Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to provide support to GPs to improve the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
NHS England is supporting general practices (GPs) to diagnose more cancers early by making funding available to embed clinical decision support tools within GPs. These tools are designed to support GPs in clinical decision making, such as whether to refer or request further diagnostic investigation in patients where they believe there is a risk of cancer, and identifying patients who may be at risk based on their symptoms.
In April 2020, NHS England introduced the ‘early cancer diagnosis service specification’ for Primary Care Networks. The specification is designed to support improvements in rates of early diagnosis, including ovarian cancer, by requiring Primary Care Networks to review the quality of referrals for suspected cancer and take steps to improve them.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We encourage people to get in touch with their general practitioner if they notice or are worried about symptoms that could be cancer. NHS England is running the ‘Help Us, Help You’ (HUHY) campaigns, which seeks to address the barriers that are deterring patients from accessing the National Health Service. A campaign on abdominal and urological symptoms launched on 31 October 2022 and ran through to December 2022, addressing symptoms of ovarian cancer. NHS England is in the process of planning HUHY activity for 2023/24.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
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 care disparities for different cancer types.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Making improvements across different cancer types is critical to helping achieve the NHS Long-Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of patients at an early stage by 2028 and reducing inequalities in cancer survival. Early cancer diagnosis is also a specific priority within the National Health Service’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities.
Reducing variation in cancer treatment is a strategic priority for the NHS Cancer Programme. The NHS Cancer Programme has commissioned five new cancer clinical audits, which 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 treatment and outcomes for patients. The Royal College of Surgeons began work on this audit in October last year with the first outcomes expected in 2023/24. The audits will cover ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney cancer and primary and metastatic breast cancer.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of covid-19 on access to ovarian cancer treatment.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years, including cancer services. We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity, including cancer services.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
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 improve early diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
One of the core ambitions in the NHS Long Term Plan is to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028, which would be an increase from the current rate of around 55%.
The National Health Service is implementing non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who do not fit clearly into a single ‘urgent cancer’ referral pathway but who are at risk of being diagnosed with cancer. 99 NSS pathways are currently operational across England, with more in development.
NHS England is running the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaigns, which seek to address the barriers that are deterring patients from accessing the NHS. A campaign on abdominal and urological symptoms launched on 31 October 2022 and ran through to December 2022, directly addressing symptoms of ovarian cancer.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 108144 on NHS: Staff, with which (a) trades unions, (b) medical royal colleges, (c) NHS system leaders, (d) voluntary organisations his Department consulted on the NHS workforce plan.
Answered by Will Quince
The following table shows the organisations that have been engaged. This list is not exhaustive because NHS England and Health Education England leaders and programme teams are also working with external stakeholders and their contribution is also informing the plan’s development.
Trade unions, royal colleges and representative bodies | Regulators | Members of Cancer Charities Group |
Unison | Professional Standards Authority | Alike |
Unite | General Medical Council | AMMF – the cholangiocarcinoma charity |
GMB | Care Quality Commission | Anthony Nolan |
Managers in Partnership | Healthcare and Professions Council | Blood Cancer UK |
British Medical Association | Nursing and Midwifery Council | Bloodwise |
Academy of Medical Royal Colleges | Think tanks | Bone Cancer Research Trust |
Royal College of Nursing | Nuffield Trust | Bowel Cancer UK |
Royal College of Midwives | The Health Foundation | Brain Trust – the brain cancer people |
Royal College of Physicians | The King’s Fund | The Brain Tumour Charity |
Royal College of Surgeons | Regulators | Brain Tumour Research |
Royal College of General Practitioners | Professional Standards Authority | British Liver Trust |
Royal College of Psychiatrists | General Medical Council | Breast Cancer Now |
Royal College of Anaesthetists | Care Quality Commission | Cancer 52 |
Royal College of Pathologists | Healthcare and Professions Council | Cancer Research UK |
Royal College of Ophthalmologists | Nursing and Midwifery Council | CATTS (Cancer Awareness for Teens & Twenties) |
