Every parliamentary written question tabled by Neil Shastri-Hurst this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 61–80 of 81 · Department of Health and Social Care
In what month this year he expects the Urgent and Emergency Care Improvement Plan to be published.
The urgent and emergency care improvement plan will set expectations for the National Health Service in England to deliver improvements in urgent and emergency care services and set the foundations for future areas of reform, in line with the 2025/26 NHS Operational Planning Guidance. It is anticipated that the plan will be published as part of the current NHS planning round.
In what month this year he expects the National Cancer Plan to be published.
The National Cancer Plan will be published in the second half of 2025, after the publication of the 10-Year Health Plan. To help inform the content of the National Cancer Plan, on 4 February 2025, the Department launched a Call for Evidence, inviting people from across the country to share their views on what they think should be included within the plan. The Call for Evidence will close on 29 April 2025. We will provide updates on the development of the plan, including on publication dates, in due course. Those who wish to share their views can do so on the new online platform. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/shaping-the-national-cancer-plan
With reference to section 1 of the Down Syndrome Act 2022, when his Department plans to publish the guidance.
Officials have been working to develop the Down Syndrome Act 2022 statutory guidance, including engaging with sector partners and the relevant departments.We expect to issue the draft guidance of the public consultation by the summer of 2025. The guidance will be published at the earliest opportunity following the consultation.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of delays in accessing givinostat through the Early Access Programme on boys and young men living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in the UK.
The Department understands the impact that Duchenne muscular dystrophy has on those living with it and their families, and the urgent need for new treatment options. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently published guidance that recommends the medicine vamorolone for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy in people 4 years old and over. The National Health Service is required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.The Department has not had any discussions with ITF Pharma UK about resources or guidance available to NHS trusts participating in the early access programme for givinostat. Departmental officials have had discussions with colleagues in NHS England about the guidance and resources that are available to NHS trusts. NHS England has published guidance for integrated care systems (ICS) on free of charge medicines schemes such as early access programmes, including providing advice on potential financial, administrative, and clinical risks. The guidance aims to support the NHS to drive value from medicines and ensure consistent and equitable access to medicines across England. ICSs should follow the recommendations to determine whether to implement any free of charge scheme, including assessing suitability and any risks in the short, medium, and long term. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/free-of-charge-foc-medicines-schemes-national-policy-recommendations-for-local-systems/
What discussions his Department has had with (a) NHS England and (b) ITF Pharma UK to ensure that NHS Trusts have the necessary resources and guidance to take part in the Early Access Programme for givinostat.
The Department understands the impact that Duchenne muscular dystrophy has on those living with it and their families, and the urgent need for new treatment options. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently published guidance that recommends the medicine vamorolone for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy in people 4 years old and over. The National Health Service is required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.The Department has not had any discussions with ITF Pharma UK about resources or guidance available to NHS trusts participating in the early access programme for givinostat. Departmental officials have had discussions with colleagues in NHS England about the guidance and resources that are available to NHS trusts. NHS England has published guidance for integrated care systems (ICS) on free of charge medicines schemes such as early access programmes, including providing advice on potential financial, administrative, and clinical risks. The guidance aims to support the NHS to drive value from medicines and ensure consistent and equitable access to medicines across England. ICSs should follow the recommendations to determine whether to implement any free of charge scheme, including assessing suitability and any risks in the short, medium, and long term. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/free-of-charge-foc-medicines-schemes-national-policy-recommendations-for-local-systems/
What his timetable is for implementing fixed recoverable costs to clinical negligence claims.
Currently, the Government is considering the way forward on a wide range of matters, including clinical negligence costs reform, and we will announce our position in due course.
Pursuant to he Answer of 27 January 2025 to question 24346 on NHS: Standards, how many additional Value Weighted Activity appointments have been delivered since 5 July 2024.
