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  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that young people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis are made aware of their possible suitability for lung transplants.

    Jane Ellison

    There are a number of lung diseases of childhood, including pulmonary fibrosis that may require lung transplantation, depending on disease progression and severity.

    These conditions should be referred to, assessed and initially managed by a tertiary paediatric respiratory unit, who would confirm the diagnosis and monitor treatment.

    If the treatments failed to hold the progression of the disease, then a referral to one of the two paediatric lung transplant centres, Newcastle and Great Ormond Street may be appropriate.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ask NHS England to publish the (a) work completed by, (b) current work programme of and (c) future topics that are due to be considered by the Clinical Reference Group on Vascular Disease.

    Jane Ellison

    It is for NHS England to determine what information it publishes in relation to the work of the Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs) and it has advised that the CRG work programmes will not be published. However, it has provided the following information on the work of the CRGs on interventional radiology and vascular disease respectively.

    The CRG on interventional radiology has, in conjunction with the hepatobiliary and cancer programmes, produced clinical policy on selective interventional radiotherapy (SIRT), and the commissioning through evaluation programmeon SIRT to collect further evidence on effectiveness.This work is continuing.

    The CRG’s current work programme is to support work across the medical and surgical CRGs where policy and service specifications include interventional radiological procedures.

    The role of CRGs across specialised imaging, interventional radiology and Positron emission tomography–computed tomography is being reviewed. Once this is agreed, the work programme for 2016/17 will be developed.

    NHS England has previously published a service specification and polices for vascular disease, which can be found at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-a/a04/

    It has also developed quality metrics.

    The CRG on vascular disease work programme for 2015/16 includes:

    – reviewing policies in line with changing practice;

    – revision of the service specification has been produced;

    – assessing specialised providers against the key quality indicators within the service specification; and

    – working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on technology appraisals relating to specialised vascular services.

    NHS England is currently working with stakeholders to identify potential areas to be included within the 2016/17 work programme for the CRG on vascular disease.

    “

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ask NHS England to publish the (a) work completed by, (b) current work programme of and (c) future topics that are due to be considered by the Clinical Reference Group on Interventional Radiology.

    Jane Ellison

    It is for NHS England to determine what information it publishes in relation to the work of the Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs) and it has advised that the CRG work programmes will not be published. However, it has provided the following information on the work of the CRGs on interventional radiology and vascular disease respectively.

    The CRG on interventional radiology has, in conjunction with the hepatobiliary and cancer programmes, produced clinical policy on selective interventional radiotherapy (SIRT), and the commissioning through evaluation programmeon SIRT to collect further evidence on effectiveness.This work is continuing.

    The CRG’s current work programme is to support work across the medical and surgical CRGs where policy and service specifications include interventional radiological procedures.

    The role of CRGs across specialised imaging, interventional radiology and Positron emission tomography–computed tomography is being reviewed. Once this is agreed, the work programme for 2016/17 will be developed.

    NHS England has previously published a service specification and polices for vascular disease, which can be found at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-a/a04/

    It has also developed quality metrics.

    The CRG on vascular disease work programme for 2015/16 includes:

    – reviewing policies in line with changing practice;

    – revision of the service specification has been produced;

    – assessing specialised providers against the key quality indicators within the service specification; and

    – working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on technology appraisals relating to specialised vascular services.

    NHS England is currently working with stakeholders to identify potential areas to be included within the 2016/17 work programme for the CRG on vascular disease.

    “

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to raise public awareness of the risk factors for chest, heart and stroke illness.

    Jane Ellison

    Responsibility for raising such public awareness in Scotland rests with the Scottish Government. In England, Public Health England (PHE) runs a range of national social marketing campaigns to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of certain life-threatening illnesses and to therefore improve rates of early diagnosis. These campaigns include the Be Clear on Cancer, Act FAST and a regional pilot on breathlessness as a symptom of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure, raising awareness on lung cancer and heart and lung disease.

