Tag: Luciana Berger

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) number and (b) proportion of adult cystic fibrosis centres in England have (i) reached and (ii) exceeded the maximum capacity of 250 patients recommended by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust in each of the last four years.

Norman Lamb

Information concerning the number of adult cystic fibrosis (CF) patients cared for by CF centres in England in each of the last four years is not available. This data has only been collected since the introduction of the tariff for CF services in 2011.

In the attached table we have provided the number and proportion of CF centres treating 250 patients or more in each of the last three years.

It should be noted that theStandards of Care, updated by CF Trust in 2011 does not state that 250 patients is the maximum number a CF centre should treat, but rather that when a centre reaches 250 patients, and anticipates that numbers will continue to rise, the development of alternative specialist centres should be considered.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are employed full-time solely on accident prevention in (a) his Department and (b) Public Health England.

Jane Ellison

A number of Departmental and Public Health England staff work on areas relevant to accident prevention, but they are employed within teams with wider public health and social care interests rather than being solely employed full-time on accident prevention.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the National Clinical Director for Cancer on the performance of the NHS against the waiting time targets for cancer treatment.

Jane Ellison

My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health, has had a number of discussions with senior members of NHS England’s executive team on the performance of the National Health Service against the waiting time targets for cancer treatment, but not with the National Clinical Director for Cancer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who is responsible for the collection and disposal of clinical waste from patients’ homes.

Dan Rogerson

Local authorities have duties to arrange for the collection and disposal of household waste. Clinical waste produced at domestic property is treated as household waste.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve the collection and reporting of data relating to the incidence of cancer of the unknown primary.

Jane Ellison

Information has recently been published by Public Health England’s National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) about the routes taken by patients prior to a diagnosis of cancer of unknown primary (CUP), and the links between age and socio-economic deprivation and CUP. These publications increase our understanding of the epidemiology of CUP and allow clinical teams to benchmark their levels of CUP diagnoses.

A survey of CUP registration and reporting practices in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia was recently conducted by the NCIN and the University of New South Wales. The results, which identified differences in CUP registration practice, are currently being analysed by the NCIN and will be used to develop a better understanding of historic data. The findings can also support and inform future standardisation of national and international registration guidance.

Preliminary results from the CUP survey will be presented at the Cancer Outcomes Conference – the Power of Information 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress he has made on the integrated sexual health tariff.

Jane Ellison

Consideration is being given to taking forward work previously developed by NHS London on a non-mandatory integrated sexual health tariff. This consideration includes whether national data collections need further development to support the tariff and pricing structures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, columns 707-8W, on school meals, how many academies (a) were invited to respond and (b) responded to the survey by the School Food Trust in 2012.

Mr David Laws

The School Food Trust (now the Children’s Food Trust) wrote to more than 1,500 academies in January 2012. Of the 641 academies that replied, 635 said they were committed to following the new food standards, even though they are not required to do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of patients with cancer of the unknown primary first presenting at accident and emergency.

Jane Ellison

NHS England expects that the treatment and care for patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary reflects patients’ needs and preferences and that services are provided taking into account National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

Public Health England leads on developing a public health strategy for England which aims to tackle ‘upstream’ factors to reduce risks from cancer caused by tobacco, alcohol and obesity and to promote health through improved diets and exercise promotion. The National Health Service has a key role to play in supporting local authorities by commissioning smoking cessation services, specialist alcohol services, as well as through raising awareness of lifestyle risks with people who are in contact with NHS services and providing intensive support where needed.

Alongside supporting Public Health England to increase symptom awareness amongst the general population, NHS England is also working to increase cancer symptom awareness amongst healthcare professionals, and to provide support to general practitioners in early diagnosis.

In 2013-14 NHS England made £2.3 million available to support improved symptom awareness and early diagnosis. The majority of this funding was provided to strategic clinical networks which have the function of coordinating a more strategic approach to the development of cancer commissioning and provision in England. They also support early diagnosis through delivery of transparent data about performance in outcomes. For example, new indicators on stage of diagnosis of cancer and diagnosis through emergency routes are being introduced as part of the clinical commissioning group (CCG) outcomes indicator set in 2014-15. This will support CCGs to understand how their local communities are performing in relation to cancer outcomes.