Tag: Mark Tami

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to improve international cooperation on increasing the number of people on the stem cell and bone marrow registers.

Jane Ellison

International cooperation is an essential element of the provision of stem cells to patients requiring a transplant. Worldwide, 50% of adult stem cell donations and 30% of cord blood donations move across national boundaries.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the provision stem cells through the Department’s delivery partners, NHS Blood and Transplant and the Anthony Nolan, is as effective as possible and this includes adopting innovative practice to maximise the chance that donors will be able to donate.

The ethnic diversity of the United Kingdom is reflected in adult bone marrow donors through the targeted recruitment of donors. The diverse nature of the UK stem cell resources means that they will play an important part of the global network matching donors to patients. The information supplied from the UK unified registry (Anthony Nolan and NHS Stem Cell Registry) to the global registry (Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide) directly increases the chances that patients across the globe have a chance to find a suitable donor.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to increase the level of stem cell donations by people of mixed ethnicity.

Jane Ellison

The Department is supporting the provision of stem cells for patients through our key delivery partners, Anthony Nolan and NHS Blood and Transplant. They continue to specifically recruit adult bone marrow donors from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities and we have agreed with them a target to recruit at least 3,000 new adult male bone marrow donors from the BAME community this year.

It is difficult to find a perfectly matched donor for patients of mixed ethnicity, and for this reason the Department has continued to support the collection of cord blood stem cells. Cord blood stem cells are more tolerant of minor mis-matches and therefore particularly important to patients unable to find a suitable adult bone marrow donor.

The Department continues to support the National BAME Transplant Alliance with the aim of raising awareness about the need for stem cell and organ donation, increasing the number of people from a BAME background on the bone marrow and organ donation registers and increasing the number of people from BAME communities who can benefit from either a stem cell or organ transplant.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of recent progress in increasing the (a) number of people on and (b) quality of the stem cell and bone marrow registers; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

The total number of registered donors on the Anthony Nolan and NHS Stem Cell Registry continues to expand. In 2010 the total number of registered United Kingdom donors was 770,000 but by the end of 2014 was in excess of one million. Investment by the Department has supported our delivery partners NHS Blood and Transplant and the charity Anthony Nolan to recruit a cohort of young male donors that are approximately six times more likely to be able to donate. Over 19,000 additional donors are planned to be recruited in the current financial year.

Quality is a key issue for the clinical usefulness of cord blood samples. The collection of cord blood is arranged to maximise the proportion of samples with the highest quality. The number of banked cord samples of clinical grade continues to increase with in excess of 15,000 now banked.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to work with the Department for Education on increasing awareness in schools of stem cell donation.

Jane Ellison

The Department funds charities such as Anthony Nolan who have campaigns to promote awareness in schools.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients with multiple myeloma receive treatment at the highest standard of care comparable to other similar nations.

Jane Ellison

Ensuring that the National Health Service is able to support the availability and use of effective treatments and medicines for rare cancers, including multiple myeloma, is a key priority.

Cancer 52, an organisation which specifically represents patients with rarer cancers, was represented on the independent Cancer Taskforce. In July 2015, the Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: A Strategy for England 2015-2020. It made many recommendations relevant to rarer and blood cancers, focussing in particular on improving access to diagnostic testing, including fast, direct general practitioner access to key blood tests, and increasing patient access to the most advanced treatments.

NHS England has well established structures and processes which ensure that the best possible treatments are commissioned across England for cancer, including both blood and rare cancers. NHS England obtains clinical advice about current and new treatments and clinical guidelines predominantly through clinical reference groups.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is developing guidelines for the treatment of multiple myeloma and these are currently subject to public consultation.

In addition, a multiple myeloma algorithm is in development, which will help clinicians and patients to prescribe the appropriate chemotherapy care at the optimum point of the care pathway.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department (a) holds and (b) publishes on the rating and qualifications of driving instructors.

Andrew Jones

Approved Driving Instructors (ADI) are required to successfully pass a three part qualification process to gain access to the Register of Approved Driving Instructors and to periodically undergo further reassessment, through a standards check, to demonstrate that they have maintained the minimum level of instructional ability to remain on the register.All of these assessments are conducted by specially trained Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) examiners; the Agency does not hold any information about external qualifications attained by instructors.

Instructors are graded following the standards check based upon their level of performance. Whilst the overall number of ADIs at each grade is published on a quarterly basis, the Agency has never routinely published the grading of individual instructors.DVSA is, however, taking steps to allow ADIs to voluntarily publish their grading through its on-line Find Your Nearest instructor facility on GOV.UK.DVSA is also in discussion with the ADI National Association Strategic Partnership with regards the development of an earned recognition scheme, the principle being that instructors which voluntarily demonstrate compliance with standards would earn recognition from the Agency and benefit from reduced oversight and reassessment.As part of this, DVSA is also exploring what additional information about instructors could be published to enable consumers to make a more informed choice as to which ADI best meets their learning needs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons his Department no longer publishes information on the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s rating of driving instructors; and if he will take steps to make such information routinely available.

Andrew Jones

Approved Driving Instructors (ADI) are required to successfully pass a three part qualification process to gain access to the Register of Approved Driving Instructors. They are also required to periodically undergo further reassessment, through a standards check, to demonstrate that they have maintained the minimum level of instructional ability to remain on the register. ADIs are graded following the standards check, based upon their level of performance. Whilst the overall number of ADIs at each grade is published on a quarterly basis, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has never routinely published the grading of individual instructors. DVSA is, however, taking steps to allow ADIs to voluntarily publish their grading through its on-line Find Your Nearest instructor facility on GOV.UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the decision to remove treatments for multiple myeloma from the Cancer Drugs Fund list on survival rates for patients with that condition.

George Freeman

NHS England has advised that no assessment has been made of the impact of these changes to the national Cancer Drugs Fund list on survival rates for multiple myeloma. These changes have not yet been finalised and agreed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to reform NICE to ensure that patient access to cancer treatments is guaranteed after the Cancer Drugs Fund is discontinued in April 2016.

George Freeman

The Government remains committed to the Cancer Drugs Fund and is working with NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the future arrangements for the Fund.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that patients with multiple myeloma have access to extending medicines after treatments for that condition are removed from the Cancer Drugs Fund in November 2015.

George Freeman

NHS England has advised that a draft treatment pathway for patients with multiple myeloma is currently in the process of being finalised. This has been the subject of public consultation and is being revised to take into account the comments received and the potential impact of treatments removed from the Cancer Drugs Fund.

The treatment pathway is likely to be published early in 2016.