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  • Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the availability of fertility treatments under each clinical commissioning group in England.

    Jane Ellison

    The level of provision of infertility treatment, as for all health services they commission, is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.

    NHS England expects that all those involved in commissioning infertility treatment services to be fully aware of the importance of having regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) fertility guidelines. CCGs have a legal duty to have regard to NICE guidelines.

    Following a meeting with Fertility Fairness in December 2015, officials from the Department and NHS England are considering options for addressing variation in the prices that CCGs are currently paying for in vitro fertilisation treatment.

  • Vicky Foxcroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Vicky Foxcroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what safeguards are in place to ensure that patients are not removed from patient registers without their prior knowledge.

    Alistair Burt

    Where a general practitioner (GP) practice wishes to remove a patient from their list the contract, between the practice and NHS England, requires practices to have reasonable grounds for doing so. The contract also requires practices to have notified the patient in the preceding 12 months that they are at risk of removal from the list and explained the reasons for this.

    Practices must notify NHS England and the patient of the intended removal and the reasons for the removal. It is the responsibility of NHS England to notify the patient that they will be, or have been, removed from their practice’s list of patients. Removal from the list will take place on the eighth day after NHS England receive notification of the removal or the date on which NHS England are notified that the patient has registered with another GP practice.

    Where a patient is receiving treatment at intervals of less than seven days, the removal will take place on the eighth day after treatment is no longer needed or the date on which NHS England receives notification that the patient has registered with another practice.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the postcodes for the addresses of mothers of babies born with congenital abnormalities are available on the British Isles Network of Congenital Anomaly Registers.

    George Freeman

    The National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Disease Registration Service (NCARDRS) is operated by Public Health England. NCARDRS has legal permission to collect patient identifiable data without the need for individual consent. As part of this dataset, patient postcodes for individuals resident in England are recorded on the NCARDRS congenital anomaly database. Protection of individual patient data is paramount and release of this data, including postcode data, is strictly controlled.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what procedures are in place to monitor the take-up of advice on NHS websites on prevention of spina bifida.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on the number of live births affected by congenital abnormalities including spina bifida, hydrocephalus and anencephaly has been collected by the British Isles Network of Congenital Anomaly Registers and is currently available for the years 2009–2012 at:

    http://www.binocar.org/publications/reports

    There are no current mechanisms in place for monitoring the take-up of advice given on the NHS Choices website about preventing spina bifida.

    “

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staple foods in the UK are subject to mandatory fortification.

    George Eustice

    Wheat flour is the only food with mandatory fortification requirements in the UK. All wheat flour (except wholemeal) is required to be fortified with calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin at specific levels prescribed in the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many live births of children affected by (a) spina bifida, (b) hydrocephaly and (c) anencephaly there have been in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on the number of live births affected by congenital abnormalities including spina bifida, hydrocephalus and anencephaly has been collected by the British Isles Network of Congenital Anomaly Registers and is currently available for the years 2009–2012 at:

    http://www.binocar.org/publications/reports

    There are no current mechanisms in place for monitoring the take-up of advice given on the NHS Choices website about preventing spina bifida.

    “

  • 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 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Healthcare Cadet scheme.

    Ben Gummer

    Health Education England (HEE) is committed to supporting a range of vocational based learning programmes, including the healthcare cadet apprenticeships in the North West.

    Health Education England North West make approximately 400 places available through the programme every year. HEE undertook an extensive consultation with National Health Service trusts and dental practices, about the Healthcare Cadet Scheme. On the basis of the feedback received, HEE decided to close the programme and have developed a new model for vocational training to start in April 2017.

    Healthcare cadetships are available in other areas. No data is collected centrally on these.

    There are several Healthcare Cadet apprenticeship schemes in operation across England. No data is available on national spending on these schemes. No national assessment has been made on the effectiveness of Healthcare Cadet schemes.

  • Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued to clinical commissioning groups on the provision and availability of fertility treatments.

    Jane Ellison

    The level of provision of infertility treatment, as for all health services they commission, is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.

    NHS England expects that all those involved in commissioning infertility treatment services to be fully aware of the importance of having regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) fertility guidelines. CCGs have a legal duty to have regard to NICE guidelines.

    Following a meeting with Fertility Fairness in December 2015, officials from the Department and NHS England are considering options for addressing variation in the prices that CCGs are currently paying for in vitro fertilisation treatment.

  • 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 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for how many hospital shifts a full complement of staff was not available in each of the last five years.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department does not hold this information.

    All National Health Service providers of regulated activities have to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall. One of the fundamental standards relates to staffing and requires that a provider must have sufficient numbers of suitability qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons in order to meet the requirements of residents.

    The CQC has a wide range of enforcement powers that it can use if the provider is not does not meet the fundamental standards.

  • Vicky Foxcroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Vicky Foxcroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the number of people removed without notification from GP practice patient registers in (a) Lewisham, Deptford constituency and (b) Greater Manchester in each of the last three years.

    Alistair Burt

    The information requested is not held centrally.