Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in what circumstances NHS patient information is transferred outside of the NHS; what the protocols are for the transfer of such (a) aggregate anonymised and (b) personal information; what steps are taken to supervise such transfers of information (i) in general, (ii) to a private sector company and (iii) to an entity outside of UK legal jurisdiction.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Confidential patient information is not transferred outside of the National Health Service unless there are strong legitimate and appropriate reasons to do so. Aggregated data may be made publicly available by organisations through their publication schemes as required under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Any data transfer to the public or private sector, inside or outside the United Kingdom, aggregated or personal information, is subject to strict process and procedure and the legal obligations set out in privacy legislation including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the obligations set out by the National Data Guardian and the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality. In addition, from 1 January 2021, the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies in the UK in place of the GDPR.
Any use of NHS data that is not already in the public domain must have an explicit aim to improve the health and wellbeing of citizens or to improve how the NHS operates. This would include, for instance, research by universities, clinical audits and clinical trials by pharmaceutical companies.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on access to medical cannabis following disruption of supplies after the end of the transition period.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department, supported by the British Embassy to The Hague, has reached an agreement with the Dutch Government to allow the continued supply of Bedrocan oils, a form of unlicensed medicinal cannabis, against United Kingdom prescriptions for existing patients until 1 July 2021. The medicines supply chain has ensured that there continues to be good supply of licensed and unlicensed cannabis-based medicines after the transition period.
The Written Ministerial Statement of 26 January (HCWS734) provided an update on action taken by the Government on supply from the Netherlands and next steps to establish a more permanent solution.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of training for GPs in the early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
General practice is where most patients with musculoskeletal conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are likely to be managed, and the condition is identified as a key area of clinical knowledge in the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Advanced Knowledge Test (AKT) content guide. The AKT is a summative assessment of the knowledge base that underpins general practice in the United Kingdom within the context of the National Health Service and is a key part of general practitioner’s qualifying exams.
No specific assessment has been made on the adequacy of access to specialist rheumatologists, however the National institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) Quality Standard ‘Rheumatoid arthritis in over 16s’, updated in July 2018, emphasises the need for early for urgent referral to a specialist rheumatologist on suspicion of rheumatoid arthritis within three weeks.
In May 2018, a new three-year Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit was commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership. The Audit aims to improve the quality of care for people living with inflammatory arthritis, collecting information on all new patients over the age of 16 in specialist rheumatology departments with suspected inflammatory arthritis in England and Wales using criteria derived from sources, including the NICE rheumatoid arthritis Quality Standard. This includes assessment against the NICE standard stating that patients with suspected with RA should be seen within three weeks of referral to a rheumatology service.
More information can be found at the following link:
www.rheumatology.org.uk/Knowledge/Excellence/Audits
The findings of the Audit are due to be published in October 2019. However, previous Audit reports can be found at the following link:
www.hqip.org.uk/national-programmes/a-z-of-nca/arthritis-rheumatoid-and-early-inflammatory
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
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 adequacy of access to specialist rheumatologists.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
General practice is where most patients with musculoskeletal conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are likely to be managed, and the condition is identified as a key area of clinical knowledge in the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Advanced Knowledge Test (AKT) content guide. The AKT is a summative assessment of the knowledge base that underpins general practice in the United Kingdom within the context of the National Health Service and is a key part of general practitioner’s qualifying exams.
No specific assessment has been made on the adequacy of access to specialist rheumatologists, however the National institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) Quality Standard ‘Rheumatoid arthritis in over 16s’, updated in July 2018, emphasises the need for early for urgent referral to a specialist rheumatologist on suspicion of rheumatoid arthritis within three weeks.
In May 2018, a new three-year Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit was commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership. The Audit aims to improve the quality of care for people living with inflammatory arthritis, collecting information on all new patients over the age of 16 in specialist rheumatology departments with suspected inflammatory arthritis in England and Wales using criteria derived from sources, including the NICE rheumatoid arthritis Quality Standard. This includes assessment against the NICE standard stating that patients with suspected with RA should be seen within three weeks of referral to a rheumatology service.
More information can be found at the following link:
www.rheumatology.org.uk/Knowledge/Excellence/Audits
The findings of the Audit are due to be published in October 2019. However, previous Audit reports can be found at the following link:
www.hqip.org.uk/national-programmes/a-z-of-nca/arthritis-rheumatoid-and-early-inflammatory
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a national lung cancer screening programme.
Answered by Steve Brine
The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC) last reviewed the evidence to screen for lung cancer in 2006 and recommended that population screening should not be introduced. This was due to a lack of evidence to support the use of the screen tests within a population screening programme and that the benefit to screen had not been demonstrated. The UK NSC will review the evidence again after the results of the NELSON randomised lung cancer screening trial are published.
