Every parliamentary written question tabled by Cameron Thomas this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 89 · Department of Health and Social Care
What steps is he taking to help ensure funding for services for unpaid carers is sustainable.
The Government recognises the vital role of unpaid carers and is committed to ensuring they have the support they need.The Care Act 2014 sets out local authorities’ duties regarding people caring for their family and friends.Local authorities are required...
What assessment has the Department made of adequacy of respite breaks for unpaid carers.
The Government recognises the vital role unpaid carers play and is committed to ensuring they have access to the support they need, including opportunities for respite.Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a duty to assess carers who appear to h...
What steps he is taking to ensure NHS contractors such as HealthHarmonie are regularly monitored.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) registers, inspects, and monitors health and care providers in England.Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for assuring the quality, effectiveness, and value of the services they commission for their populations...
What steps is he taking to strengthen protections against unauthorised access to patient data.
All organisations that have access to National Health Service patient data and systems must use the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) to provide assurance on an annual basis that they are practising good data security and that personal informati...
Whether the current in-development framework regarding the regulation of AI in healthcare will introduce a medical device classification for AI software requiring external assessment, and whether t
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is currently undertaking a programme of regulatory reform for medical devices. This includes ensuring there is proportionate regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) as a medical device, whi...
What steps he is taking to ensure patient data privacy regarding the use of AI software in the NHS.
The Government is committed to ensuring that patient data is protected to the highest standards as artificial intelligence (AI) is adopted across the National Health Service. All use of data remains subject to UK General Data Protection Regulation, suppor...
What steps he is taking to limit the transfer of patient data to overseas contractors.
There are strong protections in law to ensure that health and care information is used in a safe, secure, and legal way. This includes the UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018, which establishes a legal framework for processi...
What assessment he has made of the potential merits of recognising lobular breast cancer as a distinct disease in the NICE Treatment Guidelines.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is not currently producing guidance specifically on lobular breast cancer. Patients with invasive lobular breast cancer can access NICE-recommended targeted treatments on the same basis as other...
What steps his Department is taking to improve (a) detection and (b) diagnosis of specifically lobular breast cancer.
The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients, including those with lobular breast cancer, survive this horrible set of diseases. There are multiple NHS initiative...
What plans his Department has to increase funding for liver disease, including non-alcoholic cirrhosis care.
Services to manage and treat patients with liver disease are commissioned at a local level and are considered alongside other healthcare priorities. Specific investment in services is decided locally, reflecting local population need.The liver transformat...
What steps he is taking to improve (a) treatment and (b) care for patients suffering from non-alcoholic cirrhosis.
Liver health and liver cancer remain a priority for the National Health Service. NHS England has established a liver transformation programme focussing on awareness, prevention, diagnosis, detection, and treatment of all forms of liver disease, such as ci...
What steps he is taking to improve diagnosis for non-alcoholic cirrhosis.
Liver health and liver cancer remain a priority for the National Health Service. NHS England has established a liver transformation programme focussing on awareness, prevention, diagnosis, detection, and treatment of all forms of liver disease, such as ci...
What steps he is taking to help ensure the availability of rapid paramedic treatment for people experiencing a stroke.
Suspected and confirmed strokes are serious emergencies and require timely intervention. The Government recognises that in past years, ambulance response times, including for Category 2 emergencies which includes strokes, have not met the high standards p...
Whether his Department is taking steps to increase funding for stroke aftercare.
The Government set an ambition to reduce premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by a quarter in the next ten years. To accelerate progress and tackle unwarranted variation across the country, we will publish a new Cardiovascular Disease Modern ...
What steps he is taking to improve stroke treatment.
The Government set an ambition to reduce premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by a quarter in the next ten years. To accelerate progress and tackle unwarranted variation across the country, we will publish a new Cardiovascular Disease Modern ...
What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of current statistics for stroke treatment in England.
The Government set an ambition to reduce premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by a quarter in the next ten years. To accelerate progress and tackle unwarranted variation across the country, we will publish a new Cardiovascular Disease Modern ...
What steps he is taking to ensure patients with systemic conditions linked to poor oral health, like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, receive appropriate oral health education.
A range of actions support the provision of appropriate oral health education to patients with systemic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. For example, the Delivering Better Oral Health guidance, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/delivering-better-oral-health-an-evidence-based-toolkit-for-preventionThis guidance is a key resource for the oral health profession to address risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and healthier eating. Oral health education should also be embedded in diabetes care pathways, to include educational programmes and oral health team members delivering patient education and motivation, alongside clinical management. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/commissioning-standard-dental-care-for-people-with-diabetes/Within hospitals, the Mouth Care Matters programme supports the oral health of patients, with further information available at the following link:https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/oral-healthIn addition to this existing support, the Government is committed to reforming the dental contract by the end of this Parliament, with a focus on promoting prevention, matching resources to need, improving access, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability.
What estimate he has made of the number of hospital admissions related to dental infections or complications preventable through earlier oral health education and intervention.
No estimate is available for the number of hospital admissions related to dental infections or complications preventable through earlier oral health education and intervention. However, official statistics on hospital tooth extractions for children and young adults being admitted to hospital for tooth extractions in the financial year ending 2025 are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hospital-tooth-extractions-in-0-to-19-year-olds-2025
What estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of preventable conditions resulting from lack of access to oral health education and care.
No estimate is available of the costs to the National Health Service of preventable conditions resulting from lack of access to oral health education and care. The costs to the NHS of hospital admissions for decay-related tooth extractions, which are largely preventable, are estimated at £51.2 million in the financial year ending 2025. Further information is published at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hospital-tooth-extractions-in-0-to-19-year-olds-2025This is why the Government is shifting to prevention through a national, targeted supervised toothbrushing programme where every £1 spent is expected to save £3 in avoided treatment costs.
Whether he has a strategy on delivering preventative oral health education to adults outside of dental practices.
Promoting oral health advice and education is a fundamental pillar of contemporary health care and relevant to a wide range of professionals and commissioned services. For example, in England local authorities are responsible for assessing oral health needs, developing oral health strategies, and commissioning oral health improvement programmes for the local area. The evidence base on preventative advice is published and available for use by dental and other professionals at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/delivering-better-oral-health-an-evidence-based-toolkit-for-prevention