Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to eliminate (a) cervical and (b) other cancer caused by human papillomavirus.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, alongside routine screening, is key to protecting people against strains of HPV that can cause some cancers including cervical, anal, head and neck cancer.
The NHS Cervical Screening Programme (CSP) provides all women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 64 years old with the opportunity to be screened routinely, to detect certain types of HPV infection which cause 99.7% of cervical cancer. An in-service evaluation is being commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Care Research to determine whether HPV self-sampling could be used to improve the NHS CSP.
The HPV vaccination is offered to all adolescents in Year 8 of school, and catch-up vaccinations are available to those up to 25 years old, those born on or after 1 September 2006, for both females and males who may have missed vaccination under the schools’ programme, providing an additional failsafe. The HPV vaccination is also recommended to gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, up to and including those aged 45 years old.
NHS England’s vaccination strategy sets out a range of ambitions to improve uptake across the National Health Service’s vaccination programmes. This includes building on existing work and delivery to develop implementation plans for how HPV vaccinations, alongside cervical screening and pre-cancer treatment, can help achieve the NHS ambition to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NICE guidance entitled Integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness, published on 16 March 2022, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that people experiencing homelessness have somewhere safe and secure to recover when discharged from hospital.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to promoting safe and timely discharge for people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness, to appropriate accommodation.
We have ensured every acute hospital has access to a care transfer hub to manage discharge for people with more complex needs. In January 2024, the Department published guidance on discharging people at risk of or experiencing homelessness, to support staff involved in planning safe and supportive discharge of these patients from hospital. The guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure that (a) young and (b) vulnerable people have access to free contraception.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to tackle disparities in access to medical treatment for heart valve disease.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the development of the Major Conditions Strategy, we are committed to focusing on the six major groups, which includes cardiovascular disease. As part of the policy development process, the Major Conditions Strategy will consider the full range of health disparities that may be experienced by different groups, including ethnic and gender disparities.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to include additional material on heart valve disease in the Major Conditions Strategy.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the development of the Major Conditions Strategy, we are committed to focusing on the six major groups of conditions, which includes cardiovascular disease. Aligning work across several groups of conditions allows us to focus on where there are similarities in approach to ensure care is better centred around the patient, health and care resources are used most effectively, and that there is effective integration, both within and between treatment pathways.
This strategy does not seek to describe everything that is being done or could be done to meet the challenges of specific diseases within the major conditions. Instead, we are focusing on developing a strategic approach to inform the wide range of decisions health and care organisations make when determining how best to care for the people they serve.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an estimate of the number of heart valve disease patients treated in non-elective settings in the last 12 months; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of this treatment on (a) hospital capacity and (b) patient's quality of life.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s Hospital Episode Statistics tell us that there were 11,581 non-elective hospital admissions for heart valve disease in 2022/23. There has been no specific assessment made of the potential impact of this treatment on hospital capacity or on patients quality of life. The National Health Service will, at all times, aim to provide patients with the care which responds to their needs. This includes patients who are admitted to hospital through non-elective routes for heart valve disease.
The NHS is also taking action to identify cardiovascular disease before a patient is admitted to hospital. The NHS has rolled out free blood pressure checks to people over the age of 40 in community pharmacies to detect thousands more people living with hypertension earlier. This means more people can access simple, low-cost treatments that will reduce their risk of death or serious illness from cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, 108 community diagnostic centres have opened that have delivered more than 3.9 million tests, including those that detect cardiovascular disease.
NHS England has included hypertension case-finding, optimal management, and lipid optimal management as one of its five clinical areas of focus requiring accelerated improvement within the Core20PLUS5 approach. The Core20PLUS5 informs action to reduce healthcare inequalities at both national and system level.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) active and (b) passive surveillance measures in informing prevention strategies for infectious diseases in newborn babies.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy Screening programme (IDPS) for HIV, Hepatitis B and syphilis is monitored through surveillance systems within the UK Health Security Agency. This programme is delivered through NHS England which also monitors it through their Integrated Screening Outcomes Surveillance Service (ISOSS). IDPS is offered in every pregnancy, with a high uptake of 99.7%.
All pregnancies with a screen positive result for these infections are reported to NHS England’s ISOSS which conducts active surveillance, including pregnancy and infant outcome. Data collected through ISOSS enables the IDPS to monitor performance, review all positive cases and identify new areas for further audit and research.
All instances of vertical transmission, previously known as mother-to-child transmission, of infection for HIV, hepatitis B and diagnosis of congenital syphilis in babies are investigated and anonymously reviewed by clinical experts to add to the understanding of the burden of disease and risk factors associated with it. Data and findings from ISOSS are used to improve the screening pathway and feed into the production of national clinical guidance for the treatment and management of these infections in pregnancy.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an estimate of the annual economic costs to the NHS of Group B streptococcus infections in newborns.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific assessment has been made.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of reporting the incidence of Group B streptococcal infections in newborns.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific assessment has been made.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment with NHS England of the potential merits of left ventricular assist devices as long-term therapy for patients ineligible for transplantation.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has a commissioning specification for using ventricular assist devices (VADs) as a bridge to transplantation, or as a bridge to a decision on transplant suitability. The use of VADs as a treatment and destination therapy for patients who are not eligible for a transplant, is not routinely commissioned. NHS England has recently received a policy proposition for use of VADs as long-term destination therapy for selected patients with advanced heart failure. This proposition is currently under evaluation in line with the published Policy Methods Process, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/methods-national-clinical-policies/