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  • 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 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to increase the transparency of NICE’s decisions on the Cancer Drugs Fund to remove any restrictions on treatment use arising from budgetary pressures and increase its level of engagement with members of the public.

    Norman Lamb

    The operation of the Cancer Drugs Fund is the responsibility of NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence does not have a role in the management of the Fund.

    NHS England has a standard operating procedure for the Fund, which is available at:

    www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/

  • Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to maintain the quality of services provided by children and adolescent mental health services in the UK.

    Norman Lamb

    NHS England has responsibility for commissioning Tier 4 (in-patient) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Tiers 1-3 CAMHS are commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). There are a number of measures in place to ensure the quality of Tier 4 CAMHS provided by companies:

    – All providers of CAMHS need to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

    – National service specifications have been developed for Tier 4 CAMHS to which all service providers are required to adhere. These are used as part of the standard National Health Service contract. A copy of these documents can be found on NHS England’s website and accessed via the following links:

    www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-c/c07/

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/c07-tier4ch-ado-mh-aut.pdf

    – All providers are monitored against the standard contract through evidence based contract meetings. NHS England and the CQC may also undertake visits to the units to assess the quality of service being delivered.

    – Where concerns or issues are raised about a particular unit, such matters are referred to the Area Team Quality Surveillance Group, chaired by Directors of Nursing, for consideration and discussion.

    – Where there is significant cause for concern, NHS England may restrict or stop referrals to a particular unit. In extreme circumstances, the CQC has the powers to de-register a provider from being able to provide CAMH Services.

  • Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Details of United Kingdom-based visits undertaken by my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his ministerial team since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was have been placed in the Library.

    The purpose of all these visits was to meet staff and patients and learn more about the service except where denoted with an asterisk.

    Details of Ministers’ visits overseas are published quarterly and can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the findings of Mental Health Foundation research into the impact of mindfulness-based interventions on the reduction in patient visits to the GP.

    Norman Lamb

    No such assessment of the saving to the National Health Service from the use of mindfulness interventions to reduce the number of general practitioner visits has been made.

    The Department is aware of the Mental Health Foundation’s research into the impact of mindfulness. The benefits of mindfulness are widely recognised. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance for the NHS has recommended Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for recurrent depression since 2004. MBCT is available through a number of Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services in England.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rehman Chishti – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 10 June 2014, Official Report, column 896W, on hospitals, what progress his Department has made at Medway NHS Trust since it was placed in special measures in 2013.

    Jane Ellison

    Medway was recently re-inspected by the Chief Inspector, who will be publishing the results of the re-inspection shortly alongside his recommendation as to whether the foundation trust has made sufficient improvement to exit the regime.

    The Trust is making good progress in the majority of areas reviewed in 2013 by the Keogh team. However, since the Keogh review the Trust has received warning notices from the Care Quality Commission in relation to its Maternity services (October 2013) and Emergency services (March 2014) indicating continuing quality concerns in other areas.

    Since the Keogh review the Trust has created 29 additional medical posts and 115 additional nurse and nurse support staff posts. It has struggled to recruit sufficient numbers to these posts with the result that it remains highly reliant on locum and agency staff.

  • Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame M. Morris on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answers given to the Rt hon. Member for Chelmsford of 4 March 2014, Official Report, columns 768-9W, on cancer: drugs, and to the hon. Member for Wells of 19 March 2014, Official Report, column 614W, on National Institute for Health Research, if he will place in the Library the data used to calculate those Answers.

    Norman Lamb

    Prior to April 2013, the Cancer Drugs Fund was administered through clinical panels based in each strategic health authority and the Department collected information on spend and number of patients treated by drug.

    NHS England has had oversight of the Cancer Drugs Fund since April 2013 and publishes information on spend and patient numbers routinely on its website at:

    www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/

    National Institute for Health Research expenditure is reported in the Department’s annual report and accounts.

    Copies of the information used to provide answers to the Rt hon. Member for Chelmsford on 4 March 2014, Official Report, columns 768-9W and to the hon. Member for Wells on 19 March 2014, Official Report, column 614W have been placed in the Library.

  • Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tracey Crouch on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what training is provided to staff working within alcohol and drugs treatment in identifying and treating the problem of gambling addiction.

