faster treatment for those who need it most.