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  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the most effective way to implement the use of rapid diagnostic technology for the purpose of accurately diagnosing infections in hospitals.

    Ben Gummer

    An expert group has been looking at how we can improve access to rapid diagnostic testing as part of the implementation of the UK Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy. The group is currently formulating its conclusions and intends to start working with stakeholders to implement improvements across the system from 2016; a part of this work will include an economic analysis to support the rapid adoption of new tests.

    The Department has been feeding this work into the Accelerated Access Review, which will make recommendations to Government on speeding up access to transformative new medicines and technologies, including diagnostics, for National Health Service patients. The review is due to report in April 2016.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the application-to-place ratio prior to interview is for ST1/CT1 posts starting in August to December 2016 at each specialities national recruitment office.

    Ben Gummer

    Health Education England (HEE) is responsible for the management of medical specialty recruitment on behalf of the four United Kingdom countries.

    The information requested for 2016 is not yet available.

    HEE publishes application to place ratios in October on an annual basis. The August to December 2016 data will be published in October 2016.

    Competition ratios for 2015 can be found here:

    http://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/specialty-recruitment/competition-ratios/2015-competition-ratios/

    To note: The data used to determine the competition ratios for is drawn from the initial recruitment round and does not include re-advertisements.

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  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many meetings have taken place between NHS Improvement and NHS trusts to agree plans to improve their financial position since 15 January; which providers have had such meetings with NHS Improvement; and when each such meeting took place.

    Ben Gummer

    Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority (NHS TDA) (becoming NHS Improvement from 1 April 2016) engage with National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts on a daily basis and staff regularly meet with these organisations to review and support their plans to improve their financial positions.

    Since 15 January, senior representatives have met with seven trusts for face to face meetings and have also attended events, with a number of trusts represented, to discuss the 2015/16 financial year and financial planning for 2016/17. In addition, senior representatives have also met with NHS Providers to discuss these issues and fed into their communications to the provider sector on these topics.

    All trusts will be submitting draft financial plans for 2016/17 to Monitor and the NHS TDA in due course. Monitor and the NHS TDA will continue to engage further with trusts as appropriate.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he is planning to allocate a proportion of the proposed £1.4 billion mental health funding for children and young people over the next five years funding to be invested in mental health services to support (a) children in care and (b) care leavers.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government is committed to making the full £1.4 billion investment available over the course of this Parliament to improve mental health services for children and young people.

    In line with guidance published by NHS England, all clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have produced Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) for children and young people’s mental health and these have all now been assured and funding allocated for implementation. These plans required all key partners to agree locally how best to meet the mental health needs of children and young people in their local populations and should cover the whole spectrum of need, which includes improving access to mental health services for vulnerable groups such as children in care and care leavers so that they can receive high quality mental health care when they need it. It is for local partners to decide how much of the funding which will be allocated to CCGs to improve local services throughout the five years will be spent specifically on children in care and other vulnerable groups. However, this will be based on an assessment of local needs and set out in the LTPs.

    The Government’s overall strategy to improve outcomes for care leavers is set out in the Care Leaver Strategy: A cross-departmental strategy for young people leaving care report (October 2013), and a one-year-on document, Care Leaver Strategy: One year on progress update, (October 2014) that reported on progress made and set out how the Government intends to further improve support for care leavers. The Government intends to publish its refreshed Care Leaver Strategy later this year.

    The Local Government Association has produced a spreadsheet giving details of every LTP can be found using the following webpage address:

    www.local.gov.uk/camhs

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  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which National Clinical Director will be responsible for overseeing the neurology intelligence network from March 2016; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s Medical Director, has undertaken a review of the National Clinical Director (NCD) resource designed to focus clinical advisory resources on areas where major programmes of work are currently being taking forward, or areas identified as priorities for improvement. As a result of the review, NHS England has proposed to change the way in which clinical advice is received in speciality areas in the future.

    Where there will no longer be a specific NCD role, NHS England will secure expert clinical advice from its Clinical Networks and through its relationships with professional bodies and by appointing clinical advisors. For neurology it is planned that access to advice will be through clinical leads and members of the NHS England-funded neurology clinical networks, the Neurology Clinical Reference Group and Royal Colleges. It is expected that these new arrangements will be in place from 1 April 2016.

    The Neurology Intelligence Network (NIN) is a joint partnership programme between Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England to support the generation and dissemination of neurology related health intelligence. PHE currently funds the on-going design, development and management of the NIN.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he made of the potential merits of expanding the monitoring of healthcare-associated infections.

    Ben Gummer

    Public Health England undertakes monitoring of healthcare associated infections, which includes the mandatory healthcare associated infections surveillance system. These arrangements are regularly reviewed and changes introduced in 2015 include enhanced surveillance for very antibiotic resistant infections (carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae).

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what role the UK pharmaceutical industry is playing in the development of a vaccine for the Zika virus.

    Jane Ellison

    The United Kingdom pharmaceutical industry will play a leading role in the development of a vaccine for the Zika virus, in collaboration with a range of the UK’s infectious disease experts, who are world leaders in this area.

    In the Spending Review, the £1 billion Ross Fund, run jointly by the Department of Health and Department for International Development, includes over £350 million for the development of new vaccines, drugs and diagnostics for infectious diseases.

    Particularly noteworthy within this, the UK Vaccine Network, with up to £120 million of funding, brings together industry, academia and Government to finance the development of new vaccines for priority infectious diseases with epidemic potential, including Zika. Indeed, the Network will launch a major funding call to finance the development of vaccines for Zika and other priority diseases at the end of February.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the annual cost of prescription charges paid by adults with cystic fibrosis; what the effect of prescription charges is on such adults; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    We have not made an assessment of the annual cost of prescription charges to those with cystic fibrosis. However, there are a number of prescription charge exemptions in place, for which someone with cystic fibrosis may qualify. These include exemptions based on low income, such as certain out of work benefits and the NHS Low Income Scheme, and age. Where someone does not qualify for exemption, Prescription Prepayment Certificates are available. The three-month and 12-month certificates allow someone to claim as many prescriptions as they need for £29.10 and £104, respectively.

  • David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on improving access to specialist psychology support for people with muscle-wasting conditions.

    Jane Ellison

    With regards to the National Health Service in Scotland, as healthcare is a devolved issue, the Department cannot comment.

    NHS England commissions specialised neurological services at a national level, including those with muscle-wasting conditions. The neurosciences service specification sets out what designated specialised providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective care. Patients should have access to a multidisciplinary team (MDT) to assess, diagnose and provide support. The MDT will include neuromuscular consultants, neuromuscular physiotherapists, psychologists, specialist nurses, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and other health professionals.

    The specification further sets out that neuromuscular clinics need to identify those at risk of respiratory problems and refer for specialist respiratory assessment and monitoring.

    The specification can be found at the following link:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d04-neurosci-spec-neuro.pdf

    A separate specification covers services for children.

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/e09-paedi-neurology.pdf

    “

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the national recommendations outlined in NHS England’s report on the death of William Mead are implemented.

    Ben Gummer

    The (NHS England South) Regional Quality Surveillance Group is responsible for ensuring that all the national recommendations outlined in NHS England’s report on the death of William Mead are implemented.

    The Department will be keeping track of progress on this front.