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  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which of the vanguard sites for the new care models programme under the NHS England Five Year Forward View have (a) considered Hepatitis C as part of their programme and (b) engaged with operational delivery networks for Hepatitis C.

    David Mowat

    The new care models programme and vanguards are focusing on developing new ways of working to improve the care provided to patients and local people. Vanguards consider a range of conditions relevant to their local populations as they develop and implement their plans.

    No vanguard specifically mentions hepatitis C in their plans for their new care model. However, the improvements made in many vanguards will be relevant to people with chronic conditions, including hepatitis C. In particular, the multispecialty community provider and integrated primary and acute care system vanguards are increasing the focus on prevention, long term conditions, providing more care in the community, preventing complications and admissions, and using the right technology to help patients manage their conditions.

    Furthermore, the Hepatitis C Coalition has launched a national partnership working with the Department, NHS England and other partners, to provide co-ordinated action to tackle ‘upstream’ issues in prevention, awareness, testing and referrals for hepatitis C.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what activities have been undertaken by (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department at (i) Richmond House, London and (ii) Quarry House, Leeds to promote breastfeeding during World Breastfeeding Week 2016.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Government is committed to supporting breastfeeding through the Healthy Child Programme.

    No specific activities were undertaken in either Richmond House or Quarry House by Ministers or officials in relation to World Breastfeeding Week.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish a timetable for the roll-out of the General Practice Resilience Programme to support GP practices in Mid Sussex constituency; and if he will make a statement.

    David Mowat

    The milestones for the General Practice Resilience Programme have been set nationally by NHS England and can be found in section 8 of the programme’s guidance document at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/gpfv/resilience/

    “

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, to what extent NICE has involved external stakeholders and charities in reviewing how well the incremental cost effectiveness ratio is working in making new cancer medicines available to patients on the NHS.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that it has not been asked to review how well the application of the cost effectiveness methodology is working in making new cancer medicines available to patients on the National Health Service.

    NICE periodically reviews its methods and processes for the development of guidance to ensure that they remain appropriate. NICE most recently consulted on changes to its methods for the appraisal of new cancer medicines in November 2015 as part of the consultation on the new operating model for the Cancer Drugs Fund.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of mobile surgical health theatres; and whether such centres are included in the Sustainability and Transformation Plans.

    David Mowat

    Under the Directed Enhanced Services directions to NHS England, there is a Minor Surgery Scheme, the underlying purpose of which is to ensure that a wide range of minor surgical procedures are made available as part of the primary medical services provided throughout England. Minor surgery is also one of the additional services which are set out in the General Medical Services Contract Regulations. It is for local areas to decide whether they include the development of these centres in their Sustainability and Transformation Plan.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are registered with diabetes in (a) Burnley constituency and (b) Lancashire.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Diagnosed diabetes prevalence in England is taken from the Quality and Outcomes Framework and represents all patients aged 17 and over who have been diagnosed with diabetes and included on General Practice (GP) registers. Data are available by GP practices, clinical commissioning group and for England.

    Estimated number of people with diabetes in Burnley and Lancashire*

    2014

    Number

    Prevalence

    Burnley

    5,392

    7.0%

    Lancashire

    64,212

    6.7%

    * Diagnosed diabetes prevalence is not available by local authority and has been estimated by aggregating GP practice level data where the postcode of the main practice falls within the local authority boundary.

    Source: Quality and Outcomes Framework 2014/15. NHS Digital is the trading name of the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

  • Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reusing dispensed but unused returned drugs in the NHS.

    David Mowat

    In general, where a hospital pharmacy issues medicines to an individual patient and they remain within the hospital, either because they are not used or only partly used, the medicines would be returned to the pharmacy to check that they are suitable for re-use and returned to the pharmacy stock.

    The Government does not promote the re-use of medicines that have left the pharmacy and been returned to either hospital or community pharmacies by patients, as it is not possible to guarantee the quality of a returned medicine by physical inspection alone.

    The Government also does not recommend the donation of patient-returned medicines. This is in line with clear World Health Organization guidelines, which have been developed‎ in cooperation with major international agencies involved in humanitarian and developmental aid. The guidelines are available at:

    www.who.int/medicines/publications/med_donationsguide2011/en/

    “

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding there has been for (a) practice nurses, (b) physician assistants, (c) practice managers and (d) receptionists in Mid Sussex constituency in each of the last five years.

    David Mowat

    This information is not available centrally.

    General Practitioner (GP) practices are independent contractors. NHS England advises that it therefore does not hold detailed information on the staffing arrangements within individual practices.

    Each GP practice is responsible for managing services in a way that best meets the needs of patients. Practices are free to recruit the mix of clinical, managerial and administrative staff they feel is appropriate to provide the care and service required.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that women suffering from metastatic HER2 breast cancer receive (a) the Kadcyla form of Trastuzumab emtansine and (b) other required medication.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Improving the availability and use of effective medicines for all cancers, including breast cancer, is a key priority.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes recommendations on whether selected drugs and treatments represent a clinically and cost effective use of National Health Service resources. Commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments for the treatment of metastatic HER2 breast cancer recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of its final guidance being issued.

    NICE technology appraisal guidance, published in December 2015, does not recommend trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) for the treatment of HER2-positive, unresectable locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer after treatment with trastuzumab and a taxane. In the absence of guidance from NICE, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund new medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence.

    Trastuzumab emtansine continues to be available to patients in England through the Cancer Drugs Fund, subject to certain clinical criteria.

    The new arrangements for the Fund, which came into effect on 29 July 2016, will ensure that the most promising and innovative medicines get to patients as quickly as possible. In particular, NICE will issue draft guidance on new cancer drugs or significant new licence indications before they have received marketing approval in the United Kingdom. Any drug that receives a positive draft recommendation would then be funded from the point of licence.

  • Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of dispensed but unused prescription drugs.

    David Mowat

    Information is not held centrally on the annual cost or amount of dispensed but unused prescription drugs in the National Health Service.

    The Department commissioned the York Health Economics Consortium and the School of Pharmacy at the University of London to carry out research to determine the scale, causes and costs of waste medicines in England. The report, Evaluation of the Scale, Causes and Costs of Waste Medicines, was published on 23 November 2010. This found that the gross cost of unused prescription medicines in primary and community care in the NHS in England in 2009 was £300 million a year and that up to £150 million of this was avoidable.

    NHS England is currently working with the Department and the NHS Business Services Authority to consider how value can best be obtained from the use of medicines, both in terms of patient outcomes and financial implications. This work, along with the medicines optimisation programme, will help ensure best value for both taxpayers and patients.