Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
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 increase the diagnosis rate of cardiac conditions in people aged 14 to 35.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The diagnosis of cardiac conditions is based on the presentation of symptoms, rather than the age range of the patient.
Since July 2021, we have launched community diagnostic centres (CDCs) to increase diagnostic activity and reduce patient waiting times. CDCs offer checks, scans and tests in community and other health care settings and delivered over 880,000 diagnostic tests in 2021/22. This will support Primary Care Networks to increase the detection of conditions such as heart valve disease.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the estimated number of people living with undiagnosed heart valve disease.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific estimate has been made.
A new pre-diagnosis breathlessness pathway has been developed to support the improved recognition and timely diagnosis of heart failure and heart valve disease. Community diagnostic centres have also been launched to support Primary Care Network diagnostic services and improve detection of conditions such as heart failure and heart valve disease.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with Health Education England and cardiology clinicians in England to develop new heart failure and heart valve disease e-learning. This will support healthcare professionals to recognise the symptoms of heart failure and valve disease and to diagnose, manage and provide care to patients with heart disease in the community.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on the commitments in the NHS Long Term Plan to improve the detection of heart valve disease.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with Health Education England to develop new e-learning to support healthcare professionals to recognise the symptoms of heart valve disease and diagnose, manage and provide care for these patients. There are currently eight training modules available, with further resources to be published in 2022
A full-time integrated training scheme leading to both a post-graduate certificate in echocardiology and level 2 British Society of Echocardiography accreditation in transthoracic echocardiograms has been developed to increase the number of cardiac physiologists. There are currently 57 trainees in the scheme with another 85 funded posts from October 2022. The National Health Service is investing in cardiac networks to support whole pathway improvements. These networks have been developed to improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment and end of life care.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
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 incidental diagnosis rate of heart valve disease following the reduction of face-to-face GP appointments.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England and NHS Improvement’s guidance states that general practitioner practices must provide face to face appointments, alongside remote consultations. Patients’ views should be sought and practices should respect preferences for face to face care unless there are good clinical reasons to the contrary. In March 2022, 62% of appointments were face-to-face, excluding COVID-19 vaccinations. At the end of 2021/22, 66 community diagnostic centres were available to support Primary Care Networks to increase diagnostic capacity and improve the detection of conditions such as heart failure and heart valve disease.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has for cardiovascular disease, including heart valve disease, to remain a priority in the updated NHS Long Term Plan.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The National Health Service will continue to ensure cardiovascular disease services remain a priority in the updated NHS Long Term Plan, including diagnostic and treatment services for patients with heart failure and heart valve disease. The NHS is investing in cardiac networks to support whole pathway improvements, from prevention, diagnosis, treatment through to end of life care.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
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 ensure that the (a) detection and diagnostic processes and (b) subsequent support for patients with heart valve disease is not affected by a potential reduction in face-to-face GP appointments aimed at supporting the covid-19 booster vaccine rollout.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
General practices will remain open but have been asked to prioritise vaccinations and emergency care for the rest of the year. General practitioners will still be able to refer patients with a heart condition to one of 40 new diagnostic centres to access detection and diagnostic checks closer to home.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
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 reassure people experiencing symptoms of heart valve disease that they will have access to a face to face GP appointment during the covid-19 booster vaccine rollout.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
General practices will remain open but have been asked to prioritise vaccinations and emergency care for the rest of the year. General practitioners will still be able to refer patients with a heart condition to one of 40 new diagnostic centres to access detection and diagnostic checks closer to home.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
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 access for patients to new techniques for tackling heart valve disease.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England and NHS Improvement evaluate new technology and the commissioning of newer techniques in tackling heart valve disease as it becomes available. This has led to improvements for patients in accessing new surgical heart valves such as sutureless valve replacement and for mitral valve leaflet repair. NHS England and NHS Improvement are increasing availability to mitral valve repair through commissioning local centres to deliver this procedure, working to their own prioritised timetable. A number of specialised heart valve devices and procedures are being taken through the evaluation process to ensure an appropriate evidenced-based approach to commissioning new technologies and techniques.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
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 the potential merits of aligning the treatment pathway for heart valve disease with the pathways indicated by recent international evidence.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England and NHS Improvement assess treatment pathways for heart valve disease using the best evidence available, including international evidence and advice from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to raise the management of cardiovascular diseases with (1) G7 countries, and (2) G20 countries; and whether any such plans include sharing the best practice set out in the Public Health England Strategy 2020–2025, published 10 September 2019.
Answered by Lord Bethell
NHS England and NHS Improvement promoted restoration of cardiovascular disease (CVD) services as a priority, including diagnostic and treatment services for patients with heart failure and heart valve disease, as the peak of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic began to decline.
The United Kingdom Global Better Health Programme contributes to managing the impact of non-communicable diseases, including CVD, in its partner countries through technical collaboration which contributes to the World Health Organization and UN Sustainable Development Goals. The management of CVD has not been recently raised by the UK with G7 countries. The Department has recently commented on a working paper on CVD presented by the Italian Presidency of the G20 major economies. There are currently no plans to share Public Health England’s best practice.