Mentions:
1: Victoria Atkins (Con - Louth and Horncastle) makes the point passionately, and I have heard him.I also want to reassure the victims of the infected blood - Speech Link
2: Wes Streeting (Lab - Ilford North) I greatly welcome her reassurance to victims of the contaminated blood scandal and the emphasis she placed - Speech Link
3: Diana Johnson (Lab - Kingston upon Hull North) the Health Secretary to paying the £210,000 interim payment to those infected under the contaminated blood - Speech Link
4: Victoria Atkins (Con - Louth and Horncastle) I hope she will acknowledge, for example, that some nine out of 10 cancer patients are treated within - Speech Link
5: Chi Onwurah (Lab - Newcastle upon Tyne Central) Waiting lists, dental services, mental health services, clinical trials, workforce morale, cancer care - Speech Link
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for developing a best practice timed pathway for leukaemia.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has implemented non symptom specific pathways (NSS) for patients who present with non-specific symptoms or combinations thereof that can indicate several different cancers. This includes leukaemia, which can present non-specific symptoms, such as unexpected weight loss and night sweats. As of December 2023, there are 113 NSS pathways already live, an increase from 12 live Rapid Diagnostic Centre pathways in March 2020, with over 5,500 patients seen per month and a total of over 100,000 referrals since May 2020.
Raising awareness, delivering more research, and improving early diagnosis of cancers, which includes blood related cancers such as leukaemia, are crucial for improving survival rates and are key priorities for the Government.
NHS England is taking steps to raise awareness of all cancers, including leukaemia, to improve early diagnosis. In January 2024, NHS England relaunched their ‘Help Us Help You’ cancer awareness campaign, designed to increase earlier diagnosis of cancer by encouraging people to come forward with suspected signs of cancers. The campaign aims to reduce barriers to seeking earlier help, as well as to increase body awareness and knowledge of key red flag symptoms. This relaunch follows NHS England’s launch of their original ‘Help Us Help You’ campaigns in April 2020, a major public information campaign to persuade the public to seek urgent care and treatment when they needed it.
Delivering more research is key to understanding the causes of cancers and increasing survival rates of all cancers, including leukaemia, further. That is why investment in research and innovation is a priority for the Government. Our world-leading scientists and clinicians are driving the discovery, development, and testing of new treatments. The Department invested almost £122 million into cancer research in 2022/23 via the National Institute for Health and Care Research. In addition, alongside Cancer Research UK, health departments across the United Kingdom are jointly funding a network of Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs), collectively investing more than £35 million between 2017 and 2022. The network of 17 adult and 12 paediatric ECMCs enhances the existing bench-to-bedside pathway by supporting the most promising innovations from the academic and industry sectors into the cancer medicines of tomorrow.
More broadly, the National Health Service is working towards its Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of stageable cancers at stage 1 and 2 by 2028. Achieving this will mean that an additional 55,000 people each year will survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis. To support early diagnosis, the Government has invested £2.3 billion into community diagnostic centres across England which are speeding up diagnosis for cancer, with checks and scans being delivered at 160 sites across England. Cancer is also one of six major conditions included in our upcoming Major Conditions Strategy.
With progress made on reducing waiting times, cancer is being diagnosed at an earlier stage more often, with survival rates improving across almost all types of cancer.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to reduce the rates of emergency diagnosis of leukaemia.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has implemented non symptom specific pathways (NSS) for patients who present with non-specific symptoms or combinations thereof that can indicate several different cancers. This includes leukaemia, which can present non-specific symptoms, such as unexpected weight loss and night sweats. As of December 2023, there are 113 NSS pathways already live, an increase from 12 live Rapid Diagnostic Centre pathways in March 2020, with over 5,500 patients seen per month and a total of over 100,000 referrals since May 2020.
Raising awareness, delivering more research, and improving early diagnosis of cancers, which includes blood related cancers such as leukaemia, are crucial for improving survival rates and are key priorities for the Government.
NHS England is taking steps to raise awareness of all cancers, including leukaemia, to improve early diagnosis. In January 2024, NHS England relaunched their ‘Help Us Help You’ cancer awareness campaign, designed to increase earlier diagnosis of cancer by encouraging people to come forward with suspected signs of cancers. The campaign aims to reduce barriers to seeking earlier help, as well as to increase body awareness and knowledge of key red flag symptoms. This relaunch follows NHS England’s launch of their original ‘Help Us Help You’ campaigns in April 2020, a major public information campaign to persuade the public to seek urgent care and treatment when they needed it.
