Doctors are responsible for maintaining their clinical knowledge, including on lymphoedema and lipoedema, throughout their careers, and are responsible for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development.

All doctors registered in the United Kingdom are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) Good Medical Practice. In 2012, the GMC introduced revalidation, which supports doctors in regularly reflecting on how they can develop or improve their practice, giving patients confidence that doctors are up to date with their practice, and promoting improved quality of care by driving improvements in clinical governance.

The training curricula for postgraduate trainee doctors are set by the relevant medical royal college and have to meet the standards set by the GMC. Whilst curricula do not necessarily highlight specific conditions for doctors to be aware of, they instead emphasise the skills and approaches that a doctor must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.

Resources for health professionals are available from a number of professional and patient organisations to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients presenting with lymphoedema and lipoedema.

No assessment has been made on the adequacy of access to compression treatment or follow-up care for women with arm lymphoedema after breast cancer treatment.

Local health service commissioners – through Integrated Care Boards - determine what lymphoedema services are needed locally, based on the needs of their local population.

The NHS’ roll-out of personalised care ensures people with cancer have a holistic needs assessment, covering both their physical and psychosocial needs, and are referred to services where appropriate. Lymphoedema support is in the NHS’ Personalised Stratified Follow-Up (PSFU) handbook as a required part of PSFU pathways, however it does not cover the specifics of treatment.

We know that more should be done to support people living with and beyond cancer. The National Cancer Plan, coming later this year, will set out how we will seek to improve the experience and outcomes for people at every stage of the cancer pathway. It will look at how we can improve communication and coordination for patients, so that they feel informed and in control of their care.

No formal assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing lymphaticovenous anastomosis surgery on the National Health Service. On 16 April 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published interventional procedures guidance that states that lymphovenous anastomosis during axillary dissection for preventing secondary lymphoedema in adults with breast cancer, can be used in the NHS while more evidence is generated, and that it can only be used with special arrangements for clinical governance, consent and audit, or research. The NICE’s interventional procedures guidance makes recommendations for the NHS on whether procedures are sufficiently safe and efficacious for use in routine clinical practice.

NHS Digital have provided a count of patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of Lymphoedema, recorded for each year from 2016-17 to 2021-21 (inclusive).

The data represents activity in NHS Hospitals in England and English NHS-commissioned activity in the independent sector.

It is important to note that in any given year a patient will only be counted once, but it is possible that the same patient may be counted in multiple years.

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Digital

No specific assessment has been made.

The commissioning and funding of services for the treatment and care of people with lymphoedema is a local matter. People with lymphoedema can usually be managed through routine access to primary or second care services, and there is range of guidance, including an international consensus document and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, to support local commissioning. Treatments include manual lymph drainage and decongestive lymphatic therapy.

As with lymphoedema services, funding for hospices is a local matter. Hospices receive some statutory funding from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) for providing local services. CCGs are responsible ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population.

The commissioning and funding of services for the treatment and care of people with lymphoedema is a local matter. People with lymphoedema can usually be managed through routine access to primary or second care services, and there is range of guidance, including an international consensus document and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, to support local commissioning. Treatments include manual lymph drainage and decongestive lymphatic therapy.

As with lymphoedema services, funding for hospices is a local matter. Hospices receive some statutory funding from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) for providing local services. CCGs are responsible ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population.

No specific assessment of the availability of lymphoedema services has been made. The commissioning of services for the treatment and care of lymphoedema patients is a local matter.

People with lymphoedema can usually be managed through routine access to primary or secondary care services. A range of guidance is available for the diagnosis, treatment and care for people with lymphoedema. This includes an international consensus document on best practice and guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Further information can be found at the following links:

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ipg588

www.woundsinternational.com/resources/details/bioimpedance-analysis-in-the-assessment-of-lymphoedema-diagnosis-and-management

No specific assessment of the availability of lymphoedema services has been made. The commissioning of services for the treatment and care of lymphoedema patients is a local matter.

People with lymphoedema can usually be managed through routine access to primary or secondary care services. A range of guidance is available for the diagnosis, treatment and care for people with lymphoedema. This includes an international consensus document on best practice and guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Further information can be found at the following links:

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ipg588

www.woundsinternational.com/resources/details/bioimpedance-analysis-in-the-assessment-of-lymphoedema-diagnosis-and-management

The commissioning of services for the treatment and care of lymphoedema patients is the responsibility of local clinical commissioning groups, who are best placed to meet the needs of their populations.

People with lymphoedema can usually be treated through routine access to primary or secondary care services. There is range of guidance, including an international consensus document and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, to support local commissioning.

The commissioning of services for the treatment and care of lymphoedema patients is the responsibility of local clinical commissioning groups, who are best placed to meet the needs of their populations.

People with lymphoedema can usually be treated through routine access to primary or secondary care services. There is range of guidance, including an international consensus document and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, to support local commissioning.

The commissioning of services for the treatment and care of lymphoedema patients is a local matter. People with lymphoedema can usually be managed through routine access to primary or secondary care services.

There is a range of guidance to support clinicians in the diagnosis, treatment and support of patients with lymphoedema and to support local commissioning: this includes an international consensus document and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance.

Lymphoedema is also identified as a key area of clinical knowledge in the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Applied Knowledge Test content guide; a summative assessment of the knowledge base that underpins general practice in the United Kingdom which is a key part of GPs’ qualifying exams.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust advises that it has invested in lymphoedema services over the past two years to enhance the patient experience and to provide a wider range of treatments to support patients, and that the Trust supports the wider Thames Valley regional network in educating and sharing experience.

That is a question for the Secretary of State for Health, but I would point out that we are putting extra funding into the health service, including an extra £10 billion to help with nurses’ pay and to ensure that we are investing in the technologies for the future.

Six in every 1,000 people in the UK have lymphoedema. What commitment will the Government make to deliver a comprehensive and equitable strategy for NHS England and to end the postcode lottery for lymphoedema patients in the United Kingdom?

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a number of clinical guidelines which include recommendations on the management of lymphoedema in cancer patients, including advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and treatment (CG81) and early and locally advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and treatment (CG80).

NICE has also published interventional procedures guidance, which supports the use of liposuction for chronic lymphoedema (IPG588).

There are no current plans for NICE to introduce an overarching guideline specifically on the treatment of lymphoedema.

Data relating to the number of people diagnosed with lymphoedema is not collected, though prevalence estimates for the condition suggest that between 75,000 and 220,000 people in England are affected.

No specific assessment of the availability of lymphoedema services has been made. The commissioning of services for the treatment and care of lymphoedema patients is a local matter. People with lymphoedema can usually be managed through routine access to primary or second care services, and there is a range of guidance, including an international consensus document and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, to support local commissioning.

Data relating to the number of people diagnosed with lymphoedema is not collected, though prevalence estimates for the condition suggest that between 75,000 and 220,000 people in England are affected.

No specific assessment of the availability of lymphoedema services has been made. The commissioning of services for the treatment and care of lymphoedema patients is a local matter. People with lymphoedema can usually be managed through routine access to primary or second care services, and there is a range of guidance, including an international consensus document and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, to support local commissioning.