Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total cost of treating patients who are obese and overweight; and what are the associated costs of treating (1) type 2 diabetes, (2) cardiovascular disease, (3) cerebrovascular disease, (4) musculoskeletal diseases including joint replacers, (5) cancer, and (6) dementia.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The department has reviewed and uses cost estimates published by Frontier Economics in 2022.
A study by Frontier Economics estimated that in 2021 obesity related ill-health cost the National Health Service £6.5 billion annually. This estimate includes costs associated with the following obesity related diseases: colorectal cancer; oesophageal cancer; kidney cancer; ovarian cancer; pancreatic cancer; coronary heart disease; stroke; type 2 diabetes; hypertension; knee osteoarthritis; endometrial cancer, and breast cancer.
The disease costs associated with obesity are calculated from the total annual costs per case, as shown in the following table:
Disease | Cost per case per year (2021) |
(1) Type 2 diabetes | £ 827.33 |
(2) Cardiovascular disease - Coronary heart disease (CHD) | £ 1,557.25 |
(2) Cardiovascular disease - Stroke | £ 247.55 |
(2) Risk of Cardiovascular disease - Hypertension | £ 453.91 |
(4) Musculoskeletal disease - Knee Osteoarthritis | £ 27,798.40 |
(5) Cancer - Colorectal cancer | £ 520.13 |
(5) Cancer - Oesophageal cancer | £ 545.06 |
(5) Cancer - Kidney cancer | £ 1,662.88 |
(5) Cancer - Ovarian cancer | £ 14,990.93 |
(5) Cancer - Pancreatic cancer | £ 7,447.27 |
(5) Cancer - Endometrial cancer | £ 520.13 |
(5) Cancer - Breast cancer | £ 545.06 |
The annual costs per case includes direct health-care costs including hospital care (both inpatient and outpatient), primary care, and medication, and they are not exclusively related to obesity associated cases. Indirect and social care costs are not included, which means the exclusion of these costs will probably underestimate total costs of disease events overall.
Mentions:
1: John McNally (SNP - Falkirk) demos—both here and in Scotland—and in 2019, they published a calendar, from which all proceeds went to Breast - Speech Link
2: Alan Brown (SNP - Kilmarnock and Loudoun) survive.Lesley, who has sometimes worked three jobs to make ends meet, was a carer for her partner when he had cancer - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Marra, Michael (Lab - North East Scotland) Another option is the end of breast cancer screening in a department that has been in crisis for years - Speech Link
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the take-up rate for breast cancer screening was in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Breast Screening Programme statistics are available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/breast-screening-programme
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress she has made on increasing access to cancer screening in the North West.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England North West has carried out significant work to improve access to cancer screening in the area, including: insight work into cervical screening, which has highlighted some issues, resulting in the piloting of potential solutions; a breast mobile site review being carried out, with findings and recommendations to be shared with trusts to act upon; five bowel and seven breast providers have been trained to use data to develop a Health Equity Audit, which will be submitted at the end of June 2024, with funding being offered to providers to design, develop, implement, and evaluate an intervention to reduce inequalities and barriers experienced by a population group they have identified in their Health Equity Audit; and funding being provided for Improving Uptake in Screening Officers, working to support non responders to take up the offer of breast screening.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the take-up rate was for breast cancer screening in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last two years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Breast Screening Programme statistics are available at the NHS Digital website's Breast Screening Programme page:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/breast-screening-programme
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of low rates of breastfeeding on incidences of breast cancer.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving early diagnosis of cancer, including breast cancer, is a priority for the National Health Service. The public health benefits of breastfeeding for child and maternal health are significant and well established. Evidence suggests a range of potential benefits, for example, research published in the British Medical Journal found breastfeeding gave protection against breast cancer.
We want to ensure that every parent and carer understands the benefits of breastfeeding and has access to the high-quality infant feeding services they need, in their local area, to achieve their breastfeeding goals. Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme, we are investing £50 million to increase the range of specialist support, which is enabling parents to access face-to-face and virtual support whenever they need it.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of findings from the Royal College of Radiologists, published in May, showing a regional disparity in wait times for cancer treatment in 2023, with 11 per cent of patients in England waiting more than 31 days for treatment after the decision to treat had been confirmed, compared to 19 per cent of patients in the North East and Yorkshire.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
According to the latest data, of those 10,328 cancer patients referred for first or subsequent treatment for radiotherapy in March 2024, 89.7% were treated within 31 days. The proportion of patients waiting more than 31 days for radiotherapy treatment in March 2024 was therefore 10.3%. This has decreased by 4.5% since January 2024.