    PHE also runs a tobacco marketing programme with a range of activity that highlights the health harms of smoking, including demonstrating the link between smoking and cancer, and heart and lung disease. As well as encouraging smokers to make quit attempts the activity signposts to proven National Health Service tools/service to help them. These programmes have been shown to have a positive impact on reducing adult smoking prevalence.

    PHE works closely with the Department and NHS England to ensure that health care professionals are also targeted with campaign information to encourage earlier diagnoses and referrals.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he made of the number of lung cancer patients in England who have accessed the immuno-oncology drug nivolumab via private healthcare providers or other private sources of funding in the last year; and when NICE will make its final decision about NHS patients gaining access to that drug.

    George Freeman

    The Department does not hold the requested information concerning private healthcare or other private sources of funding.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence currently has two technology appraisals of nivolumab for lung cancer in development:

    (i) Nivolumab for previously treated locally advanced or metastatic squamous non-small-cell lung cancer, with an anticipated publication date of May 2016.

    (ii) Nivolumab for previously treated locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer, with an anticipated publication date of September 2016.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his oral contribution of 5 January 2016, Official Report, column 18, what the evidential basis is for the statement that changes to nurses’ training will allow for training 10,000 more nurses over the course of the current Parliament.

    Ben Gummer

    As set out by the Chancellor in the Spending Review in November 2015, universities will be able to provide up to 10,000 additional training places by the end of this Parliament. This is for nursing, midwifery and allied health subjects.

    In 2014, 57,000 applicants applied for 20,033 nursing places on the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) system. Nursing, midwifery and the allied health subjects are popular to study with British students, with nursing the fifth most popular subject on UCAS in 2014. Universities want to train more students for these professions and have the capacity to expand moderately quickly if allowed. There are already examples of universities, such as The University of Bolton and Keele University where these institutions have expanded to deliver additional places for nursing and physiotherapy respectively; with other universities also looking to expand.

  • 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 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will undertake an inquiry into the value for money of the PFI deal which funded the building of Calderdale Royal Hospital.

    Alistair Burt

    We have no plans to undertake such an inquiry. This Government launched an initiative in 2011 to extract savings and optimise value for money in operational private finance initiative (PFI) contracts. This included a pilot exercise at a major NHS PFI scheme which resulted in guidance with appropriate methodology and lessons learned being issued to all relevant NHS trusts in 2012. The Department has specialist officials to assist trusts in implementing the guidance.

  • Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he intends to answer the letter to him dated 19 November 2015 with regard to Mr R Short.

    Alistair Burt

    I responded to the hon. Member’s letter of 19 November 2015 on 21 January 2016.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve the care of, and better respond to, NHS patients with chronic pain.

    Jane Ellison

    Health Education England is responsible for providing national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the National Health Service in England. The professional regulators, such as the General Medical Council, set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricula. Higher Education Institutions are responsible for ensuring the programmes they provide allow students to meet these standards and outcomes. Royal colleges, such as the Royal College of General Practitioners also have responsibility for developing curricula for doctors and nurses, in particular postgraduate curricula. This process ensures that healthcare professionals have the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care, including in pain management, which is a required competency of all healthcare professionals.

    Many patients with chronic pain can be successfully supported and managed through routine primary and secondary care pain management services. It is important that patients with the most serious pain management issues are able to access specialist care. A patient whose pain is particularly difficult to manage may be referred to a specialised pain management service. Under the care of an expert multidisciplinary team, patients may be offered specialised pain management programmes specifically and more complex drug treatments.

    To support clinicians in the management of pain, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published several clinical guidelines on the treatment and management of different types of pain, such as migraine and back pain, as well as technical guidance on specific treatments, such as the use of opiates in palliative care and deep brain stimulation for chronic pain.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the report on the Mutuals in Health Pathfinder Programme.

    Ben Gummer

    In accordance with the Terms of Reference agreed at the start of the programme when he was Minister, the expert panel submitted the findings and recommendations of the Mutuals in Health Pathfinder Programme to the Government through an internal report.

    This is currently being considered by the Government.