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  • Mike Weatherley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mike Weatherley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weatherley on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GP appointments were missed in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Information is not collected centrally on the number of missed general practitioner (GP) appointments. This is a matter for local organisations. However, NHS England estimates that each year around 12 million GP appointments are missed, at a cost to the system of £162 million.

    In order to reduce the number of missed GP appointments, the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund is supporting pilots to ensure appointments are as convenient as possible for the patient. The pilots will offer millions more patients evening and weekend GP appointments, as well as introducing initiatives, such as email and Skype consultations.

  • Mike Weatherley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mike Weatherley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weatherley on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings he has had with patient groups to discuss the difficulties patients face in booking appointments with their GP.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Department’s Ministers regularly meet with Members of Parliament to discuss issues relating to general practice affecting their constituents. They have not had any meetings with patient groups to discuss the difficulties patients face in booking appointments.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many clinical commissioning groups are running financial deficits requiring financial support from neighbouring clinical commissioning groups.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    NHS England has responsibility for clinical commissioning group (CCG) funding.

    We are informed by NHS England that there is no provision for financial support between CCGs, and therefore no regime for repayment and/or interest.

    CCGs are expected to live within the resources allocated to them, but in rare cases where this is not possible, and subject to detailed assurance by NHS England Area Teams, a deficit plan is agreed and centrally funded. CCGs are expected to repay such funding over an agreed timescale in accordance with an approved recovery plan. The same applies if a CCG with a planned surplus records a deficit in year.

    In some cases, neighbouring CCGs have opted to enter into risk sharing or investment pooling arrangements, for example, in the context of shared commissioning arrangements or to facilitate wider health economy transformation programmes. The precise arrangements for such risk sharing are a matter for local determination by the governing bodies concerned, and they would be expected to ensure that these agreements were transparently documented and did not impact adversely on patient services.

  • Robert Flello – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robert Flello – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the proposed changes to the social care system in the Care Act 2014 Part 1 regulations on adults with autism.

    Norman Lamb

    The Care Act 2014 will reform the care and support system for everyone, including adults with autism. The core principles of the Care Act 2014 and the regulations and statutory guidance which support its implementation are to maintain the wellbeing of people who have care and support needs and support them in living independent lives.

    The draft regulations and guidance were co-produced with stakeholders, and this included engaging with the National Autistic Society. The Department is currently consulting on the regulations and statutory guidance that will support the implementation of the Care Act 2014. The public consultation started on 6 June and runs until 15 August 2014.

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre does not collect any data on the number of adults with autism receiving support under the current, or proposed, social care systems and therefore are unable to provide a response. The national eligibility criteria being introduced under the Care Act 2014 will allow local authorities to maintain levels of access for service users when they move from the current framework to the new care and support system in April 2015.

  • Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost to the NHS was of providing free flu vaccinations in each of the last four years for which figures are available.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England spent a total of £251 million on immunisation programmes in 2013-14. Of this, £89 million is identifiable as relating to the purchase of flu vaccines for adults and the administration of flu vaccines for both adults and children.

    Vaccines for the national childhood immunisation programme, including for childhood flu immunisation from 2013-14, are purchased and managed by Public Health England on behalf of the Department and are not a cost for the National Health Service. The cost of the vaccine and its storage and distribution are commercially confidential.

    Data for NHS spend for the years prior to 2013-14 is not held centrally.

  • Ms Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ms Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Margaret Ritchie on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans to begin negotiations with Novartis on the procurement of the vaccine for meningitis B as part of the primary infant immunisation schedule.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government is taking the necessary steps to ensure this procurement is properly conducted.

    We are committed to introducing this vaccine in line with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s recommendation, subject to the vaccine being available at a cost-effective price.

  • Richard Harrington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Richard Harrington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Harrington on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what contingency plans he has in place to deal with an outbreak of Ebola virus in the UK.

    Jane Ellison

    The National Health Service has plans in place to deal with patients with infectious diseases as part of its core business. This includes plans to manage patients in line with infection control procedures, and where necessary in highly specialist infectious diseases facilities.A patient with Ebola virus infection would be cared for in the national High Level Isolation Unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London. In the unlikely event of an outbreak involving more than two people, specialist staff at this unit are trained and prepared to look after patients safely in an isolation ward, which would be dedicated for this purpose.

    In the UK, the procedures outlined in the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens guidelines, “The Management of Hazard Group 4 viral haemorrhagic fevers and similar human infectious diseases of high consequence”, are followed for any suspected case.

    Public Health England has assessed the risk of importation of Ebola in the UK as very low. It is extremely unlikely that an outbreak of Ebola would occur in the UK even if there was to be an imported case, as there are factors operating in West Africa which would not be seen in the UK.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) mean and (b) median duration to assessment, duration to treatment and duration to departure was in (i) type 1 and (ii) all accident and emergency departments in each month in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The information has been placed in the Library.

  • Mike Weatherley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mike Weatherley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weatherley on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of missed appointments.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Information is not collected centrally on the number of missed general practitioner (GP) appointments. This is a matter for local organisations. However, NHS England estimates that each year around 12 million GP appointments are missed, at a cost to the system of £162 million.

    In order to reduce the number of missed GP appointments, the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund is supporting pilots to ensure appointments are as convenient as possible for the patient. The pilots will offer millions more patients evening and weekend GP appointments, as well as introducing initiatives, such as email and Skype consultations.

  • Mike Weatherley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mike Weatherley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weatherley on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of missed GP appointments; and if he will make a statement.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Information is not collected centrally on the number of missed general practitioner (GP) appointments. This is a matter for local organisations. However, NHS England estimates that each year around 12 million GP appointments are missed, at a cost to the system of £162 million.

    In order to reduce the number of missed GP appointments, the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund is supporting pilots to ensure appointments are as convenient as possible for the patient. The pilots will offer millions more patients evening and weekend GP appointments, as well as introducing initiatives, such as email and Skype consultations.