Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
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 that blood cancer patients can access mental health support in (a) Enfield, Southgate constituency and (b) England.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Long Term Plan states that, where appropriate, every person diagnosed with cancer will have access to personalised care, including a needs assessment, an individual care plan and information and support for their health and wellbeing.
The National Health Service is supporting adults experiencing cancer with access to The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) mental health services, which provides evidence based psychological therapies for people with anxiety disorders and depression.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the ambition in the NHS Long Term Plan which states that "by 2028, the proportion of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 will rise from around half now to three-quarters of cancer patients", when they will commence Phase 2 to include a wider range of tests that will involve dialogues with (1) GPs, (2) Integrated Care Boards, and (3) key stakeholders.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While there are no plans to add a specific second phase, we are committed to the NHS Long Term Plan’s ambition of diagnosing 75% of cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028.
Patients will benefit from earlier diagnostic tests closer to home, with 91 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) already up and running. Investment in up to 160 CDCs will deliver up to 17 million tests by March 2025. As of November 2022, existing CDCs have delivered more than 2.4 million additional checks.
In addition, the NHS-Galleri trial is currently evaluating a test for blood to identify cancer risk, which can detect signs of more than 50 different cancers, including those where no screening programmes currently exist. The trial has recruited the target of 140,000 participants and interim results are expected in late 2023. If successful, the NHS has committed to deploying one million Galleri tests in 2024 and 2025. The clinical trial is currently planned to conclude in 2025.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
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 ensure that all patients who present to the GP with symptoms of leukaemia get a blood test within 48 hours, in accordance with the NICE NG12 guidelines.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s cancer programme is working with the Blood Cancer Alliance on the development of a potential national blood cancer symptom awareness campaign for 2023/24. The programme will also consider ways to improve GPs’ awareness of blood cancer symptoms, including the 48-hour blood test recommendation.
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the letter from the then Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 6 September to Gemma Peters, Chief Executive of Blood Cancer UK, which states that “proceeding to patient access [to Evusheld is] considered to outweigh the risks of not providing this treatment in the current pandemic context”, what are the risks of not providing Evusheld.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The decision not to procure Evusheld at this present time through emergency routes is based on independent clinical advice by the multi-agency initiative RAPID C-19 and a national expert policy working group. Evusheld has now been referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for further evaluation.
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency claimed in their 6 September letter to Gemma Peters, Chief Executive of Blood Cancer UK, that there is ongoing uncertainty about whether the results from the PROVENT study on Evusheld shed light on clinical effectiveness, given this study supported their decision to approve single and double doses of Evusheld in the UK in March.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Evusheld received a conditional marketing authorisation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on 17 March 2022, following trials conducted during the non-Omicron variant wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The PROVENT study provided data on effectiveness of Evusheld against the alpha, beta, delta and epsilon variants. It was noted that there was a lack of data regarding the dose and the efficacy against the Omicron variant, which was the prevalent circulating strain of the virus at the time of the approval. This was reflected in the summary of the product characteristics of Evusheld approved by the MHRA.
As with all newly authorised medicines, a Risk Management Plan (RMP) has been developed to ensure that Evusheld is used as safely as possible. The RMP details the risks, how these risks can be minimised, any uncertainties and how more information will be obtained.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
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 expanding the primary care services that can be delivered by pharmacists.
Answered by James Morris
The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 sets out how community pharmacy will support the NHS Long Term Plan through greater integration with the National Health Service and providing more clinical services to relieve pressures, including in primary care.
The Community Pharmacist Consultation Service allows general practices and NHS 111 to refer patients to community pharmacies for minor illnesses and the NHS Community Pharmacy Blood Pressure Check Service. Other services have been expanded, such as the New Medicines Service, to support patients who have been prescribed specific new medicines. NHS England is piloting services which could be introduced, including the direct referral of people with potential symptoms of cancer, minor illness referrals from urgent and emergency care settings and the supply of contraception.
New standards for initial education and training will ensure that all new pharmacists will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to deliver these services, such as undertaking clinical checks and becoming independent prescribers upon registration.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Halton)
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 11 July 2022 to Question 31020 on Blood Tests: Halton, at what level data on waiting times for blood tests and appointments for suspected cancer diagnosis is collected.
Answered by James Morris
Data on waiting times for blood tests for patients with suspected cancer symptoms is not collected centrally. Waiting time data on the two-week cancer referral pathway is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated by Government bodies and agencies to run awareness campaigns on the risks of cancer for (a) children and (b) young adults in (i) each of the last three years and (ii) the year ahead.
Answered by James Morris
There have been no specific campaigns through the Department or its executive agencies. The National Health Service is currently scoping a campaign for 2023/24 to raise awareness of the symptoms of blood cancer, which may include advice for younger people.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they will provide to pharmacies taking on more responsibilities, including referrals of cancer patients to specialists.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 sets out how community pharmacy will support the NHS Long Term Plan, integrate with the National Health Service and provide more clinical services, such as advice and treatment for minor illnesses. A range of services have been introduced, including the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service which allows general practices and NHS 111 to refer patients to community pharmacies for minor illnesses.
The majority of community pharmacies also offer blood pressure checks and further support for patients who have been prescribed specific new medicines. Negotiations on additional support which could be provided by sector are ongoing. NHS England is piloting services which could be introduced, including the direct referral of people with potential symptoms of cancer, minor illness referrals from urgent and emergency care settings and the supply of contraception.
New standards for initial education and training will ensure that all new pharmacists entering the profession will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to undertake greater clinical roles and provision of healthcare services, including enhanced learning to become independent prescribers upon registration.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has taken steps to improve training for NHS professionals providing emotional and psychological support for (a) solid tumour cancer patients and (b) blood cancer patients.
Answered by James Morris
Health Education England is developing a career framework for cancer nurses and allied health professionals, which will include training in emotional and psychological support. In addition, a project to establish training standards and job roles for cancer support workers will also include training in the knowledge of cancer, cancer treatments and the potential short and long term effects and enhanced communication and psychological skills to support patients, including those with solid tumours and blood cancer.
No specific assessment has been made of the provision of psychological support for blood cancer patients. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked Cancer Alliances to review mental health provision for these patients through its 2022/23 planning guidance. Access to Improving Access to Psychological Therapies long term condition pathways have been identified as a priority to support integration of mental health and physical health services for patients with co-morbid long-term conditions, such as cancer.