Delivering more research is key to understanding the causes of cancers and increasing survival rates of all cancers, including leukaemia, further. That is why investment in research and innovation is a priority for the Government. Our world-leading scientists and clinicians are driving the discovery, development, and testing of new treatments. The Department invested almost £122 million into cancer research in 2022/23 via the National Institute for Health and Care Research. In addition, alongside Cancer Research UK, health departments across the United Kingdom are jointly funding a network of Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs), collectively investing more than £35 million between 2017 and 2022. The network of 17 adult and 12 paediatric ECMCs enhances the existing bench-to-bedside pathway by supporting the most promising innovations from the academic and industry sectors into the cancer medicines of tomorrow.
More broadly, the National Health Service is working towards its Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of stageable cancers at stage 1 and 2 by 2028. Achieving this will mean that an additional 55,000 people each year will survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis. To support early diagnosis, the Government has invested £2.3 billion into community diagnostic centres across England which are speeding up diagnosis for cancer, with checks and scans being delivered at 160 sites across England. Cancer is also one of six major conditions included in our upcoming Major Conditions Strategy.
With progress made on reducing waiting times, cancer is being diagnosed at an earlier stage more often, with survival rates improving across almost all types of cancer.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve acute myeloid leukaemia survival rates.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has implemented non symptom specific pathways (NSS) for patients who present with non-specific symptoms or combinations thereof that can indicate several different cancers. This includes leukaemia, which can present non-specific symptoms, such as unexpected weight loss and night sweats. As of December 2023, there are 113 NSS pathways already live, an increase from 12 live Rapid Diagnostic Centre pathways in March 2020, with over 5,500 patients seen per month and a total of over 100,000 referrals since May 2020.
Raising awareness, delivering more research, and improving early diagnosis of cancers, which includes blood related cancers such as leukaemia, are crucial for improving survival rates and are key priorities for the Government.
NHS England is taking steps to raise awareness of all cancers, including leukaemia, to improve early diagnosis. In January 2024, NHS England relaunched their ‘Help Us Help You’ cancer awareness campaign, designed to increase earlier diagnosis of cancer by encouraging people to come forward with suspected signs of cancers. The campaign aims to reduce barriers to seeking earlier help, as well as to increase body awareness and knowledge of key red flag symptoms. This relaunch follows NHS England’s launch of their original ‘Help Us Help You’ campaigns in April 2020, a major public information campaign to persuade the public to seek urgent care and treatment when they needed it.
Delivering more research is key to understanding the causes of cancers and increasing survival rates of all cancers, including leukaemia, further. That is why investment in research and innovation is a priority for the Government. Our world-leading scientists and clinicians are driving the discovery, development, and testing of new treatments. The Department invested almost £122 million into cancer research in 2022/23 via the National Institute for Health and Care Research. In addition, alongside Cancer Research UK, health departments across the United Kingdom are jointly funding a network of Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs), collectively investing more than £35 million between 2017 and 2022. The network of 17 adult and 12 paediatric ECMCs enhances the existing bench-to-bedside pathway by supporting the most promising innovations from the academic and industry sectors into the cancer medicines of tomorrow.
More broadly, the National Health Service is working towards its Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of stageable cancers at stage 1 and 2 by 2028. Achieving this will mean that an additional 55,000 people each year will survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis. To support early diagnosis, the Government has invested £2.3 billion into community diagnostic centres across England which are speeding up diagnosis for cancer, with checks and scans being delivered at 160 sites across England. Cancer is also one of six major conditions included in our upcoming Major Conditions Strategy.
With progress made on reducing waiting times, cancer is being diagnosed at an earlier stage more often, with survival rates improving across almost all types of cancer.
Written Evidence May. 22 2024
Inquiry: Food, Diet and ObesityFound: Mean blood glucose and c-peptide (biomarkers associated with type 2 diabetes) were also lower in
Written Evidence May. 22 2024
Inquiry: Food, Diet and ObesityFound: benefits, including a lowering effect on both total and LDL cholesterol, no adverse effect on blood
Written Evidence May. 22 2024
Inquiry: Food, Diet and ObesityFound: High salt consumption is strongly associated with high blood pressure – increasing risk of major
Written Evidence May. 22 2024
Inquiry: Food, Diet and ObesityFound: For example, the NDNS data indicates low blood levels for folate and vitamin D in most age groups
Written Evidence May. 22 2024
Inquiry: Food, Diet and ObesityFound: maintenance and reduce the risk of food-related ill health such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer
Written Evidence May. 22 2024
Inquiry: Food, Diet and ObesityFound: conditions in adulthood, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular and liver disease, multiple types of cancer