The below Parliamentary question was asked by Byron Davies on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many EU member states have adopted guidance recommending the same level of weekly alcohol consumption for men and women.
Jane Ellison
No other European country has carried out a full scientific review of their alcohol guidelines at least in the last ten years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Byron Davies on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many consumers and organisations have made representations on the Chief Medical Officer’s revised guidelines on alcohol consumption.
Jane Ellison
We have received 1,017 responses to the UK Chief Medical Officers’ alcohol guidelines consultation, including responses as part of a campaign and responses that did not answer some or any of the specific consultation questions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s proposal for collaboration between the NHS and Vertex to widen access to the treatment Orkambi on the treatment of the patients with that disease.
George Freeman
The Department has received the Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s proposals for an arrangement that would potentially allow access to Orkambi (lumacaftor in combination with ivacaftor) as part of a Managed Access Scheme in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) appraisal of Orkambi.
I have encouraged the Trust and the manufacturer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, to engage with NICE to consider whether there remains scope for this, or any other, proposal to be taken into account in its appraisal and the Department is also engaging with the manufacturer directly on this matter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) financial and (b) other support his Department provided for research into treating motor neurone disease in each of the last three years.
George Freeman
Spend by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in the Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health category ‘neurological’ has increased from £29.9 million in 2010/11 to £46.7 million in 2014/15 (the latest year for which data is available). There are no HRCS health sub-categories such as for motor neurone disease or other specific neurological conditions, and information on total annual NIHR spend on research into treating motor neurone disease is not held.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to continue monitoring breastfeeding rates following the abolition of the infant feeding survey; and if he will make a statement.
Ben Gummer
Following the discontinuation of the Infant Feeding Survey, the Department has been exploring with Public Health England (PHE) and other key stakeholders alternative methods and sources of information to monitor the impact of its policy on infant feeding.
In future, the Maternity and Children’s Dataset will regularly capture data on breastfeeding initiation and prevalence from all women using NHS services rather than using a survey sample. This means that local service providers and commissioners can have up-to-date (e.g. quarterly) information about outcomes for their local populations, enabling service provision to be more agile, responsive and targeted.
The Government is committed to supporting breastfeeding through the Healthy Child Programme. Breastfeeding is also included in the Public Health Outcomes Framework so that the improvements can be tracked, and action taken as needed.
Since 2010, we have recruited more than 2,100 additional midwives who will provide women with the information, advice and support they need with breastfeeding. A further 6,000 midwives are in training. There are also 3,400 more health visitors than in 2010.
The Department is working with PHE, NHS England and UNICEF to try and encourage women to breastfeed for the first six months, although we recognise that not all mothers choose to or are able to breastfeed.
Support and information is currently available to health professionals and parents through NHS Choices, the National Breastfeeding Helpline, UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative, the Start4Life Information Service for Parents and local peer support programmes.
The Department has not retained a record of how many full-time equivalent staff there were with a specific focus on breastfeeding between 2010 and 2016; breastfeeding policy has always formed part of the larger maternity policy for which the Department has the policy lead. Resources to cover this policy area would have fluctuated according the level of work required at any one time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients on assessment and treatment units have been diagnosed with mental health conditions in the last 12 months.
Alistair Burt
Access to an independent mental health advocacy (IMHA) is a statutory right for people detained under most sections of the Mental Health Act, subject to Guardianship or on a community treatment order. We would expect Assessment and Treatment Units to follow their statutory obligations to ensure patients have access to an IMHA where appropriate.
The Learning Disability Assuring Transformation statistics data shows that of the 2,565 inpatients at the end of April 2016, 600 patients had a main diagnostic category of mental illness on admission.
Data on the numbers of formal complaints made about patient care; the management of assessment and treatment units; access to autism-specialist services and access to occupational and speech and language therapy are not held centrally. However, NHS England, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and Local Government Association, published in October 2015, a Service Model for commissioners of health and social care services. This model sets out that when people are admitted to inpatient settings services should seek to minimise their length of stay and any admissions should be supported by a clear rationale of planned assessment and treatment with measurable outcomes. We would therefore expect all patients, irrespective of inpatient setting, to have access to the treatment and therapeutic interventions they require.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether every assessment and treatment unit has access to autism-specialist services.
Alistair Burt
Access to an independent mental health advocacy (IMHA) is a statutory right for people detained under most sections of the Mental Health Act, subject to Guardianship or on a community treatment order. We would expect Assessment and Treatment Units to follow their statutory obligations to ensure patients have access to an IMHA where appropriate.
The Learning Disability Assuring Transformation statistics data shows that of the 2,565 inpatients at the end of April 2016, 600 patients had a main diagnostic category of mental illness on admission.
Data on the numbers of formal complaints made about patient care; the management of assessment and treatment units; access to autism-specialist services and access to occupational and speech and language therapy are not held centrally. However, NHS England, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and Local Government Association, published in October 2015, a Service Model for commissioners of health and social care services. This model sets out that when people are admitted to inpatient settings services should seek to minimise their length of stay and any admissions should be supported by a clear rationale of planned assessment and treatment with measurable outcomes. We would therefore expect all patients, irrespective of inpatient setting, to have access to the treatment and therapeutic interventions they require.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 11 May 2016 to Question 36734, what steps his Department is taking to prevent those individuals identified as high risk not enrolled on the PROUD study from contracting HIV.
Jane Ellison
There are a number of workstreams within the national HIV Prevention and Sexual Health Promotion Programme that offer men who have sex with men (MSM), who remain one of the populations most at-risk from HIV, advice and resources to make sustainable and safer sexual health choices.
Public Health England has also published its strategic action plan 2015-16 “Promoting the health and wellbeing of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men” (a copy is attached) which aims to promote the health and wellbeing of MSM by focussing on three interrelated areas in which MSM are disproportionately affected: sexual health and HIV, mental health and in the use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how he plans to ensure that former sex workers and ex-intravenous drug users will be involved in the SaBTO blood donations review group; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) is carrying out a review of blood donor selection criteria. Representatives of health charities that work with sex workers and those with a history of intravenous drug use are members of the review group. A public meeting was held on 11 April 2016, which provided an opportunity for anyone with an interest in the review to participate in information exchange.
The terms of reference for the review, and membership, together with questions and answers from the public meeting will shortly be available on the SaBTO website. The review will be holistic and evidence relating to the risks of blood-borne infections in people who have previously injected drugs or received money or drugs for sex will be included. The review will be incremental, with published progress reports and any intermediate advice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) science-related contracts and (b) outsourced activities in the health sector are awarded to organisations that demonstrate a commitment to high professional standards and invest in the professional development of their scientific workforce.
George Freeman
All procurement processes must identify key objectives, performance indicators and critical success factors and ensure these are reflected in the tender documents against which organisations are invited to bid. Where appropriate, specific ongoing training and development needs can be included as specific terms in the final signed contract.