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  • 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 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on whether the use of painkillers increases the risk of a stroke.

    Norman Lamb

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) continuously monitors the safety of all medicines on the market in the United Kingdom. The MHRA holds data from clinical trials, published literature and spontaneous reports of suspected adverse drug reactions collected through the Yellow Card Scheme.

    Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used and effective medicines for the treatment of arthritis and other painful conditions. It has been known for many years that NSAIDs are associated with a small increased risk of heart attacks or strokes, particularly when used at a high dose and for a long time.

    The MHRA has widely communicated the information and advice for healthcare professionals on the risk of heart attack and stroke with NSAIDs in letters and bulletins, and other publications through liaison with the British National Formulary and National Prescribing Centre. In addition, product information (including patient information leaflets) has been updated in order to support informed decision-making in relation to the choice of painkiller.

  • 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 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on whether the use of shellfish supplements increases life expectancy.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department does not hold any information on whether the use of shellfish supplements increases life expectancy.

  • 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 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with (a) the Royal Colleges and (b) pharmaceutical companies about the efficacy of anti-depressants.

    Norman Lamb

    A search of the Department’s records and those of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has found no record of any such correspondence or discussions.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of (a) employment and support allowance and (b) disability living allowance have died during the process of (i) assessment and (ii) appeal in the latest period in which figures are available.

    Mike Penning

    Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (with which appeals are lodged) do not have figures relating the number of appellants that have died during the appeals process.

    The information requested is not readily available.

  • Andrew Love – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Love – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Love on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to raise awareness among health professionals of the symptoms of brain tumours and their effects on children; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer, published in January 2011, committed over £450 million up to 2014-15 to achieve earlier diagnosis of cancer, including improving direct general practitioner (GP) access to key diagnostic tests, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to support the diagnosis of brain tumours. In 2012, the Department published ‘Direct access to diagnostic tests for cancer: best practice referral pathways for general practitioners’ to provide criteria for accessing key diagnostic tests including MRI brain scans. The guide aims to raise awareness of the symptoms that require urgent referral to specialists and sets out where a direct referral for an MRI brain scan may benefit patients through achieving a faster diagnosis. NHS England monitors the use of these diagnostic tests through the Diagnostic Imaging Dataset.

    To increase GP awareness of brain tumours in children, in 2012, the Department funded British Medical Journal Learning to provide an e-learning module for GPs on diagnosing osteosarcoma and brain tumours in children. One part of the module supports GPs to understand the main types of brain tumours in children and young people, their common symptom presentations and to recognise when patients need urgent referral, the other deals with communication barriers, and provides potential ways to address these barriers in GP consultations.

    In addition to this, since 2005, the Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has supported GPs to identify patients with the symptoms of suspected cancer, including brain tumours, and urgently refer them as appropriate. NICE is in the process of updating this guidance to ensure that it reflects the latest evidence and the anticipated publication date for the revised guidelines is May 2015.

    I have also recently written to all Health and Wellbeing boards to make them aware of the briefing material developed by the “Headsmart” charity, which aims to increase awareness of the symptoms of brain tumours among parents, schools and health professionals.

  • Andrew Love – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Love – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Love on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the five most common causes of infant mortality have been over the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) purpose and (b) cost of international travel undertaken for official purposes by (i) directors of Public Health England and (ii) members of its advisory board has been since 1 April 2012.

    Jane Ellison

    The purposes of Public Health England’s (PHE) international travel include:

    – to provide expert advice to international agencies such as the World Health Organization and to the Overseas Territories of the United Kingdom (UK);

    – to co-ordinate the global preparedness for serious health threats that might affect the UK;

    – to provide advice and support to other national public health agencies on public health incidents and initiatives to improve health;

    – to contribute to humanitarian responses; and

    – to present PHE contributions at international scientific conferences.

    The cost of international travel undertaken for official purposes is as follows:

    (i) Directors of PHE: £12,458.57

    (ii) Members of PHE’s Advisory Board since April 2013: £817.74

    International travel has been defined as the cost of transportation wholly outside the UK or tickets to/from a destination outside the UK.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much Public Health England has spent on the development and implementation of its Global Health Strategy since its inception.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England’s (PHE) Global Health Strategy is currently in development.

    Development of the strategy has been undertaken by PHE’s in-house global health and international teams. The following table shows PHE’s spend on the development of its Global Health Strategy:

    Expense

    Cost (£)

    Staff time attributed to strategy development *

    41,783.63

    Travel expenses

    348.05

    Off-site meeting in UK

    1,407.71

    Total **

    43,539.39

    Notes:

    *Staff time includes the contribution from a consultant in public health plus employer related costs. This excludes other staff contributions for which time allocation is not captured.

    **Excludes telephony costs and minor refreshments costs.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many of his Department’s agencies, non-departmental public bodies or sponsored bodies have developed their own global health strategies.

    Jane Ellison

    In addition to the cross-Government global health strategy, Health is Global: An outcome framework for global health 2011-2015, published in 2011, Public Health England is developing a global health strategy.

    This will complement, and will be consistent with, Health is Global.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much Public Health England has spent on consultancy workers in 2013-14.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England (PHE) has incurred no expenditure with professional consultancy firms of the nature described in the Cabinet Office definition of Consultancy.

    However, PHE sought approval under the Department’s Professional Services approvals route for £8.1million of contingent labour where the daily rate of the individuals concerned was more than £220 per day. This involves approval by the Chief Executive of PHE, by the Department’s Procurement and by the Department’s Financial Approvals Panel.