The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department categorises the ellaOne pill as a contraceptive or abortifacient for the purposes of its record keeping.
Jane Ellison
It is classed as a contraceptive.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to ensure the referral to the relevant authorities of terminating doctors who do not fulfil their statutory obligations to fill in HSA4 forms correctly.
Jane Ellison
The Department has recently issued a range of guidance which will help clinicians to comply with the requirements of the Abortion Act, including their obligations with regard to the completing of HSA4 forms. In addition, we are working with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to take forward their recommendations on tackling under-reporting of abortions for fetal abnormality.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bingham on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on allowing the transplant of organs from people deceased outside of hospital.
Jane Ellison
Organ donation following death outside of hospital is not broadly practiced in the United Kingdom. For organs to remain viable and suitable for transplantation, they must either be kept supplied with oxygen, blood and nutrients, or kept cold so that the metabolism of the cells is slowed right down. When someone’s heart stops beating suddenly, the blood supply to organs stop and the cells begin to get starved of oxygen and nutrients and start to die. Therefore, there is a very narrow window of a few minutes between the heart stopping beating and the need for organs to be removed and preserved.
A pilot programme is underway in Edinburgh for retrieval of organs from those who suffer a witnessed cardiac arrest from which they are unable to be resuscitated and are brought within minutes to the hospital. NHS Blood and Transplant is supporting this pilot and, depending on the outcome, will support further similar initiatives.
Additionally, health care professionals need to obtain consent and get a full medical history to ensure the organs are suitable for transplantation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in the 70 to 79 age group have received a shingles vaccination since the vaccination programme began in September 2013; how many people he expects to take up the offer in the current cohort; when he expects that figure to be met; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
Provisional vaccine uptake data for England show that about 360,000 70 to 79 year olds received the shingles vaccine between 1 September 2013 and 30 April 2014. The actual number will be higher as about 20% of general practitioner (GP) practices are not able to automatically submit uptake information. If it is assumed that the non-reporting practices have similar uptake rates to those that have reported, then the estimated total number of people aged 70 to 79 years receiving the vaccine in the first eight months of the programme, would be around 450,000.
This is the first year of this immunisation programme and there is no formal target for the number to be vaccinated. Eligible patients aged 70 and 79 who have not yet received shingles vaccine during the 2013-14 programme will continue to be offered vaccination under the national programme until 31 August 2014. It is not possible to predict how many will take up the offer of vaccination in this period, but Public Health England expects vaccine uptake to continue to rise, and we would encourage those eligible individuals to contact their GP to arrange their vaccination if they have not already done so.
Further provisional cumulative coverage data will be published on a quarterly basis, with the final annual coverage data for the 2013-14 programme due to be published in autumn 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much and what proportion of national cancer spend was spent on radiotherapy in each of the last five years.
Jane Ellison
The information is shown in the following table:
Estimated expenditure on cancer services and radiotherapy, 2008-09 to 2012-13, £ millions in 2012-13 prices
|
Year |
Cancers and tumours |
Radiotherapy |
|
2008-09 |
5,281 |
401 |
|
2009-10 |
5,908 |
435 |
|
2010-11 |
5,685 |
467 |
|
2011-12 |
5,565 |
473 |
|
2012-13 |
5,681 |
485 |
Sources:
Programme budgeting data, NHS England
Reference costs, Department of Health
It is not appropriate for a given service to present reference costs as a proportion of programme budgeting expenditure. This is because radiotherapy data are calculated from reference costs, which are the unit costs to National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts of providing defined services in a given financial year to NHS patients. Reference costs do not represent all expenditure in the NHS, and are costs to NHS providers whereas programme budgeting data are expenditure by NHS commissioners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much in real-terms was spent on cancer services in each of the last five years.
Jane Ellison
The information is shown in the following table:
Estimated expenditure on cancer services and radiotherapy, 2008-09 to 2012-13, £ millions in 2012-13 prices
|
Year |
Cancers and tumours |
Radiotherapy |
|
2008-09 |
5,281 |
401 |
|
2009-10 |
5,908 |
435 |
|
2010-11 |
5,685 |
467 |
|
2011-12 |
5,565 |
473 |
|
2012-13 |
5,681 |
485 |
Sources:
Programme budgeting data, NHS England
Reference costs, Department of Health
It is not appropriate for a given service to present reference costs as a proportion of programme budgeting expenditure. This is because radiotherapy data are calculated from reference costs, which are the unit costs to National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts of providing defined services in a given financial year to NHS patients. Reference costs do not represent all expenditure in the NHS, and are costs to NHS providers whereas programme budgeting data are expenditure by NHS commissioners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on NHS patients receiving Enterra gastric stimulator treatment.
Jane Ellison
Funding of gastroelectrical stimulation procedures is a matter for local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). If a clinician considers that a patient in their care may benefit from this procedure, they would need to submit an Individual Funding Request to their CCG so that they can consider the case.
In May 2014 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued new Interventional Procedure (IP) guidance on gastro-electrical stimulation for gastroparesis, which is a chronic disorder in which the stomach empties more slowly than normal. The guidance can be found at the following link:
www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/14531/67802/67802.pdf
NICE’s IP Programme assesses the safety and efficacy of (mainly) new procedures that are used for diagnosis or treatment that involve incision, puncture, entry into a body cavity or the use of ionising, electromagnetic or acoustic energy. Unlike NICE’s technology appraisals programme, it is not within the remit of the IP Programme to evaluate the cost effectiveness of IPs or to advise the National Health Service on whether IPs should be funded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the current timetable is for the development of the HIV/STI national clinical audit.
Jane Ellison
The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) commissions and manages the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme on behalf of NHS England. The HQIP has asked for expressions of interest from suitable providers who are able to design and complete a one year feasibility study to inform any future national clinical audit of HIV and sexually transmitted infections. The contract for the work will be awarded this summer. NHS England cannot disclose the number of expressions of interest that have been received at this stage as this is commercially sensitive information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many expressions of interest from eligible providers to develop the HIV/STI national clinical audit NHS England has received to date.
Jane Ellison
The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) commissions and manages the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme on behalf of NHS England. The HQIP has asked for expressions of interest from suitable providers who are able to design and complete a one year feasibility study to inform any future national clinical audit of HIV and sexually transmitted infections. The contract for the work will be awarded this summer. NHS England cannot disclose the number of expressions of interest that have been received at this stage as this is commercially sensitive information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on the development of the HIV/STI national clinical audit; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) commissions and manages the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme on behalf of NHS England. The HQIP has asked for expressions of interest from suitable providers who are able to design and complete a one year feasibility study to inform any future national clinical audit of HIV and sexually transmitted infections. The contract for the work will be awarded this summer. NHS England cannot disclose the number of expressions of interest that have been received at this stage as this is commercially sensitive information.