Tag: Lord Mancroft

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-04-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether patients who meet the eligibility criteria for NICE-approved medicines for hepatitis C will have access to treatment in line with their rights under the NHS Constitution in 2016–17, even if more than 10,000 patients have already been treated.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England’s approach paces the roll-out of hepatitis C treatment in accordance with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendation for prioritisation and the modelling assumptions which informed the NICE recommendations. These are in line with patients’ rights under the NHS Constitution.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress Operational Delivery Networks have made in establishing services for prisoners diagnosed with hepatitis C.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England, Public Heath England, the National Offender Management Service and other organisations including the Royal College of General Practitioners have developed resources to support prison healthcare teams in delivering a blood-borne virus (BBV) opt-out testing programme. This covers all aspects of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C (HCV) and other BBVs including testing, managing positive and negative test results, providing advice on harm minimisation and supporting prisoners into treatment.

Specialised HCV Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) ensure specialist oversight of HCV services in order maximise uptake and completion of HCV treatment. NHS England has linked every prison to the relevant ODN and a service specification for ODNs directs specialist service providers to accept patients from prisons.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-04-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what basis, if any, the NHS Mandate requires that investment in NICE-recommended treatments for hepatitis C be limited to avoid disinvestment in other health services.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The NHS Mandate requires healthcare expenditure to be limited to the resources made available by the government. The range of potential treatments which could improve patients health exceeds the funding made available to the National Health Service, therefore increased investment in one area has an opportunity cost on the ability to invest in other areas. NHS England is investing in the rollout of Hepatitis C treatment in full accordance with National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidance, with an expected doubling of the number of patients benefiting from new treatment to 10,000s in the coming year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many hepatitis C patients NHS England is planning to treat in 2016–17.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England is planning to treat 10,000 patients with chronic hepatitis C in 2016/2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-04-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the breakdown of the patient treatment capacity for each Operational Delivery Network for hepatitis C, broken down by hub and spoke.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England does not hold this information. NHS England is not the responsible commissioner for all services in which the treatment of people with hepatitis is undertaken.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government for what reason NHS England intends to treat only a specified number of patients in 2016–17, as defined by recently published run rates for operational delivery networks services.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) specifically requires Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) to prioritise hepatitis C patients on the basis of highest unmet clinical need, as part of a progressive rollout of treatments over the next five years.

NHS England is funding providers to double the number of patients treated and this number will ensure the National Health Service fully meets in 2016/17 the patient numbers NICE set out for progressive rollout of the treatments at the time it published its guidance.

NHS England has invested in a Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme to incentivise ODNs to meet their agreed rate of roll-out. If their treatment rates deviate from this agreed rate of treatment, they are no longer eligible for these incentives.

In meeting the obligations of its Mandate, NHS England has set out a planning approach for hepatitis C that delivers access to NICE recommended treatment without disinvestment in other health services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-04-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the breakdown of run rates assigned to each Operational Delivery Network for hepatitis C, broken down by hub and spoke.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) lead organisations in collaboration with the local NHS England commissioning team are responsible for approving the organisations involved in the ODN. The ODN lead provider is responsible for working with its partners in determining how the patient numbers will be managed across its network. NHS England does not hold this information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people diagnosed with hepatitis C are eligible for treatment under the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance for new direct acting antiviral drugs.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Based on National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) modelling, NHS England has planned for 10,000 patients to be treated in 2016/17. No national registry exists for hepatitis C and as a result NICE estimates that the NHS should be treating 10,000 people based on the total number of people diagnosed with hepatitis C, their genotype, their treatment history and their disease severity, all of which impact on treatment eligibility.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-04-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when NHS England expects to publish its operational framework for hepatitis C.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England has already published its planning approach to implement National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended treatment during 2016/17. NHS England has committed to produce an operational framework for hepatitis C during 2016/17. This will set out NHS England’s commitment to improving outcomes in hepatitis C across England. The publication date for the document has not been set but we anticipate work to continue during the late spring and early summer.

NICE Technology Appraisals (TA) 363, 364 and 365 require Operational Delivery Networks to prioritise treatment for patients with the highest unmet clinical need. The National Health Service commitment to 10,000 treatments in 2016/17 reflects the multi-year modelling used by NICE and published in conjunction with the recommendations for TA 364. The NICE recommendations note that treatment decisions are influenced by clinical characteristics such as level of liver damage, genotype, treatment history and comorbidities. The recommendations also record the advice of clinical experts to the committee that a realistic estimate of patients accessing treatment each year is between 7-10,000.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review their hepatitis C strategy in the light of other European countries’ strategies for tackling hepatitis C.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England has been rapidly working on their plans for access to treatment during 2016/17 following enactment of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence technical appraisal guidance and has committed to produce an operational framework for the treatment of hepatitis C during 2016/17. This will set out NHS England’s commitment to improving outcomes in hepatitis C across England.