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 patient access to innovative medical technologies designed to prevent glaucoma.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan and the Life Sciences Sector Plan, we want patients to have fast and safe access to the most innovative technology, wherever they live in the country. Improving the adoption and procurement of medical technology will help the National Health Service secure the best outcomes for patients, including patients with sight threatening conditions, whilst also delivering greater value-for-money for the NHS.
The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research, including on eye care, through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for evaluating new medicines, medical devices, and other technologies to determine their clinical and cost-effectiveness before recommending them for NHS use.
Where a NICE technology appraisal recommends a medicine or treatment, the NHS is legally required to fund them. Where NICE guidance is not available on a particular medical technology, we would expect commissioners to take funding decisions on the basis of the available evidence of the clinical benefits.
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 support the use of medical technologies to prevent sight loss.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan and the Life Sciences Sector Plan, we want patients to have fast and safe access to the most innovative technology, wherever they live in the country. Improving the adoption and procurement of medical technology will help the National Health Service secure the best outcomes for patients, including patients with sight threatening conditions, whilst also delivering greater value-for-money for the NHS.
The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research, including on eye care, through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for evaluating new medicines, medical devices, and other technologies to determine their clinical and cost-effectiveness before recommending them for NHS use.
Where a NICE technology appraisal recommends a medicine or treatment, the NHS is legally required to fund them. Where NICE guidance is not available on a particular medical technology, we would expect commissioners to take funding decisions on the basis of the available evidence of the clinical benefits.
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. 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.
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 his Department has made of the potential merits of (a) trabecular bypass procedures at the time of cataract surgery and (b) other minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries in delaying glaucoma progression.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made.
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 assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) trabecular bypass procedures and (b) other minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries on preventing glaucoma progression.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made.
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, if he will meet with the hon. Member for Leicester South to discuss the role of the optometry sector as part of the NHS 10 Year Plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the vital contribution the optometry sector plays in the early detection of sight threatening conditions. The 10-Year Health Plan will support more eye care services being delivered in the community.
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 progress his Department has made on the rollout of the new NHS special schools eye care service.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has been supporting the integrated care boards (ICBs) with the roll out of the special schools’ sight testing service. NHS England hosted a series of webinars to talk ICBs through the nationally developed service specifications. Each ICB received a comprehensive information pack outlining the level of interest expressed by both educational settings and service providers.
NHS England has established reporting on ICB progress in commissioning services, and all have indicated that they are either actively commissioning services, preparing for procurement activities, or planning engagement with local schools. Whilst services are being commissioned, the proof of concept contractors continue to provide services across 83 special schools.
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, whether the 10 Year Health Plan for England will include primary care provision; and if he will make it his policy to work with (a) optometrists, (b) pharmacists and (c) dentists in delivering that plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out to create a new model of care. It sets out to reinvent the National Health Service through three shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. At the core of the plan is the development of the provision of care closer to home through, through neighbourhood health services. The plan is clear that we need to expand the local services that are offered, many of which are currently provided by the four sets of primary care contractors alongside community health services. It will be imperative therefore that we work with all these sectors, both nationally and locally, as plans develop. We have already started that process. As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we ran a significant public engagement process to collect views and ideas from across the country, on order to help inform the plan. This engagement will continue as we seek to work with stakeholders from across primary care to deliver a service fit for the future.
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, whether the 10-Year Plan for Health will include primary care provision; and if he will work with (a) optometrists, (b) pharmacists and (c) dentists to deliver that plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out to create a new model of care. It sets out to reinvent the National Health Service through three shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. At the core of the plan is the development of the provision of care closer to home through, through neighbourhood health services. The plan is clear that we need to expand the local services that are offered, many of which are currently provided by the four sets of primary care contractors alongside community health services. It will be imperative therefore that we work with all these sectors, both nationally and locally, as plans develop. We have already started that process. As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we ran a significant public engagement process to collect views and ideas from across the country, on order to help inform the plan. This engagement will continue as we seek to work with stakeholders from across primary care to deliver a service fit for the future.
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, whether his Department plans to provide NHS email accounts to (a) optometrists and (b) other NHS contractors to support more (i) efficient and (ii) secure communication across services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS.net, formally NHSmail, provides licences for optometry practices in England, specifically for General Ophthalmic Services contractors with 10 or fewer sites. Eligible practices can receive one shared mailbox and up to three individual NHS.net accounts per site, enabling the secure communication of patient data. NHS.net also provides secure communication to other commissioned partners delivering healthcare across pharmacy, dentistry, social care, and other neighbourhood community providers.