Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the funding of the Dutch investigation into the downing of flight MH17.

Mr David Lidington

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has not discussed funding of the Dutch investigation into the downing of flight MH17 with his Russian counterpart. Funding for the technical investigation is the responsibility of the Dutch Safety Board, and for the criminal investigation this is the competence of the Joint Investigation Team.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have been diagnosed with lung cancer as a result of smoking 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 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to bring forward legislation to regulate cosmetic surgery.

Ben Gummer

All medical doctors, including those carrying out cosmetic surgery, must register with the General Medical Council, hold a license to practise and meet set professional standards to work in the United Kingdom.

We want to raise the standards of care in the cosmetics industry so patients can feel confident they are getting the best care from highly-qualified professionals. There are examples of high-quality cosmetic interventions provided by trained staff to high standards of care and satisfaction. The Department and its delivery partners have implemented a range of non-regulatory actions which we are reviewing and monitoring before confirming whether new legislation would add significant value to safeguards for people choosing cosmetic procedures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that people diagnosed with cancer are (a) diagnosed early and (b) treated immediately.

Jane Ellison

The Independent Cancer Taskforce’s report recognised the importance of early, and faster, diagnosis to improve both patient outcomes and experience. The Taskforce particularly recommended the implementation of a new cancer waiting times standard that, by 2020, everyone referred with a suspicion of cancer would receive either a definitive diagnosis or the all-clear within four weeks. We have committed to implementing this, and NHS England is working with partners across the health system to consider how best to take this forward.

NHS England has launched a major early diagnosis programme, Accelerate, Co-ordinate, Evaluate (ACE), working jointly with Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support to test new innovative approaches to identifying cancer more quickly. Outputs from the first wave of test sites, which commenced in April 2015, will be delivered on a phased basis, with the majority falling between September 2015 and December 2016. A number of the Proactive Lung cluster projects are running for 2-3 years but is hoped that there will be sufficient data after one year to enable evaluation. It is expected that ACE Wave 1 evaluation will be complete by mid-2017.

We welcome the very positive reaction we saw earlier this year to the publication of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence updated referral guidelines for suspected cancer. The new guideline focuses on key symptoms rather than which cancer a patient might have, to help make it easier to use and more applicable to the day-to-day experience of general practitioners and their patients.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the NHS takes to identify symptoms of dementia among elderly patients in hospital.

Jane Ellison

NHS England developed the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) framework for 2015/16 which contains a national goal on improving dementia care. The dementia CQUIN aims to help identify patients with dementia and other causes of cognitive impairment, alongside their other medical conditions and to prompt appropriate referral and follow up after they leave hospital.

The three main aims of the CQUIN are to identify, assess and refer those presenting with symptoms of dementia. In order to identify individuals with dementia members of staff will ask members of the family or friends of a person admitted to hospital if the patient has suffered any problems with their memory in the last 12 months. If there is evidence to suggest a problem with their memory, that person will be given a dementia risk assessment and then based on the results of the assessment a referral would be made for further support either to a liaison team, a memory clinic or a general practitioner.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on the prevention of still births.

Ben Gummer

Since May 2015, Ministers at the Department have not held any meetings with the Royal Colleges to specifically discuss the prevention of stillbirths. However, the Department has been working in partnership with Sands (the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity) and a range of key organisations, including NHS England, Public Health England, the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, to drive forward a stillbirth prevention work programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on the use of cancer drugs to slow down Parkinson’s disease.

Jane Ellison

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State meets regularly with the Royal Colleges, however he has not specifically discussed this matter. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently updating its guidance on Parkinson’s disease to take into account the latest evidence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with (a) pharmaceutical companies and (b) the Royal Colleges on making colchicine available on the NHS for the treatment of cancer.

George Freeman

No such discussions have taken place. We understand that a potential treatment for cancer derived from colchicine is currently in development and clinical trials are due to start in 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, by when he plans for new drug treatments for sepsis and Acute Respiratory Disease Syndrome to be available on the NHS.

George Freeman

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing a clinical guideline on the recognition, diagnosis and management of severe sepsis. The guideline will consider the full range of treatment options for sepsis. NICE currently plans to publish this guidance in July 2016.

There are no plans for NICE to develop technology appraisal guidance on the use of new drug treatments for sepsis or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

NHS England has advised that there have been many trials of new treatments for ARDS but no consistent benefit has been found in any of these.

In the absence of NICE guidance, funding decisions for individual treatments should be made by the relevant National Health Service commissioner, based on an assessment of the available evidence. Commissioners are also required to have processes in place for the consideration of exceptional funding requests.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have received atrial fibrillation in the last five years.

Jane Ellison

This information is not collected centrally.