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  • Emma Lewell-Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Emma Lewell-Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people over the age of 65 are using medication for depression; and if he will estimate how many such people cite loneliness as a contributory factor to their depression.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Information about the number of people over the age of 65 using medication for depression is not collected. Conditions for which medicines are prescribed are not recorded.

    Loneliness is a complex problem and affects people in different ways. It is not possible to estimate how many people cite loneliness as a contributory factor to their depression.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2016 to Question 37407, when he plans to publish the new Tobacco Control Plan.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Government remains committed to publishing a new tobacco control plan and Ministers will decide on a publication date shortly.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans to respond to its consultation on changes to the statutory scheme to control the prices of branded health service medicines.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Department is developing its response to the consultation.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to ensure that (a) clinicians and (b) patients participate in the decision making process for the routine commissioning of procedures under the Commissioning through Evaluation Programme.

    David Mowat

    The policy development process for specialised commissioning is subject to both informal stakeholder testing and formal public consultation, including the opportunity for patients, clinicians and industry representatives to review and comment on the evidence base considered and the assessed impact on patients, existing services and cost.

    In addition, clinical commissioning policies are already primarily developed through Clinical Reference Groups which comprise of a range of stakeholders including patients, carers and clinicians.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what legal or other agreements the Government has with suppliers of contaminated blood products to provide for liability and compensatory efforts to support people who contracted illnesses as a result of the use of such products.

    Nicola Blackwood

    There are no legal or other agreements in place between the Government and suppliers of contaminated blood products to provide support for those who contracted illnesses as a result of the use of such products. No money has been received by the Government from suppliers of such products to fund ex-gratia support.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding has been received by the public purse from suppliers of contaminated blood products to support compensation schemes for people adversely affected by the use of such products.

    Nicola Blackwood

    There are no legal or other agreements in place between the Government and suppliers of contaminated blood products to provide support for those who contracted illnesses as a result of the use of such products. No money has been received by the Government from suppliers of such products to fund ex-gratia support.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what dates Ministers of his Department have met representatives of the food industry to discuss the Government’s proposed national obesity strategy; and what was discussed at each such meeting.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Details of all Ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are published quarterly in arrears on the GOV.UK website. The latest publication which covers meetings between January and March 2016 can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-external-meetings-2016

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of the level of compliance with Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency guidance that specifies that biological medicines should be prescribed by brand name.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Guidance issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in 2008 states that, when prescribing biological products, it is good practice to use the brand name.

    MHRA does not have responsibility for monitoring the compliance of healthcare professionals with its prescribing guidance. The responsibility for prescribing rests with the practitioner who has clinical responsibility for their patient’s care and we would expect practitioners to take any relevant guidance into account when making their prescribing decisions. Practitioner professional bodies also have a role in setting out best practice to their members.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the level of compliance with Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency regulations which state that biosimilars should be subject to additional monitoring until the safety of such drugs is well established.

    Nicola Blackwood

    In accordance with European Union pharmacovigilance legislation, biosimilar products authorised in the EU since 1 January 2011 must undergo additional monitoring. The European Medicines Agency maintains and publishes a list of medicines subject to additional monitoring. These medicines are readily identifiable by an inverted black triangle which appears on the product information which is available to health professionals and patients.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the need for a proposed hepatitis C improvement framework; and if he will make a statement.

    David Mowat

    NHS England has already published its planning approach to implement National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended treatment during 2016/17. It has committed to producing a further operational framework for hepatitis C during 2016/17. Since making this commitment, NHS England’s approach is currently subject to legal proceedings which means that NHS England is keeping the timing of the publication of the Operational Framework under review.

    In the meantime, NHS England continues to support the development of Operational Delivery Networks which provide an important local focus for improvements in hepatitis C. The National Health Service continues to work to deliver treatment to 10,000 patients. NHS England is also working with the pharmaceutical industry to secure reductions in price of these effective but costly drugs to enable more people to be cured of hepatitis C.