Between July 2024 and November 2024, the latest available data, there were 1,635,136 more value-weighted activity appointments compared to the period July 2023 to November 2023.This includes elective ordinary and day case admissions, outpatient first appointments, and outpatient follow-up appointments with a procedure. It does not include other outpatient follow-ups, or diagnostic tests, except for endoscopy tests which are included within elective admissions or outpatient procedures as appropriate.Including diagnostic tests, between July 2024 and November 2024, the latest available data, there were 2,199,579 more appointments compared to the period July 2023 to November 2023.
On how many occasions he has met representatives of each medical Royal College since 5 July 2024.
Meetings with external organisations are routinely disclosed in the Department’s transparency publications. Two returns have been published since 5 July 2024, one in September, and one in December. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings#2024
Which appointments will count towards the plan to deliver 40,000 more NHS appointments a week.
Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission, and we will deliver an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments during our first year in Government, which is equivalent to 40,000 per week, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring that patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks.Appointments will be defined as those in scope of the Value Weighted Activity metric, which is used to measure elective activity as set out in NHS Operational Planning guidance, together with the key diagnostic times from diagnostic waiting times statistics. Value Weighted Activity includes elective ordinary admissions and day cases, outpatient first appointments, and outpatient follow-up appointments with a procedure. This excludes outpatient appointments without procedure, to ensure that the appointments we are counting are high value for patients. Elective admissions for endoscopies are also excluded to avoid the double counting of diagnostics.Further information about the delivery of the additional appointments will be published at the earliest opportunity.
How he is measuring the delivery of 40,000 more NHS appointments a week.
Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission, and we will deliver an additional two million operations, scans, and appointments during our first year in Government, which is equivalent to 40,000 per week, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring that patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks.The Department regularly monitors the number of appointments the National Health Service is delivering using internal management information. Official measurement of the additional appointments will be published at the earliest opportunity.
What steps he has taken to improve the study of tropical diseases in medical school curricula.
It is the responsibility of individual UK medical schools to determine the content of their own curricula. The delivery of these undergraduate curricula has to meet the standards set by the medical regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC), who monitor...
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to National Insurance contributions on the retention and recruitment of non-clinical staff in GP surgeries.
We have made the necessary decisions to fix the foundations of the public finances in the Autumn Budget. The employers’ National Insurance rise will be implemented in April 2025. We will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year i...
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of increases to employers National Insurance contributions on the (a) retention and (b) recruitment of nurses in GP surgeries.
We have made the necessary decisions to fix the foundations of the public finances in the Autumn Budget. The employers’ National Insurance rise will be implemented in April 2025. We will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year i...
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of increases in employers' National Insurance contributions on the (a) retention and (b) recruitment of salaried GPs.
We have made the necessary decisions to fix the foundations of the public finances in the Autumn Budget. The employers’ National Insurance rise will be implemented in April 2025. We will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year i...
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of increases in employers National Insurance contributions on the (a) provision and (b) resilience of air ambulance services.
No such assessment has been made. The Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance, by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 em...
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of of climate change on instances of malaria in the United Kingdom.
Malaria is not currently transmitted in the United Kingdom, but travel-associated cases occur in those who have returned to, or arrived in, the UK from malaria-endemic areas. Modelling has investigated the impact of different climate change scenarios on t...
What steps his Department is taking to help community pharmacies with (a) funding, (b) workforce and (c) supply of medicines.
The Government is committed to expanding the pharmacy workforce and better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists, as we shift care from the ho...
With reference to the findings of Lord Darzi's Independent investigation of the NHS in England, published on 12 September 2024, what steps his Department is taking to support community pharmacies w
We are committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. From 2026, all newly qualified pharmacists will be independent prescribers, and we are investing in training legacy staff to deve...
What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the processes for supporting patients presenting to General Practitioners with mental health disorders attributable to gambling.
We are committed to supporting improvements to the existing treatment system, ensuring people experiencing gambling-related harm are able to access the right care at the right time.NHS England now operates 15 specialist gambling treatment clinics, up from...
How many veterans are receiving specialist mental health support.
Veterans can access specialist mental health support either through Op COURAGE, a bespoke integrated mental health pathway for veterans, or NHS Talking Therapies. As of 30 June 2024, Op COURAGE reported that they were actively supporting 2,702 veterans. S...