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, if he will take steps to increase the prioritisation attached to heart failure within the NHS.
Answered by James Morris
NHS England is resourcing cardiovascular leadership roles in each integrated care system to ensure that improvements to the care of patients with heart failure are prioritised within the National Health Service.
Through Primary Care Networks, multi-disciplinary teams will provide support to those with heart failure and access to echocardiography in primary care will improve the investigation of those with breathlessness for the early detection of heart failure and heart valve disease. In addition, we have committed £2.3 billion to launch at least 100 community diagnostic centres by 2024/25 to increase the volume of diagnostic activity and reduce waiting times for patients, including those with heart disease.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
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 12 July 2022 to Question 29952 on Heart Diseases: Health Services, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of auscultation tests in community diagnostic centres to support the detection of heart valve disease.
Answered by James Morris
NHS England advise that the use of clinical auscultation using a stethoscope is not sufficiently sensitive to identify the presence and clinical significance of heart valve disease. While some community diagnostic centres may have examination rooms, the majority will effectively diagnose such conditions using echocardiograms.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the article entitled Aortic stenosis post-Covid-19: a mathematical model on waiting lists and mortality, by Stickels and others, published in the British Medical Journal on 16 June 2022, whether his Department is taking steps to support the immediate expansion of aortic stenosis treatment services in 2022-23.
Answered by James Morris
NHS England recommends transcatheter aortic valve implantation for adults unable to receive heart valve surgery, which treats aortic stenosis through the implant of a valve into the heart. In addition, we have committed £2.3 billion to launch at least 100 community diagnostic centres by 2024/25 to improve the early detection and diagnosis of heart valve disease, including aortic stenosis and reduce waiting times. The National Health Service is investing in cardiac networks to support improvements to the care pathway. These networks have been developed to take an evidenced based, clinically led, whole pathway approach to improvement from prevention, diagnosis, treatment and end of life care.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
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 heart failure services are adequately prioritised within emerging models of care across the NHS, including in (a) integrated care systems and (b) primary care networks.
Answered by James Morris
NHS England is resourcing cardiovascular leadership roles in integrated care systems (ICSs) to ensure that improvements to the quality of life experienced by heart failure patients are prioritised. ICSs will collaborate with local National Health Service organisations to improve population health and establish shared strategic priorities.
Through Primary Care Networks, those with heart failure will be supported by multi-disciplinary teams and greater access to echocardiography in primary care will be provided to improve the investigation of those with breathlessness and the early detection of heart failure and heart valve disease.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to improve heart failure outcomes within (a) Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership and (b) England.
Answered by James Morris
In Greater Manchester, the Smart Hearts project was launched in 2019, which uses an algorithm to monitor the data transmitted from implantable cardiac devices to monitor any early signs of deterioration. A business case has been developed to increase the specialist heart failure workforce in Greater Manchester to meet projected demand.
In England, the National Health Service is investing in cardiac networks to support improvements to the care pathway for patients with severe aortic stenosis. These networks have been developed to take an evidenced based, clinically led, whole pathway approach to improvement from prevention, diagnosis, treatment and end of life care.
We have committed £2.3 billion to launch at least 100 community diagnostic centres by 2024/25 to improve the early detection and diagnosis of heart valve disease in England and reduce patient waiting times.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage the use of data management systems across the NHS that can support the accurate coding and optimal management of heart failure patients.
Answered by James Morris
NHS England is working with Health Education England and clinicians to develop a heart failure and heart valve disease course. This includes diagnosing heart failure and issues in echocardiogram reports, the correct use of SNOMED codes and coding for patients to be added to the Quality and Outcomes Framework’s heart failure register to aid monitoring, review and attainment.
NHS England also commissions the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research for data tools and user guides to support hospitals, including data completeness and national quality improvement metric tools.
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 assessment his Department has made of the prognosis of patients with untreated severe aortic stenosis; and if his Department will undertake an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a referral to treatment pathway to accelerate care for those patients as exists for people with cancer.
Answered by James Morris
If untreated, aortic stenosis usually deteriorates, leading to a narrowing of the heart valve. Adults in need of an aortic valve replacement who are unsuited to heart valve surgery may be offered a transcatheter aortic valve implantation, which involves a valve implanted into the heart to treat aortic stenosis.
