The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on the possible connection between potato consumption and diabetes in pregnancy.
Jane Ellison
No such discussions have been held.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make the test for levels of fetal fibronectin to assist in detecting likely premature births available through the NHS.
Ben Gummer
In November 2014, the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommended that screening for pre-term birth should not be offered as the available screening test is not reliable. Further research is also needed to better understand the use of fetal fibronectin as a screen indicator in an antenatal screening programme.
The UK NSC concluded that based on the published peer reviewed evidence preterm birth should not be offered for the following reasons:
― The available tests for identifying which asymptomatic women were at risk of preterm labour, including the measurement of cervical length, are not reliable enough to meet the UK NSC’s criteria for use as a screening tool. Screening would identify many women as at risk when they are not, leading to unnecessary preventive treatment;
― The measurement of cervical length has no agreed measurement for establishing which pregnancies are at risk and which are not; and
― There is not enough evidence to suggest that the most effective treatment from preventing preterm labour, vaginal progesterone provides any overall benefit or reduced the likelihood of a baby dying.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to make high-dose prostate therapy available on the NHS.
Jane Ellison
Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is commissioned by NHS England. NHS England’s commitment was to ensure that a minimum of 24% of patients requiring radical radiotherapy had access to inverse planned IMRT from April 2013, and this has been achieved nationally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase levels of blood donation.
Jane Ellison
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) provide blood donation services to the National Health Service, supplying a reliable, efficient supply of blood in England and North Wales. To secure a consistent donor base, NHSBT runs donor recruitment campaigns throughout the year to attract new donors, for example last year’s Missing Types Programme which featured the removal of the letters of A O B from famous locations and high street brands. NHSBT also ran the #BleedForEngland campaign around the World Cup using rugby celebrities which led to 100,000 new donor registrations. The recently completed New Year 2016 recruitment campaign also saw more than 30,000 people register to give blood.
On 1 February 2016 NHSBT confirmed that more than one million people are now registered to book blood donation appointments online.
NHSBT is also taking specific action to increase the number of blood donors from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community, particularly from Black African, Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian communities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on research showing that e-cigarettes can cause cardiac damage.
Jane Ellison
There have been no such discussions.
The Department recognise that e-cigarettes can help smokers quit, and in August 2015, Public Health England published a review of the evidence, which concluded that they are significantly less harmful to health than cigarettes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of when treatments for diabetes involving the use of skin cells will become available.
Jane Ellison
Whilst we welcome any new forms of treatment or technology that may improve patient care, it is however too early to say whether current research on the potential to modify human skin cells into working pancreas cells will result in possible treatments for people with diabetes.
Skin cells have also been studied for the application of promoting healing in diabetic foot ulcers. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline NG19 Diabetic foot problems: prevention and management, published in August 2015 recommends that, on the advice of the multidisciplinary foot care service, dermal or skin substitutes can be used in addition to standard care when treating diabetic foot ulcers.
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng19/chapter/1-Recommendations
Health and care professionals are expected to take NICE guidance on the treatment of relevant conditions fully into account when deciding how to treat a patient.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department and NHS England are taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (a) children and (b) adults in Lincolnshire NHS Trust area meet NICE guidance.
Alistair Burt
NHS England advises that, from 1 April 2016, Lincolnshire West Clinical Commissioning Group will be commissioning an integrated diagnostic pathway for adults with autism spectrum disorder. Performance measures will include a target maximum 12-week waiting time, to ensure that National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines are met.
A review of services for children is also planned as part of the Lincolnshire All Age Autism Strategy, which will include the development of a clearly defined integrated pathway for diagnostic assessment and post-diagnostic support for this age group.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with clinical bodies on the potential connection between the level of diabetes and eating pears to reduce sugar levels.
Jane Ellison
There have been no such recent discussions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to publish a funded arthritis action plan.
Jane Ellison
The Department is in regular contact with stakeholders, such as Arthritis Research UK, and hosted a roundtable with them in November. The group is in the process of producing a toolkit for commissioners to support commissioning of physical activity interventions for people with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.
Whilst the Department has no plans to publish an arthritis action plan, NHS England and Public Health England are taking forward a number of projects.
Specifically on MSK conditions, the National Health Service National Clinical Director for MSK, Peter Kay, has been working in partnership with the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance, to develop new MSK clinical networks across England to build consensus on the way forward for models of care. In addition, in February 2015, Public Health England, in partnership with NHS England and the Department, ran a local pilot campaign to raise public awareness of the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in Nottingham City and Hardwick Clinical Commissioning Group. The aim of the campaign was to support earlier diagnosis and thereby enable treatment to begin earlier to improve the quality of life for people with the condition. The results of the campaign are currently being evaluated.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives from the health sector on the development of services to treat arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders.
Jane Ellison
The Department is in regular contact with stakeholders, such as Arthritis Research UK, and hosted a roundtable with them in November. The group is in the process of producing a toolkit for commissioners to support commissioning of physical activity interventions for people with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.
Whilst the Department has no plans to publish an arthritis action plan, NHS England and Public Health England are taking forward a number of projects.
Specifically on MSK conditions, the National Health Service National Clinical Director for MSK, Peter Kay, has been working in partnership with the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance, to develop new MSK clinical networks across England to build consensus on the way forward for models of care. In addition, in February 2015, Public Health England, in partnership with NHS England and the Department, ran a local pilot campaign to raise public awareness of the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in Nottingham City and Hardwick Clinical Commissioning Group. The aim of the campaign was to support earlier diagnosis and thereby enable treatment to begin earlier to improve the quality of life for people with the condition. The results of the campaign are currently being evaluated.