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  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will investigate the alleged misallocation of the specialist spinal injury beds at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and the use by non-spinal cord injury patients.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England’s Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) service specification clearly sets out what providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. It sets a core requirement that each specialised SCI Centre (SCIC) can demonstrate they have a minimum of 20 beds dedicated exclusively for the treatment and rehabilitation of SCI patients. Specialised SCI Services encompass all activity for SCI patients provided by the host trust of the SCIC, including any readmission or attendance for SCI-related care, wherever the treatment is located in the trust. A copy of the specification can be found at the following link:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/d13-spinal-cord-0414.pdf

    NHS England is aware that a number of beds in one ward at Stoke Mandeville spinal injuries unit are being used as escalation beds by medical specialties to assist with patient flow. It is planned for these beds to re-open as specialist spinal beds from September 2014.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason the NHS logo appears on the Optical Express website; what the relationship between Optical Express and the NHS is; whether NHS funding (a) is and (b) has been provided to Optical Express in order to carry out procedures on NHS patients; and how many NHS patients were referred to Optical Express by the NHS in each of the last 10 years.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The current NHS identity guidelines only allow opticians to use the NHS logo on a poster in their premises. The guidelines are available at:

    www.nhsidentity.nhs.uk/all-guidelines/guidelines/opticians/introduction

    NHS England is due to take over responsibility for managing the NHS identity from the Department shortly, and we will be carrying out a thorough review of NHS identity guidelines during 2014-15.

    Optical Express receives NHS funding from NHS England for providing NHS sight tests and optical vouchers to qualifying patients. The choice of optician is a matter for individual patients who are able to use any optician offering NHS sight tests and they can also choose where they have their glasses dispensed.

    Other eye health services, over and above the NHS sight test, are commissioned by clinical commissioning groups, formerly primary care trusts. Neither the Department nor NHS England holds data on the number of patients who have received such services from Optical Express.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to co-ordinate with the devolved administrations to plan for the effects of an ageing population.

    Norman Lamb

    Health and care is generally a devolved issue for the devolved administrations. Nonetheless, the Department works with the devolved administrations on matters of mutual interest, including the effects of an ageing population.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to put in place a media campaign to educate the public about alternatives to antibiotics.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department is working with other Government departments to coordinate implementation of the Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy including improving public and professional understanding and awareness.

    Public Health England (PHE) is leading on work to improve public knowledge, attitudes and behaviours in relation to antimicrobial resistance in collaboration with partners across the health and social care sector in England.

    PHE is coordinating work on European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD) for England. EAAD is a European initiative which takes place on 18 November each year and aims to promote prudent antibiotic use among professionals and the public.

    PHE are also working with the Department to explore the potentional for additional targeted media work.

  • 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 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Care Quality Commission look at (a) current and (b) historic patient files and consent forms.

    Norman Lamb

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of safety and quality of health and adult social care services.

    The CQC has provided the following information.

    CQC looks at current and historic patient records when appropriate in order to assess the quality and safety of services registered with it. Patient records are commonly reviewed during CQC inspections, in compliance with the Data Protection Act, to see how well care at a service is planned, delivered and reviewed, and form an integral part of judging the quality of care. In order to protect the confidentiality of people who use services, and to comply with legal requirements, CQC will only look at patient files where it has decided that it is both necessary and proportionate to do so for the purpose of CQC’s regulatory functions. This approach is set out in CQC’s Code of Practice on Confidential Personal Information and in guidance for inspectors on using CQC’s powers to access health and care records.

    The Code of Practice on Confidential Personal Information is available on CQC’s website at :

    www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/20121105_code_of_practice_on_cpi.pdf

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the advertising of Optical Express under the services section of the NHS choices website, for what reason his Department concluded that Optical Express does not fall under the excluded advertising categories set out in the NHS Choices terms and conditions for offering cosmetic surgery and procedures including Botox and sunbeds; and what assessment he has made of whether advertising Optical Express services is an appropriate use of NHS funding used to maintain the website.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    NHS Choices does not advertise services on their website. Optical Express is included within the service directory published on NHS Choices on the basis that it is a provider of NHS services.

