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  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with Greenwich Clinical Commissioning Group and Healthwatch Greenwich on patient involvement in the commissioning process prior to the granting of the contract to provide musculoskeletal services to Circle Holdings PLC; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The provision of local health services is a matter for the local National Health Service.

    There have been no meetings between Ministers at the Department and Greenwich Clinical Commissioning Group and Healthwatch Greenwich about patient involvement in the commissioning process prior to the granting of the contract to provide musculoskeletal services to Circle Holdings PLC.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what waiting time targets are in place for access to (a) mental health treatment and (b) talking therapies for children experiencing mental health problems; and how many times any such targets have been missed in each of the last 12 months.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Access and waiting times standards for people aged from 14 to 65 years old experiencing a first episode of psychosis came into effect in April 2016. The target is that more than 50% of all people experiencing a first episode of psychosis should receive National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-concordant treatment within two weeks of referral.

    There is also a waiting time standards for improving access to psychological therapies for all ages (six weeks for 75% of people referred to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme, with 95% of people being treated within 18 weeks).

    There is no waiting time target for access to mental health treatment or talking therapies specifically for children experiencing mental health problems.

    Experimental data to monitor the waiting time target for people experiencing a first episode of psychosis has been collected by NHS England since December 2015 and is available at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/eip-waiting-times/

    Some experimental data from the Mental Health Services Data Set relevant to waiting times standards is also published by NHS Digital.

    The most recent figures are at:

    http://content.digital.nhs.uk/searchcatalogue?productid=23263&returnid=1741

    Information about Improving Access to Psychological Therapies is available at:

    http://content.digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB21575

    “

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting times are from referral to first appointment for (a) children and (b) young people experiencing acute mental health problems in (i) Birmingham and (ii) the UK.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been spent on (a) mental health services and (b) children’s mental health services in Birmingham in each of the last 10 years.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The information requested is not collected centrally.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that patients with ankylosing spondylitis receive a prompt diagnosis and receive high-quality healthcare.

    David Mowat

    Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a long-term condition in which the spine and other areas of the body become inflamed. Treatment can involve painkillers, biologic drugs and exercise, if appropriate. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced a clinical knowledge summary on AS, and the British Society of Rheumatology has also published advice on this condition.

    To bring greater consistency and clarity in this area, NICE is currently developing a best practice guideline concerning diagnosis and management of spondyloarthritis, which is an umbrella term for a set of inflammatory diseases including ankylosing spondylitis. The guideline is open to consultation until 25 October 2016 and the expected publication date is March 2017.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many diagnoses of perinatal mental illness were made in (a) Copeland, (b) Cumbria and (c) England in each of the last five years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The data requested is not collected centrally. Work is underway to improve data collection on perinatal mental health.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of high drug prices on the budget of the NHS.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Total spending on drugs in 2010-11 was 12.5% of the health budget.

    In 2015-16 total spend on drugs was 13.0% or 12.4% of the total budget if you include repayments to the Department from pharmaceutical companies as part of the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS).

    Spending on drugs as a percentage of the overall departmental budget has remained fairly constant due to increased use of generic drugs and the PPRS.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an estimate of the average time taken by NICE to evaluate new orphan and ultra-orphan therapies in the last three years; and what the average time taken from approval is to access those therapies for patients living with rare and ultra-rare conditions.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that the average time it has taken to evaluate new orphan and ultra-orphan therapies under the highly specialised technologies (HST) programme to date has been 12-14 months. NICE published draft guidance (on average) 6-8 months into the process. NHS England has ensured access to treatments recommended by NICE through the HST programme is available to patients within three months of final guidance. NICE has also advised that its intention is to publish guidance within 4-6 months from marketing authorisation in the future.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of slow medicine reimbursement decisions on the level of commercial investment in UK clinical research by companies specialising in rare and ultra-rare conditions.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Independent evidence suggests that the most important attraction for companies to invest in research in the United Kingdom is the availability of world-class scientific expertise, which is the focus of the Government’s effort to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of global Research and Development. It also suggests that there is no obvious reason why National Health Service reimbursement policy for pharmaceuticals, or the time taken to make decisions on reimbursement, should significantly affect decisions to invest in Research and Development in the UK.

    The independently chaired Accelerated Access Review makes recommendations to the Government on reforms to accelerate access for NHS patients to innovative medicines, medical technologies, diagnostics and digital products.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the time taken for people with (a) rare and ultra-rare conditions, (b) Morquio A Syndrome and (c) Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy to access treatment.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that, with NHS England, it is currently running a consultation which sets out proposals to enable faster access to therapies for patients with ultra-rare conditions. The proposals outline what conditions need to be met in order to receive a positive recommendation through the NICE highly specialised technologies programme and what mechanisms should be in place to introduce new technologies and manage the affordability challenge for NHS England.

    NICE has also advised that a proportion of patients with Morqiuo syndrome who have met the criteria under the managed access agreement are already receiving elosulfase alfa (Vimizim) and are being monitored by their specialist centre. The remainder are being assessed to ensure that they fulfil the eligibility criteria and patients who do will start treatment within the first year of the managed access agreement coming into force. A very small proportion of the population has decided for personal reasons not to participate.

    NHS England and PTC Therapeutics, with the brokering of NICE, agreed a managed access agreement that will enable access to translarna (Ataluren) for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Specialist centres are in the process of reviewing potentially eligible patients to assess their suitability to receive the drug under the terms agreed in the managed access agreement.