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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people had gastrointestinal operations in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison

The information is not available in the form requested.

For England, a count of finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a primary or secondary procedure of gastrointestinal operation from 2010-11 to 2014-15 is below.

Year	FAEs
2010-11	1,375,343
2011-12	1,472,621
2012-13	1,567,615
2013-14	1,603,365
2014-15	1,699,845

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, Health and Social Care Information Centre

Note: An FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of substance addiction in people aged over 50.

Jane Ellison

Local authorities are responsible for commissioning effective drug and alcohol prevention and treatment services based on an assessment of local need. Public Health England (PHE) supports local authorities in this work, by providing bespoke data, value for money tools, topical briefings, and advice on good practice to help local authorities meet the needs of their local population, including older people.

PHE is engaged in a series of work programmes which aim to reduce the incidence of substance addiction and help provide support to older people; an alcohol misuse screening question has been part of the national NHS Health Check since 2013. The Health Check programme is offered to three million 40-74 year olds per year.

An independent expert group updating the United Kingdom drug misuse clinical guidelines, Drug Misuse and Dependence: UK Guidelines on Clinical Management[1] is considering specific advice for clinicians on managing and addressing substance addiction in older people.

[1] http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/clinical_guidelines_2007.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people of each age group and gender died from diabetes-related diseases in each of the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects that retinal implant chips will be available through the NHS to treat blindness.

Alistair Burt

It is for local National Health Service commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund new treatments, taking into account the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, available evidence and individual patient’s clinical circumstances.

NICE issued interventional procedures guidance on the insertion of a subretinal prosthesis system for retinitis pigmentosa in December 2015. NICE’s recommendation was that this procedure should only be used in the context of research, due to the limited evidence being available on its safety and efficacy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase public awareness of rare diseases.

George Freeman

The UK Strategy for Rare Diseases was published in 2013 and is currently being implemented across all four countries of the United Kingdom. The UK Rare Diseases Forum monitors the implementation of the Strategy and provides the Department with advice on rare disease policy development, including awareness raising. The 100,000 Genomes Project, a world-leading initiative launched by the Prime Minister in December 2012 has rare diseases as one of its key priority areas.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to work with charities and campaigners on raising awareness and improving prevention of prostate cancer.

Jane Ellison

Public Health England (PHE) ran a local pilot campaign in October – November 2014, specifically targeting prostate cancer within Black African-Caribbean men, because of their significantly increased risk of developing prostate cancer. The campaign was delivered in partnership with Prostate Cancer UK and was designed to support their awareness raising activity.

The campaign ran in six London boroughs – Hackney, Haringey, Newham, Southwark, Lambeth and Lewisham – and was delivered mainly through face to face activity, supported by posters in key outdoor locations and in salons and a programme of targeted public relations.

PHE will also shortly be re-running the national campaign on “Blood in Pee. Although primarily aimed at bladder and kidney cancer, blood in the urine can also be a sign of prostate cancer.