The UK NSC recognises that lung cancer is common and unless found at an early stage the outcome is very poor. The Committee is currently working with the National Institute of Health Research to assess the effectiveness and cost of screening heavy smokers for lung cancer.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
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 lung health inequalities in deprived areas.
Answered by Steve Brine
Two of the most significant respiratory health issues that impact deprived areas are poor air quality and smoking.
Minimising health inequalities is a core part of Public Health England’s (PHE’s) Mission and Strategic Vision for 2020. PHE was commissioned by the Department to review the evidence for effective interventions on air quality and provide recommendations that will significantly reduce harm from air pollution and impact on health inequalities at the local level.
PHE has also published a number of reports on urban design which aim to support reductions in air pollution.
Smoking is a leading cause of a number of respiratory diseases including lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and is the leading cause of health inequalities. The Government’s Tobacco Control Plan for England, published in July 2017, re-emphasises the important role of local areas in providing support for smokers to stop smoking. As part of a comprehensive programme of national and local tobacco control activity, this is an important means of tackling inequalities in lung health in disadvantaged communities.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
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 effect of (a) the Manchester Lung Health Check and (b) other lung cancer screening pilots; and what steps his Department is taking to improve early diagnosis of (i) lung cancer and (ii) other lung diseases throughout the country.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Department considers the Manchester Lung Health Check to have been successful. Two thirds of patients who received a Manchester Lung Health Check and suffered from cancer had the cancer caught at the earliest stage as a result of this check. Diagnosing lung cancer this early increases the chance of survival. Following the success of the Manchester Lung Health Check, NHS England will be running other pilot programmes of low dose CT scanning in clinical commissioning groups with the lowest lung cancer survival rates.
Improving early diagnosis of cancer is a priority for this Government. We have committed to delivering the recommendations in the Cancer Strategy for England, including the new 28 day faster diagnosis standard, and NHS England has confirmed £200 million of transformation funding over the next two years, including encouraging local areas to find new and innovative ways to diagnose cancer earlier.
Improving care for people with other lung diseases is also crucial. This requires continued action to implement existing plans, including the NHS Outcomes Framework, which details National Health Service priority areas and includes reducing deaths from respiratory disease as a key indicator.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he makes of the benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation for people with chronic breathing problems; and what steps his Department is taking to improve access to pulmonary rehabilitation throughout the country.
Answered by Steve Brine
Pulmonary rehabilitation can be an effective treatment for many people with chronic lung disease.
NHS England is working with partners to improve the treatment and care for respiratory disease. There have been several recent initiatives to improve care with tools and resources to support local health economies. These include:
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma;
- NHS RightCare COPD pathway – which includes pulmonary rehabilitation services; and
- COPD Best Practice Tariff.
The British Thoracic Society has a digital platform, supported by NHS England – ‘Respiratory Futures’, which enables collaboration in the respiratory community to support high quality respiratory care.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
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 effect of the delay to publishing the green paper on social care on people who are not receiving an adequate level of care.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
It is important to take the time to get the details right for a better care system, so that people receive high standards of care, helping them maintain their independence and well-being. This is why we want to integrate plans for social care with the new National Health Service plan, we therefore now intend to publish the social care Green Paper in the autumn around the same time as the NHS plan.
In the meantime, all councils have statutory duties to look after the vulnerable, elderly and disabled people in their area. The Care Act 2014 requires that where a person is assessed as having eligible care and support needs, these must be met by their local authority. For those who do not meet the eligibility criteria, local authorities should signpost people to relevant services.
The Care Act 2014 also placed a new duty on councils to offer a meaningful choice of services, so that people have a range of high quality, appropriate care options to choose from and that they get the services that best meet their needs.
The Government recognises the pressures on the social care system. This is why the Government announced an additional £2 billion at Spring Budget 2017 for adult social care over the three years from 2017-18. With this, and other measures, the Government has given councils access to £9.4 billion dedicated funding for adult social care over three years.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the (a) Green Paper on Social Care, and (b) parallel work-stream on working-age adults will include proposals for financial support for carers.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Carers need to be at the heart of discussions on a sustainable settlement for social care. As well as making an invaluable difference to the people they support, carers are vital partners in the health and social care system.
The Green Paper will, therefore, include a focus on how society supports carers to ensure that they are properly valued, recognised and supported to provide care in a way that supports their own health and wellbeing. Further details will be included in the Green Paper.
The workstream on working age adults will consider issues which uniquely affect working age adults. As caring is relevant to people of all ages, issues affecting carers will be included in the Green Paper.
Carers have access to the full range of social security benefits according to their circumstances. Since 2010, the rate of Carer’s Allowance has increased from £53.90 to £64.60 a week, meaning an additional £550 a year for carers.