Jan. 15 2008
Source Page: Table showing count of finished admission episodes where there was a primary or secondary diagnosis of alcoholic liver disease and alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver by gender and age for a) the East of England Strategic Health Authority in 2006/07 b) Southend on Sea Primary Care Trust 1997/98 - 2005/06 and c) South East Essex Primary Care Trust in 2006/07. 6 p.Found: count of finished admission episodes where there was a primary or secondary diagnosis of alcoholic liver
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of (a) community liver health checks, (b) primary care pilots and (c) surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma as part of NHS England's early detection of liver cancer programme.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The care of and treatment for patients with cancers, including liver cancer, is a priority for the Government. National Health Service cancer standards have been reformed with the support of clinicians to speed up diagnosis for patients, which means people will receive a diagnosis or have cancer ruled out within 28 days from urgent cancer referral from their general practice. NHS England’s Early diagnosis of Liver Cancer Programme is contributing to deliver the NHS Long Term Plan’s commitment to diagnose 75% of all cancers at stage one or two by 2028. Identifying those at risk and ensuring patients are tested and referred to a surveillance programme, where necessary, will lead to improved patient outcomes.
Mentions:
1: Navendu Mishra (Lab - Stockport) I beg to move,That this House has considered health inequalities in liver disease and liver cancer.It - Speech Link
2: Alison Thewliss (SNP - Glasgow Central) There is a real stigma around liver issues, which we must do our best to bust.We have a public health - Speech Link
3: Alison Thewliss (SNP - Glasgow Central) disease and liver cancer; we can prevent that progression if the public health imperative is there. - Speech Link
Found: Health inequalities in liver disease and liver cancer
Oct. 12 2009
Source Page: Table showing the number of finished hospital admission episodes for the East of England with a primary diagnosis of (a) alcoholic liver disease and (b) cirrhosis of the liver from 1999/00 to 2007/08. 11 p.Found: finished hospital admission episodes for the East of England with a primary diagnosis of (a) alcoholic liver
Apr. 08 2024
Source Page: Liver disease profile, April 2024 updateFound: Liver disease profile, April 2024 update
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 expected liver cancer mortality rates by the end of 2025.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No estimate has been made of expected liver cancer mortality rates by the end of 2025. The care of and treatment for patients with cancer, including liver cancer, is a priority for the Government. Early diagnosis of liver cancer is critical to improving rates of survival. NHS England’s Early Diagnosis of Liver Cancer Programme is contributing to the NHS Long Term Plan’s commitment to diagnose 75% of all cancers at stage one or two by 2028. This programme includes three workstreams: improving liver surveillance programmes; community liver health checks pilots; and primary care pilots. Identifying those at risk and ensuring patients are tested and referred to a surveillance programme, where necessary, will lead to improved patient outcomes.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will introduce (a) liver and (b) blood tests for (i) young and (ii) any other people with high alcohol use.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on the use of diagnostic tests for individual patients both under and over 16 years old, are the responsibility of a referring clinician or a healthcare professional, where delegated, taking into account local priorities and clinical guidance.
Alcohol-related liver disease is relatively uncommon in patients under 16 years old as it usually results from several years of heavy drinking. There are no National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines and guidance, recommending the use of liver and blood tests for young people.
NICE has made the following recommendations about the use of liver and blood tests for patients over 16 years old: for adults referred to specialist alcohol services, it recommends considering blood tests to help identify physical health needs, but to not use blood tests routinely for the identification and diagnosis of alcohol use disorders; and it recommends liver testing for all men who regularly drink more than 50 units of alcohol per week or women who drink more than 35 units per week. However, routine liver blood tests should not be used to rule out liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.
NHS England is currently reviewing existing liver diagnosis pathways as part of its wider diagnostic transformation work, to determine what the best approach should be to identify patients at an earlier stage of liver disease, through a liver pathway starting in primary care and involving pathology labs and community diagnostic centres. This will likely include a combination of blood tests and transient elastography.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the letter of 7 March 2023 from the then Minister for Social Care to the Chief Executive of the British Liver Trust, whether it remains his policy that fibroscans will be in use at 100 community diagnostic centres by March 2025; how many fibroscans have been delivered to community diagnostic centres since March 2023; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of setting a new target.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is currently no national target specifically relating to the availability of FibroScan equipment, or testing for liver fibrosis, through Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) in England by March 2025.
The CDC modality offer is based on the recommendations in the Sir Mike Richards Review, in which Fibroscans were included as a suitable optional additional test for use in CDCs. Decisions on what modalities are offered outside of the core requirements of CDCs will be based on local need and decisions.
I can confirm there are currently plans for 12 CDCs to offer FibroScan testing, of which seven are operational. A further five CDCs plan to offer this service by the end of March 2024.
However, the Government takes very seriously the importance of preventative action, and of identifying patients at risk of liver disease and diagnosing it earlier. It is a fast-growing cause of mortality and morbidity; and one we want to make progress in tackling.
The Government is working with the National Health Service to support earlier diagnosis of liver disease and identifying patients at risk. This includes plans agreed as part of the £2.3 billion diagnostics transformation programme, including upgrading laboratory digital capabilities to ensure that labs across the country have the capability required to offer Intelligent Liver Function Tests. This test is highly effective as a first line diagnostic test to identify patients at higher risk, who may benefit from a FibroScan, or enhanced Liver function test.
The Government is also working with the NHS to deliver and consider the result from the pilot of the community liver health check programme – which in its first year delivered over 17,000 FibroScans to individuals at particular risk of liver disease, through the use of 40 FibroScanners, 12 of which were located in mobile units, across 19 local areas. This is in addition to wider work on health prevention, including vaccination and alcohol awareness programmes.
The Government will continue to look at options to go further. Over the coming year, NHS England are due to pilot a new diagnostic pathway it has developed for liver disease, which will include Fibrosis scanning in CDCs – we look forward to seeing the results of that pilot.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
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 support the detection of liver disease in Washington and Sunderland West constituency.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Northern Cancer Alliance (NCA) is supporting services to enable the early detection of liver disease across the North East and North Cumbria (NENC) Integrated Care Board (ICB), including in the Washington and Sunderland West Constituency. The focus of work has been to support liver services across NENC to invite more than 80% of patients with cirrhosis, a type of liver disease, to monthly ultrasound surveillance. For 2024/25, the NCA has invested just over £200,000 into trusts across NENC to help improve their monitoring systems for cirrhosis patients.
The NENC ICB is also enrolled in a Community Liver Health Check pilot in Newcastle, being delivered by the system’s Hepatitis C Operational Delivery Networks. This will provide FibroScans in one stop community clinics where patients have relevant blood testing, liver ultrasound, and other investigations, as required. The pilot has expanded into North Tyneside and when resources allow, they intend to develop additional clinics across the area.