We have committed £2.3 billion to open at least 100 community diagnostic centres by 2024/25 to improve the early detection and diagnosis of heart valve disease in England. In addition, the National Health Service is investing in cardiac networks to support whole pathway improvements. These networks have been developed to improve the care pathway from prevention, diagnosis, treatment to end of life care.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the research in the British Medical Journal by Stickels (et al.) entitled Aortic stenosis post-Covid-19: a mathematical model on waiting lists and mortality, published on 16 June 2022, and by Strange (et al.) entitled Uncovering the treatable burden of severe aortic stenosis in the UK, published on 26 January 2022, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) detection rates, (b) diagnosis rates and (c) treatment capacity for heart valve disease, in the context of the epidemiology and risk of mortality of the disease.
Answered by James Morris
We have committed £2.3 billion to launch at least 100 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) by 2024/25 to increase the volume of diagnostic activity and reduce patient waiting times. CDCs will support the earlier detection and diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, including physiological measurement tests such as echocardiography and electrocardiograms, pathology tests and computerised tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans.
In addition, the National Health Service is investing in cardiac networks to support improvements in the patient pathway. These networks have been developed to take an evidenced based, clinically led, whole pathway approach to improvement from prevention, diagnosis, treatment and end of life care.
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 is taking to address disparities in treatment across England for heart valve disease.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
On 1 October 2021, 40 community diagnostics centres (CDCs) were announced to improve the detection of heart valve disease in England, through the provision of earlier diagnostic tests closer to home. By the end of 2021/22, 66 had opened, with an ambition to increase the number of CDCs to at least 100 in the next three years. The CDCs will support Primary Care Networks to improve diagnostic capacity and increase the detection of conditions such as heart valve disease and heart failure.
The NHS Long Term Plan commits to detecting and diagnosing an 54,000 people with heart failure and heart valve disease in the community by 2023/24. NHS England and NHS Improvement and Health Education England have developed a new e-learning for healthcare course to support healthcare professionals to better recognise the symptoms of heart valve disease, diagnose, manage and support heart valve disease patients. Currently, eight modules have been issued and NHS England and NHS Improvement anticipate that the remaining modules will be available in 2022. The Plan also commits to improving cardiac rehabilitation to prevent up to 23,000 premature deaths and 50,000 acute admissions over 10 years
A national training programme to fast-track cardiac physiologists to address the workforce requirements across echocardiology services has been established. This is a full-time integrated training scheme leading to both a post-graduate certificate in echocardiology and level 2 BSE accreditation in transthoracic echocardiogram. There are currently 57 trainees participating in the scheme, with a further 85 funded posts from October 2022.
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 is taking to improve the early detection of heart valve disease in England.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
On 1 October 2021, 40 community diagnostics centres (CDCs) were announced to improve the detection of heart valve disease in England, through the provision of earlier diagnostic tests closer to home. By the end of 2021/22, 66 had opened, with an ambition to increase the number of CDCs to at least 100 in the next three years. The CDCs will support Primary Care Networks to improve diagnostic capacity and increase the detection of conditions such as heart valve disease and heart failure.
The NHS Long Term Plan commits to detecting and diagnosing an 54,000 people with heart failure and heart valve disease in the community by 2023/24. NHS England and NHS Improvement and Health Education England have developed a new e-learning for healthcare course to support healthcare professionals to better recognise the symptoms of heart valve disease, diagnose, manage and support heart valve disease patients. Currently, eight modules have been issued and NHS England and NHS Improvement anticipate that the remaining modules will be available in 2022. The Plan also commits to improving cardiac rehabilitation to prevent up to 23,000 premature deaths and 50,000 acute admissions over 10 years
A national training programme to fast-track cardiac physiologists to address the workforce requirements across echocardiology services has been established. This is a full-time integrated training scheme leading to both a post-graduate certificate in echocardiology and level 2 BSE accreditation in transthoracic echocardiogram. There are currently 57 trainees participating in the scheme, with a further 85 funded posts from October 2022.