The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many abortions (a) overall and (b) where Downs syndrome had been identified were carried out at each (i) NHS hospital, (ii) clinic and (iii) surgery in Lancashire in 2016.
Nicola Blackwood
Data for 2016 is not yet available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research into hearing loss at what cost his Department has commissioned in the last three years.
Nicola Blackwood
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) invested £4.1 million in ear disease research in 2014-15 (the latest year for which data is currently available).
The NIHR is investing £6.2 million over five years (2012-17) in the Biomedical Research Unit in Deafness and Hearing Problems at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Nottingham.
The NIHR has launched a new, open competition for biomedical research centre funding from April 2017 to March 2022. In this competition, a number of clinical areas of particular strategic importance to the health of patients are highlighted including deafness and hearing problems.
Current NIHR-funded awards relating to hearing loss include a £1.6 million research professorship to develop the evidence base for Ear, Nose and Throat medicine and surgery, and a £1.3 million feasibility study of an implantable middle-ear microphone.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what grants for what purpose his Department is making to the National Childbirth Trust in 2016.
David Mowat
The Department awarded the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) an Innovation Excellence and Strategic Development Grant in 2015-16 under the Innovation strand.
The grant is funding a Perinatal Mental health project. The main aims of the NCT project are, to promote positive maternal mental health and support engagement with specialist services for women experiencing perinatal mental illness.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of welfare reform on health inequalities in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England.
Nicola Blackwood
The policy responsibility for welfare reform sits with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The Department of Health has not made a separate assessment of the effect of welfare reform on health inequalities in England.
Although no assessment has been made in England, DWP has engaged across government on its proposals for welfare reform. The Department of Health has been involved in discussions on the introduction of Universal Credit and its impact on health inequalities for programmes such as Healthy Start and Help with Health Costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which Minister in his Department is responsible for NHS Property Services.
Mr Philip Dunne
NHS Property Services is a limited company 100% owned by the Secretary of State for Health, to whom it is accountable. Within the Department, Ministerial responsibility for NHS Property Services is delegated to my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lord Prior).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bottomley on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the reasons given for the dismissal of Mr Agrawal were related to clinical concerns.
Mr Jeremy Hunt
This is an employer and employee matter between the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and Mr Aditya Agrawal respectively. The Department cannot comment on individual employment matters that are the responsibility of independent organisations, and that are subject to ongoing legal proceedings or on matters relating to individual clinical cases or other personal information. We understand that the cost to East Lancashire Trust of legal proceedings concerning Mr Agrawal is £296,848.42 to date, and that the Trust does not have insurance costs for legal awards in the event of the Trust or one of its employees being subject to legal action for defamation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bottomley on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost to the East Lancashire Hospitals Trust of legal proceedings concerning Mr Agrawal.
Mr Jeremy Hunt
This is an employer and employee matter between the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and Mr Aditya Agrawal respectively. The Department cannot comment on individual employment matters that are the responsibility of independent organisations, and that are subject to ongoing legal proceedings or on matters relating to individual clinical cases or other personal information. We understand that the cost to East Lancashire Trust of legal proceedings concerning Mr Agrawal is £296,848.42 to date, and that the Trust does not have insurance costs for legal awards in the event of the Trust or one of its employees being subject to legal action for defamation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of liver disease in the (a) general population and (b) NHS.
David Mowat
I understand that the British Liver Trust is working in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners on a three year programme to make liver disease a clinical priority for primary care. This is aimed at improving awareness and understanding of liver disease as well as treatment amongst those working in primary care.
Public Health England is currently developing a framework to tackle liver disease. This will include the action that needs to be taken across the health and care system, including in primary care, to prevent and better manage liver disease.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) expertise and (b) facilities in primary care to strengthen (i) detection of early liver disease and (ii) treatment for liver disease.
David Mowat
I understand that the British Liver Trust is working in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners on a three year programme to make liver disease a clinical priority for primary care. This is aimed at improving awareness and understanding of liver disease as well as treatment amongst those working in primary care.
Public Health England is currently developing a framework to tackle liver disease. This will include the action that needs to be taken across the health and care system, including in primary care, to prevent and better manage liver disease.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the causes of regional variation in liver disease outcomes in England.
David Mowat
Public Health England (PHE) has developed and publishes liver disease profiles for all local authorities in England. The profiles provide support to local areas to understand liver disease and its risk factors in their area. They present key local statistics and highlight questions to ask locally about current action to prevent liver disease.
The Local Authority Liver Disease Profiles demonstrate geographical variation in the main risk factors: alcohol, obesity, hepatitis B and C which explain some of the regional and local authority variations in outcome. Experts at PHE in these three areas regularly review these statistics and the evidence for intervention. The profiles demonstrate that there are widespread opportunities to reduce mortality from liver disease prevention.
PHE is also updating the 2013 NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare for People with Liver Disease highlighting variations in risk factors, health services and outcomes.