The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the review by the NHS on intellectual property, Innovation, Health and Wealth.
Dr Daniel Poulter
NHS England has advised that work to develop proposals following the review is still continuing, and proposals will be shared in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much a GP practice is paid for each patient visit to a GP.
Dr Daniel Poulter
General practitioner (GP) practices are not paid for each patient visit to a GP. GP practices hold contracts with NHS England to provide primary medical services for their registered list and receive capitated payments for doing so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of work-based stress on suicide levels.
Norman Lamb
Numerous studies, including the Marmot Review into health inequalities in England (published in 2010) draw attention to the impacts of unemployment, and particularly long-term unemployment, on mental health.
Research also demonstrates that work related stress and mental health problems often go together. Work related stress may trigger an existing mental health problem that the person may otherwise have successfully managed.
However, common mental health problems and stress can exist independently. For example, people can have work related stress leading to physical symptoms such as high blood pressure, without experiencing anxiety and depression. They can also have anxiety and depression that is unrelated to stress.
Gainful employment promotes mental well-being. Unfortunately, the workplace can also be the source of nonproductive stress leading to physical and mental health problems, including suicidal thoughts and behaviours and suicide.
A number of studies demonstrate an association between the areas of England worst affected during the recent financial crisis and increased suicide rates. Between 2008 and 2010, there were approximately 800 more suicides among men and 155 more among women than would have been expected based on historical trends. This was supported by a recent review of the international impact of the global economic crisis. A rise in poor health status associated with the recession has also been found not only for the unemployed, but also among people who remain employed.
People come into contact with the welfare system at a time when they may be vulnerable because of unemployment and its associated consequences. The Department for Work and Pensions provides guidance and training for staff to help them identify and support people who are vulnerable, including those who may be at risk of suicide or self-harm.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eric Ollerenshaw on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of adaptive licensing or early access schemes (a) in the UK and (b) across the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Norman Lamb
The potential merits and impact of adaptive licensing and early access to medicine schemes were considered by the Expert Group on innovation in the regulation of healthcare that was established in June 2012 following the Prime Minister’s 2011 Life Science Strategy. The Expert Group was composed of a range of experts from government, industry, patient and health professional stakeholders.
In their 2013 report, the group welcomed the proposal for the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS), for highly promising unlicensed medicinal products in areas of high unmet medical need, and urged the Government to introduce it as soon as possible. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency launched the EAMS on 7 April 2014.
On adaptive licensing, the group saw opportunities for more use of the existing legal flexibilities to facilitate patient access to innovative products. The Group urged for the pilot on adaptive licensing by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to be launched at the earliest opportunity.
The EMA published its adaptive licensing pilot project on 19 March. The Government sees this pilot as a test for current licensing flexibilities and the methodology of adaptive licensing. We welcome the pilot and will continue to be actively engaged in the debate in Europe.
A copy of the report of the Expert Group on innovation in the regulation of healthcare has been placed in the Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what restrictions apply to the discretion of clinical commissioning groups to commission immunisation services.
Jane Ellison
Policy on what national immunisation programmes should be implemented and how best to implement them is the responsibility of the Department working with Public Health England and NHS England.
Responsibility and funding for national immunisation programmes rests with NHS England. Clinical commissioning groups are free to consider the need and resourcing for local immunisation activity with their partners in local authorities, who are responsible for taking appropriate steps to improve local public health.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many complaints his Department received from members of the public on care and treatment by Medway NHS Foundation Trust between 2005 and 2010.
Jane Ellison
A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified 19 items of correspondence from members of the public received between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2010 which complain about care and treatment at Medway NHS Foundation Trust. This is a minimum figure which represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the next British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Survey will be carried out.
Norman Lamb
The Department is currently looking at the options available for carrying out a new survey of children and young people’s mental health.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average length of a GP consultation was in each year since 1984 for which data is available.
Dr Daniel Poulter
Data is not held centrally on the average length of general practitioner (GP) appointments.
However, NHS England has advised that the latest information available indicates that the average consultation time with a GP is around 12 minutes (2006/07 GP Workload Survey).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost of GP visits was in each year since 1984 in which information is available.
Dr Daniel Poulter
Data on the total cost of general practitioner visits is not available. The Health and Social Care Information Centre collects data on the total expenditure on general practice, both including and excluding the cost of dispensed drugs. The latest available data is from 2012-13, and the earliest available data is 2003-04.
Total Spend on general practice, 2003-04 to 2012-13 (£ million)
|
Year |
Total Spend |
Total Net of Dispensing |
|
2003-04 |
5,811 |
5,006 |
|
2004-05 |
6,914 |
6,061 |
|
2005-06 |
7,747 |
6,864 |
|
2006-07 |
7,757 |
6,943 |
|
2007-08 |
7,867 |
7,053 |
|
2008-09 |
7,961 |
7,145 |
|
2009-10 |
8,321 |
7,514 |
|
2010-11 |
8,350 |
7,543 |
|
2011-12 |
8,397 |
7,607 |
|
2012-13 |
8,459 |
7,690 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to prevent NHS England from implementing restrictions on the use of new drugs for advanced prostate cancer, enzalutamide and abiraterone.
Norman Lamb
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published technology appraisal guidance in June 2012 which recommends abiraterone (Zytiga) in its licensed indication for the treatment of castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer previously treated with a docetaxel-containing regimen, subject to a patient access scheme agreed between the Department and the drug’s manufacturer.
NICE is currently appraising (i) abiraterone for the treatment of metastatic hormone relapsed prostate cancer not previously treated with chemotherapy and (ii) enzalutamide for metastatic hormone-relapsed prostate cancer in adults whose disease has progressed during or after docetaxel-containing chemotherapy.
National Health Service commissioners are legally required to fund those treatments recommended by NICE in its technology appraisal guidance.
In the absence of NICE technology appraisal guidance it is for the relevant NHS commissioner to make funding decisions based on an assessment of the available evidence. The NHS Constitution states that patients have the right to expect local decisions on the funding of drugs and treatments ‘to be made rationally following a proper consideration of the evidence’.
We understand that abiraterone as a first-line treatment is available through the Cancer Drugs Fund to NHS patients in England who could benefit from it, and that enzalutamide is also available through the Cancer Drugs Fund to patients who meet specified clinical criteria.