Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce instances of type 2 diabetes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to tackling preventable ill health, such as type 2 diabetes, head-on and at the earliest opportunity. Excess weight and obesity are key risk factors for type 2 diabetes and we are taking decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on the National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.
We have delivered on our commitment to restrict junk food advertising on television and online and are delivering a ban on the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under 16 year olds. We are limiting volume price promotions such as “buy one get one free” on less healthy food and drink and have put in place a nationally standardised Behavioural Support for Obesity Prescribing service to ensure weight loss medicines are delivered safely and effectively. We will also double the number of patients able to access the NHS Digital Weight Management programme.
In addition, we continue to support the Healthier You NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP), which has offered support to over 2.4 million people who are at risk of type 2 diabetes since its establishment in 2016. The NHS DPP is highly effective and has been found to reduce attendee’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 37% compared to those who did not attend.
We continue to deliver the NHS Health Check, a core component of England’s cardiovascular disease prevention programme, which aims to detect those at risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and kidney disease aged between 40 and 74 years old.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve outcomes for cardiovascular disease.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to reducing premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25% in the next 10 years. To accelerate progress towards this ambition, we will publish a cardiovascular disease (CVD) Modern Service Framework later this year. The framework will support consistent, high quality and equitable care whist fostering innovation across the CVD pathway.
Alongside this, work is underway to improve the impact of the NHS Health Check, which is a core component of England’s CVD prevention programme, and prevents approximately 500 heart attacks and strokes a year.
To improve access and to give patients more flexibility and choice, we are developing an NHS Health Check Online service that people can use at home at a time and place convenient to them, to understand and act on their CVD risk. Community pharmacies continue to strengthen prevention efforts, and since 2021 they have delivered nearly 4.2 million blood pressure checks, supporting earlier detection and management of key CVD risk factors.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends of hospital admissions of those with stroke symptoms in the last 5 years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the trend in stroke admissions for the last five years:
Year | Stroke admissions incidence | Stroke admissions rate per 100,000 population |
2020/21 | 89,739 | 166.3 |
2021/22 | 93,710 | 171.4 |
2022/23 | 93,753 | 168.4 |
2023/24 | 97,843 | 173.1 |
2024/25 | 99,494 | 172.7 |
Source: Fingertips, avaiable at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/stroke%20admissions#page/4/gid/1/pat/159/par/K02000001/ati/15/are/E92000001/iid/90986/age/1/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Department is taking to improve the care system for cardiology patients in the UK; and whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of adopting elements of the structured clinical programme established in Poland in the 1980s by Professor Religa.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to achieving a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke across England. To accelerate progress and tackle variation across the country, a new CVD Modern Service Framework will be published in 2026. This framework will support improvement, reduce inequalities, and foster innovation where it is needed most.
No assessment has been made of adopting elements of the structured clinical programme established in Poland in the 1980s for heart transplant surgery. The National Health Service’s heart transplant programme provides life-saving heart transplants for adults, those 16 years old or older, with end-stage heart failure, involving assessment, surgery, and lifelong care.
NHS England has been undertaking a review of heart and lung transplantation services, building on a report commissioned by the Department, named Honouring the gift of organ donation, published in 2023 and avaiable at the following link:
The goals of the review are to increase the number of transplants, improve patient outcomes, reduce inequalities in access to transplants, and improve patient experience.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an equivalent of the EU Safe Hearts Plan in the UK.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We note the recently published European Union’s Safe Hearts Plan and support the EU’s ambition to tackle cardiovascular diseases. Too many lives are lost prematurely to heart disease and stroke, and the Government is committed to reducing premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25% in the next 10 years. To accelerate progress on this ambition and tackle unwarranted variation across the country, we will publish a cardiovascular disease Modern Service Framework in 2026, which will identify the best evidenced interventions and drive innovation in prevention, treatment, and care.
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 steps his Department has taken to reduce rates of cardiovascular disease in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The South Holland and the Deepings constituency and Lincolnshire have implemented a number of programmes to reduce the rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including:
- One You Lincolnshire, which provides holistic support for adults to act on modifiable risk factors for CVD such as smoking cessation and weight management;
- targeted collaboration between pharmacies and general practices to provide home blood pressure monitors to key at-risk groups of the population; and
- continued support and promotion of the NHS Health Check in a range of community settings, including initiatives to provide translation support and one-to-one guidance, to help increase both the uptake and awareness of the programme.
The Government is committed to reducing premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25% in the next 10 years. To accelerate progress on this ambition and tackle unwarranted variation across the country, we will publish a CVD modern service framework in 2026. The framework will support consistent, high quality, and equitable care whilst fostering innovation across the CVD pathway.
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 consideration they are giving, as part of the 10 Year Health Plan for England, to whether wider use of longer-duration, non-invasive ambulatory electrocardiogram monitoring could (1) help reduce waits for arrhythmia diagnosis, and (2) support earlier detection of atrial fibrillation.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan recognises that there is more that can be done to improve timely diagnosis closer to the patient’s home. The plan’s commitment to the three big shifts, and the further development of facilities such as community diagnostic centres, are central to delivering the Government’s commitment to achieve a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to cardiovascular disease and stroke across England, including people with arrythmias. For further information, a copy of our plan Reforming elective care for patients is attached.
The use of novel digital health and technology, such as non-invasive ambulatory electrocardiogram monitoring in the community, will facilitate the earlier diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as cardiac arrythmias and atrial fibrillation.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to provide universal, 24/7 thrombectomy access across England by April 2026.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is working to increase the size of the workforce trained to deliver thrombectomy so that 24/7 access is available across England by April 2026.
To achieve this, NHS England is working with the General Medical Council in approving a credential to support neuroradiologists to conduct thrombectomy and increase the number of thrombectomies that can be delivered.
In addition, NHS England’s National Medical Director and National Clinical Director for Stroke have supported comprehensive stroke centers in England to improve quality and reduce variation in thrombectomy delivery.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer to Question 85849 on Mechanical Thrombectomy: Health Services, what estimate he has made of the time taken for a patient to be transferred from the referring centre to a hospital offering thrombectomy services after the decision to accept the patient for care.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Stroke Service Model and the National Service Model for an Integrated Community Stroke Service set out an evidenced based pathway for joined-up stroke care throughout the patient journey. The service model sets out that all acute stroke patients should have rapid access to a stroke unit within four hours and receive an early multidisciplinary assessment.
The Department does not hold information on transfer times to thrombectomy units in the format requested. The proportion of patients that had access to a stroke unit within four hours has risen to 51.3%, from 47.7% in 2024.
Presently there are 24 Comprehensive Stroke Centres offering mechanical thrombectomy services in the NHS in England, covering six out of the seven NHS regions. NHS England has committed that all NHS regions in England will have access to 24/7 mechanical thrombectomy by April 2026.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer to Question 85849 on Mechanical Thrombectomy: Health Services, when he expects people to be able to access thrombectomy services within four hours when needed.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Stroke Service Model and the National Service Model for an Integrated Community Stroke Service set out an evidenced based pathway for joined-up stroke care throughout the patient journey. The service model sets out that all acute stroke patients should have rapid access to a stroke unit within four hours and receive an early multidisciplinary assessment.
The Department does not hold information on transfer times to thrombectomy units in the format requested. The proportion of patients that had access to a stroke unit within four hours has risen to 51.3%, from 47.7% in 2024.
Presently there are 24 Comprehensive Stroke Centres offering mechanical thrombectomy services in the NHS in England, covering six out of the seven NHS regions. NHS England has committed that all NHS regions in England will have access to 24/7 mechanical thrombectomy by April 2026.