    Norman Lamb

    The Department does not hold information on what specific training is provided to alcohol and drug treatment staff. Ensuring competent staff is the responsibility of local commissioners and providers.

    Public Health England (PHE) is working with the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the national gambling treatment service to identify how it can strengthen training, and are promoting the work of the Royal College of General Practitioners who have developed an online gambling diagnosis and treatment training resource that is available free to all health professionals.

    PHE promotes the Royal College of General Practitioners’ online training resource among all health professionals. PHE has developed guidance for local authorities on gambling and is exploring what the local needs are and where evidence allows it to intervene. However, PHE does not wish to undermine the treatment available through the national provider GamCare until evidence emerges that this is not meeting current need.

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with PHE and NHS England on a range of health issues. PHE is also working with NHS England and the Local Government Association to explore what the current need is locally so it can get a better picture; and decide whether PHE needs to act through prevention and restrictions on gambling shops; or through changes to the current GamCare treatment network.

  • 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 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many financial bonuses of what amount have been paid to employees of Public Health England since April 2013; and on what criteria such bonuses were awarded.

    Jane Ellison

    Financial bonuses have been paid to 20 employees of Public Health England since its establishment on 1 April 2013, all of which relate to their performance in predecessor organisations in the 2012-13 reporting year. The criteria used for the performance assessment and subsequent payments for which they were eligible were those of their former employer.

    Of these, 18 were to former employees of the Department of Health, all of which were non-consolidated. The number of payments and amounts were as follows:

    Number of payments

    Amount (£)

    1

    210

    1

    250

    1

    380

    1

    480

    1

    630

    1

    750

    1

    825

    4

    900

    1

    1,000

    4

    1,200

    1

    10,000

    1

    12,500

    The remaining two were to former employees of the Health Protection Agency, which were also non-consolidated, and amounted to £10,000 each.

  • Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tracey Crouch on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Department is taking to improve healthcare outcomes by improving the awareness of gambling addiction on the part of healthcare professionals; and what guidance NHS England provides to local health authorities on the commissioning of services for gambling addiction.

    Norman Lamb

    The Department does not hold information on what specific training is provided to alcohol and drug treatment staff. Ensuring competent staff is the responsibility of local commissioners and providers.

    Public Health England (PHE) is working with the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the national gambling treatment service to identify how it can strengthen training, and are promoting the work of the Royal College of General Practitioners who have developed an online gambling diagnosis and treatment training resource that is available free to all health professionals.

    PHE promotes the Royal College of General Practitioners’ online training resource among all health professionals. PHE has developed guidance for local authorities on gambling and is exploring what the local needs are and where evidence allows it to intervene. However, PHE does not wish to undermine the treatment available through the national provider GamCare until evidence emerges that this is not meeting current need.

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with PHE and NHS England on a range of health issues. PHE is also working with NHS England and the Local Government Association to explore what the current need is locally so it can get a better picture; and decide whether PHE needs to act through prevention and restrictions on gambling shops; or through changes to the current GamCare treatment network.

  • 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 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the prevalence and effect of unlicensed performance enhancing drugs (a) online and (b) in shops.

    Norman Lamb

    There are strict legal controls governing the sale and supply of medicinal products in the United Kingdom.

    Unlicensed medicines which claim to enhance performance generally claim to enhance either sexual, cognitive or athletic performance.

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) works with domain name providers to shut down websites which are illegally trading in unlicensed erectile dysfunction medicines and which refuse to come in to compliance.

    A UK registered pharmacy may have a presence on the internet; however the requirements of legislation apply equally to both UK internet pharmacies and bricks-and-mortar premises. These legal controls also apply equally to medicines for human use sold or supplied via the internet or e-mail transactions. These restrictions do not apply to countries outside UK jurisdiction where medicines may be classified and regulated differently.

    Medicines most commonly associated with enhanced athletic performance are anabolic steroids and human growth hormones. These medicines are controlled as class C drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

    The MHRA has serious concerns about the availability of medicines being offered via the Internet and issues regular warnings to the public concerning the inherent risks of purchasing medicines online. MHRA advice is that medicines purchased from websites, particularly websites based overseas, cannot be guaranteed to meet set standards of quality, safety and efficacy and advises patients not to purchase medicines in this way.