Royal College of Occupational Therapists | Think tanks | Chai Cancer Care |
Royal Pharmaceutical Society | Nuffield Trust | Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group |
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists | The Health Foundation | CLIC Sargent |
Royal College of Ophthalmologists | The King’s Fund | CoppaFeel! |
Royal College of Emergency Medicine |
| DKMS |
Royal College of Podiatry |
| Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust |
The Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine |
| Eve Appeal |
The Society of Radiographers |
| Fight Bladder Cancer |
Institute of Osteopathy |
| GO Girls Support |
College of Operating Department Practitioners |
| Guts UK |
British Association of Art Therapists |
| Haven House |
British Association of Drama therapists |
| Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust |
British Association for Music Therapy |
| Kidney Cancer UK |
The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists |
| Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce |
British Dietetic Association |
| Leukaemia Care |
British and Irish Orthoptic Society |
| Leukaemia UK |
British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists |
| Lymphoma Action |
College of Paramedics |
| Macmillan Cancer Support |
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy |
| Maggie's – everyone’s home of cancer care |
College of General Dentistry |
| Marie Curie |
Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive healthcare |
| MDS UK Patient Support Group |
Queen’s Nursing Institute |
| Melanoma Focus |
Institute of Health Visiting |
| Melanoma UK |
British Society of Rheumatology |
| Mesothelioma |
The Richmond Group of Charities (including Macmillan Cancer Support, Diabetes UK, Asthma UK, Age UK) |
| Mylenoma UK |
Cancer Charities Group (*see separate list for members) |
| National Cancer Research Institute |
Council of Deans of Health |
| Neuroendocrine Cancer UK |
Medical Schools Council |
| OcuMel UK |
Universities UK |
| Ovacome |
University Alliance |
| Ovarian Cancer Action |
Office for Students |
| Pancreatic Cancer Action |
Skills for Care |
| Pancreatic Cancer UK |
Local Government Association |
| Paul's Cancer Support |
Association of Directors of Adult Social Services |
| Penny Brohn UK |
Social Partnership Forum |
| Prostate Cancer Research |
NHS providers |
| Prostate Cancer UK |
NHS Employers |
| Race Against Blood Cancer |
The Shelford Group |
| Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation |
ICS leaders |
| Salivary Gland Cancer UK |
NHS Confederation |
| Sarcoma UK |
Community Providers Network |
| Shine Cancer Support |
|
| Solving Kids Cancer |
|
| Target Ovarian Cancer |
|
| Teenage Cancer Trust |
|
| Trekstock |
|
| The Joshua Tree |
|
| WMUK – The charity for Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia |
|
| World Cancer Research Fund |
Further discussions will take place before the plan is finalised. This will include engagement with patient representative groups. NHS England can discuss with any organisations interested in the development of the Plan.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
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 ensure that patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer can access high-quality mental health and wellbeing support.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England have asked Cancer Alliances to map out and identify any gaps in psychosocial support provision as part of the 2022/23 planning guidance and are supporting adults experiencing cancer with access to Adult Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme mental health services, which provide evidence based psychological therapies for people with anxiety disorders and depression.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
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 improve access to screening services for gynaecological cancers since the publication of the Women’s Health Strategy.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee has considered evidence to screen for gynaecological cancers and there is currently a national screening programme for cervical cancer. The ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign focusing on abdominal and urological symptoms launched on 31 October 2022 and aims to raise awareness of ovarian cancer.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
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 for the implications of his policies of the report, Pathfinder by Target Ovarian Cancer on awareness, diagnosis, access to treatment and support for sufferers of this cancer.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and the NHS Cancer Programme welcomes the report and continues to work with Target Ovarian Cancer and other stakeholders to improve outcomes for people with ovarian cancer.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 ensure (a) GPs and (b) patients are aware of the (i) warning signs and (ii) symptoms of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In April 2020, NHS England introduced the early cancer diagnosis service specification for Primary Care Networks to review the quality of referrals. NHS England is also embedding clinical decision support tools for cancer within general practice and online and in-person cancer education programmes are available, include specific courses on ovarian cancer. The current ‘Help Us Help You’ campaign is raising awareness of abdominal and urological symptoms, which addresses symptoms of ovarian cancer.