Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 implications for his policies of regional variations in bowel cancer survival rates; and what steps his Department is taking to help tackle these variations.
Answered by James Morris
The National Bowel Cancer Audit is currently underway which aims to improve care for bowel cancer patients and ensure equity in services.
The bowel cancer screening faecal immunochemical test (FIT) kit, introduced in England from April 2019, has increased uptake of bowel cancer screening. FIT has increased accessibility as it requires one stool sample, replacing multiple samples used by its predecessor. Information for patients on bowel cancer screening and how to use the screening kit is available in different languages and formats, including easy read and animations, to increase awareness and address potential variations in patient outcomes.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Bowel Cancer UK's survey on the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer published in April 2022, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer.
Answered by James Morris
The latest National Health Service ‘Help us, help you’ campaign focuses on the barriers to earlier presentation for all types of cancer to increase to earlier diagnosis. Following the most recent phase of the campaign between March and June 2022, there was a 1,600% increase in the number of visitors to information on cancer symptoms at NHS.UK. A further campaign is planned later this year to include abdominal and urological symptoms, which can relate to the symptoms of bowel cancer.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to guidance from the British Society of Gastroenterology, what steps he is taking to promote and support the universal use of Quantitative Faecal Immunochemical Testing for symptomatic bowel cancer patients.
Answered by James Morris
The guidance from the British Society of Gastroenterology recommends that faecal immunochemical testing (FIT) can be implemented safely in primary care. New contractual requirements for Primary Care Networks to support early cancer diagnosis were published in March 2022. The updated requirements have been designed to support the delivery of specific commitments aligned to National Health Service planning guidance and improving referral practice, including the use of FIT.
In addition, the use of FIT to reduce demand on endoscopy capacity has been incentivised in the GP Contract for 2022/23. From 1 April 2022, practices are financially incentivised for the proportion of lower gastrointestinal faster diagnosis standard referrals accompanied by a FIT result, to ensure that 80% of referrals on this pathway are accompanied by a FIT result.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 introducing a UK recovery and respite plan for unpaid carers; and what wider steps his Department is taking to support unpaid carers.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
There are no plans to publish a specific recovery and respite plan for unpaid carers in England. In ‘People at the Heart of Care’, we set out how we will invest up to £25 million with the sector to identify and test a range of new and existing interventions to support unpaid carers, which could include respite and breaks, peer group and wellbeing support.
In addition, funding provided through the Better Care Fund can be used for carer breaks and respite. The BCF Framework for 2022/23 will be published shortly and will request that all local BCF partnerships set out how funding is being used to support unpaid carers. On 13 May, we wrote to local authorities to reiterate the importance of respite support for carers and to understand any challenges in returning these services to full capacity.
Unpaid carers in low-income households will benefit from the Means-Tested Benefit Cost of Living Payment. Those living in the same household as the disabled person for whom they care will benefit from the disability Cost of Living Payment, while families with a pensioner in the household will benefit from the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled New government recommendations for England NHS hospital trusts and private hospital providers, published on 14 April 2022 and withdrawn on 27 May 2022, whether he is taking steps to help ensure that cancer patients in England can be accompanied by a relative, friend or carer to their appointments.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The latest National Health Service guidance on visiting in healthcare inpatients settings was updated in June 2022. This states that the same principles should also be applied in outpatient and diagnostic service settings and emergency departments. Where a patient may wish or need to be accompanied, no patient should attend alone unless it is their personal choice.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of using its experience of the Vaccines Taskforce during the covid-19 outbreak to establish a dementia medicines taskforce to improve Alzheimer-related outcomes.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Officials have met with Alzheimer’s Research UK to discuss this proposal and considered routes for accelerating access to medicines to improve outcomes for Alzheimer’s patients with NHS England and NHS Improvement, including the experiences of the Vaccines Taskforce.
We will set out plans for dementia in England for the next 10 years later this year, including on diagnosis, risk reduction and prevention and research. The strategy will include ambitions for research to develop new disease-modifying treatments. We will continue to engage with stakeholders, including Alzheimer’s Research UK, throughout the development of the strategy.