We are aware of regional disparities in wait times for cancer treatment through NHS England’s data, and are considering the findings made by the Royal College of Radiologists. Tackling inequalities in outcomes, experience, and access of cancer diagnostics, including regional disparities, is a key focus of the Government. NHS England has commissioned six new cancer clinical audits in breast cancer, both primary and metastatic, as well as ovarian, pancreatic, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and kidney cancer. These will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatments and outcomes for patients. The first outcomes of these audits are expected in September 2024.
The Department is working closely with NHS England to make sure we have the right workforce with the right skills up and down the country. In 2023/24, NHS England invested an additional £50 million to increase the number of cancer and diagnostic specialists.
The Government is also backing the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places. The plan sets out an aim to double the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 places a year by 2031/32, and to work towards this expansion by increasing places by a third, to 10,000 a year, by 2028/29.
We are building our cancer workforce. In January 2024 there were over 35,200 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the cancer workforce, an increase of over 13,300, or 60.7% since January 2010. Regarding clinical oncology specifically, as of January 2024, there are currently over 1,600 FTE doctors working in the speciality of clinical oncology in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is over 30, or 2.2%, more than last year, over 300, or 27.7%, more than 2019, and over 600, 66.5%, more than in 2010. This includes over 900 FTE consultants. This is over 40, or 5.1%, more than last year, over 100, 22.0%, more than in 2019, and over 400, 80.2%, more than in 2010.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the 15 per cent shortfall in clinical oncologists, as estimated in the Royal College of Radiologists workforce census, does not impact the operational performance of radiotherapy services.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
According to the latest data, of those 10,328 cancer patients referred for first or subsequent treatment for radiotherapy in March 2024, 89.7% were treated within 31 days. The proportion of patients waiting more than 31 days for radiotherapy treatment in March 2024 was therefore 10.3%. This has decreased by 4.5% since January 2024.
We are aware of regional disparities in wait times for cancer treatment through NHS England’s data, and are considering the findings made by the Royal College of Radiologists. Tackling inequalities in outcomes, experience, and access of cancer diagnostics, including regional disparities, is a key focus of the Government. NHS England has commissioned six new cancer clinical audits in breast cancer, both primary and metastatic, as well as ovarian, pancreatic, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and kidney cancer. These will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatments and outcomes for patients. The first outcomes of these audits are expected in September 2024.
The Department is working closely with NHS England to make sure we have the right workforce with the right skills up and down the country. In 2023/24, NHS England invested an additional £50 million to increase the number of cancer and diagnostic specialists.
The Government is also backing the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places. The plan sets out an aim to double the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 places a year by 2031/32, and to work towards this expansion by increasing places by a third, to 10,000 a year, by 2028/29.
We are building our cancer workforce. In January 2024 there were over 35,200 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the cancer workforce, an increase of over 13,300, or 60.7% since January 2010. Regarding clinical oncology specifically, as of January 2024, there are currently over 1,600 FTE doctors working in the speciality of clinical oncology in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is over 30, or 2.2%, more than last year, over 300, or 27.7%, more than 2019, and over 600, 66.5%, more than in 2010. This includes over 900 FTE consultants. This is over 40, or 5.1%, more than last year, over 100, 22.0%, more than in 2019, and over 400, 80.2%, more than in 2010.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of cancer patients currently waiting more than 31 days for radiotherapy treatment.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
According to the latest data, of those 10,328 cancer patients referred for first or subsequent treatment for radiotherapy in March 2024, 89.7% were treated within 31 days. The proportion of patients waiting more than 31 days for radiotherapy treatment in March 2024 was therefore 10.3%. This has decreased by 4.5% since January 2024.
We are aware of regional disparities in wait times for cancer treatment through NHS England’s data, and are considering the findings made by the Royal College of Radiologists. Tackling inequalities in outcomes, experience, and access of cancer diagnostics, including regional disparities, is a key focus of the Government. NHS England has commissioned six new cancer clinical audits in breast cancer, both primary and metastatic, as well as ovarian, pancreatic, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and kidney cancer. These will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatments and outcomes for patients. The first outcomes of these audits are expected in September 2024.
The Department is working closely with NHS England to make sure we have the right workforce with the right skills up and down the country. In 2023/24, NHS England invested an additional £50 million to increase the number of cancer and diagnostic specialists.
The Government is also backing the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places. The plan sets out an aim to double the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 places a year by 2031/32, and to work towards this expansion by increasing places by a third, to 10,000 a year, by 2028/29.
We are building our cancer workforce. In January 2024 there were over 35,200 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the cancer workforce, an increase of over 13,300, or 60.7% since January 2010. Regarding clinical oncology specifically, as of January 2024, there are currently over 1,600 FTE doctors working in the speciality of clinical oncology in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is over 30, or 2.2%, more than last year, over 300, or 27.7%, more than 2019, and over 600, 66.5%, more than in 2010. This includes over 900 FTE consultants. This is over 40, or 5.1%, more than last year, over 100, 22.0%, more than in 2019, and over 400, 80.2%, more than in 2010.