Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to (a) reduce the time taken to diagnose, (b) improve treatment options for managing the symptoms of and (c) support research on a potential cure for Sjögren's syndrome.

To reduce the time taken to diagnose conditions such as Sjögren's syndrome, NHS England has published a delivery plan for recovering access to primary care. As part of this plan, the National Health Service will deliver on the commitment of 26,000 more direct patient care staff, and 50 million more general practice (GP) appointments by March 2024.

GPs, rheumatologists, and other specialists can prescribe a range of topical and symptomatic therapies for patients with Sjögren's syndrome on the NHS, for example to help with symptoms of oral and ocular dryness. Rheumatologists may also prescribe immunosuppressive medications, if warranted, as part of standard NHS prescribing. There is also a range of off-the-shelf products such as mouthwashes and toothpastes, and dry eye therapies, some of which may be available through prescription, or purchased independently.

If new treatments for managing the symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome do become available, this is something that can be reviewed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. NHS England has previously reviewed the evidence for using rituximab in the treatment of Sjögren's syndrome and concluded that there was not enough evidence to support the use of this treatment.

The National Institute for Care Excellence has published a Clinical Knowledge Summary on dry eye disease, which includes Sjögren's syndrome. Clinical knowledge summaries are evidence-based summaries designed to support healthcare professionals in primary care in the United Kingdom. The Department funds research on Sjögren's syndrome through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), including through the UK Musculoskeletal Translational Research Collaboration. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including Sjögren's syndrome.