    NHS Choices has neither sought nor received any payment from Optical Express in return for this inclusion.

  • Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the recommendations in the report Medications in Drug Treatment: Tackling the Risks to Children published on 29 April 2014 by Adfam.

    Jane Ellison

    We welcome the valuable work of Adfam in producing this report.

    Officials from the Department and Public Health England have regular contact with Adfam and will be discussing with them what actions would be appropriate.

  • Mark Hoban – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hoban – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hoban on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of supporting people with cerebral palsy.

    Norman Lamb

    No estimate has been made of the cost to the public purse of supporting people with cerebral palsy.

    National Health Service expenditure on cerebral palsy is included in the programme budgeting category ‘neurological problems’, but cannot be separately identified. Aggregate annual NHS expenditure in this category in 2012-13, the latest period for which data is available, was £4.44 billion.

    The programme budgeting data return is an analysis of commissioning expenditure by healthcare condition and care centre based on figures provided to NHS England by primary care trusts (PCTs) and PCT successor organisations. Programme budgeting data, as well as further information on how these figures were calculated, can be found on the NHS England website at the following link:

    www.england.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-ccgs/prog-budgeting/

  • Mark Hoban – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hoban – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hoban on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the average age at which children are diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Information is not collected centrally on the age at which children are diagnosed with cerebral palsy and therefore no estimate of the average age of diagnosis has been made.

    The age at which a diagnosis of cerebral palsy is made will depend on its severity and type. In some cases it will be diagnosed at birth other cases will be picked up through screening and monitoring.

    Under the Healthy Child Programme schedule, babies undergo screening and health checks or immunisations at birth, at 72 hours, at five to eight days, at six to eight weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks, six to eight months and 12 months, 2½ years and at school entry.

  • Keith Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 310W, on diabetes, what information his Department collects centrally about diabetics.

    Jane Ellison

    The Health and Social Care information Centre (HSCIC) collects data on diabetes through the National Diabetes Audit Programme, the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF), prescribing and Hospital Episode Statistics (HES).

    The National Diabetes Audit (Adults) measures the effectiveness of diabetes healthcare against National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Clinical Guidelines and NICE Quality Standards, in England and Wales.

    The National Diabetes Inpatient Audit collects information on the diabetes management that patients receive whilst in hospital and patients’ experience of the inpatient stay.

    The National Pregnancy in Diabetes Audit which measures the quality of pre-gestational diabetes care against NICE guideline based criteria and the outcomes of pre-gestational diabetic pregnancy.

    The National Diabetes Foot Care Audit collects data which enables all diabetes foot care services to measure their performance against NICE clinical guidelines and peer units, and to monitor adverse outcomes for people with diabetes who develop diabetic foot disease.

    The patient experience of diabetes services (pilot collection) measures the diabetes healthcare experiences of people with diabetes in England and Wales.

    The QOF collates information across a range of measures on people aged 17 or over who have a diagnosis of diabetes at general practice level.

    Data on prescriptions dispensed in the community in England is available for all drugs dispensed in England within the prescription cost analysis dataset which includes drugs used for diabetes. The HSCIC also produce a specific publication – Prescribing for Diabetes in England. The 2005-06 to 2013-14 data was released on 12 August 2014. Prescribing data is also available also available at clinical commissioning group and area team team level within iView. GP practice level prescribing data is also available via the HSCIC website at:

    www.hscic.gov.uk/gpprescribingdata

    Providers of NHS services in England are required to supply information on activity to the Secondary Uses Services (SUS) database via commissioning datasets. Each month an extract from the SUS database is taken and moved into the HES database which is then made available for analysis. It is possible, therefore, to report activity on admissions to hospital for patients with a diagnosis of diabetes.

    Like the majority of data collections for which the HSCIC is responsible, information collected focuses on activity that has taken place rather than where patients have missed appointments.