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  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what medication is available on the NHS for chronic fatigue syndrome.

    Jane Ellison

    No assessment has been made of the number of people who have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in the last year.

    In 2007 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produced the clinical guidance Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children, which estimates that the annual prevalence is approximately 4,000 cases per million of the population.

    There is no medication available to specifically treat CFS, however the NICE guidance recommends that pharmacological pain relief may be appropriate for the relief of chronic pain that the condition can cause. Other methods of treatment that may be of benefit are cognitive behavioural therapy, graded exercise therapy or activity management. The guidance can be found at the following link:

    https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg53

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were diagnosed with sleep apnoea in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The full figures are not held in the format requested. However, the attached table gives a count of finished hospital admission episodes in England with a primary diagnosis of sleep apnoea, for the years 2010-11 to 2014-15.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to tackle obesity in children under 11.

    Jane Ellison

    Tackling obesity, particularly in children, is one of our major priorities. Progress has been made in recent years, but we know we have much further to go. We will announce our plans for tackling childhood obesity in the new year.

    In the meantime we are continuing to invest in the Change4Life campaign, which provides motivation and support for families to make small but significant improvements to their diets and activity levels. Industry has also taken a range of actions including removing billions of calories and tons of sugar from products and portion sizes have been reduced, but the challenge to industry to make further substantial progress remains.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on potential links between statins and inhibition of the influenza vaccine.

    Jane Ellison

    We are aware of two recent studies published in the Journal of Infectious Disease which suggest that the effectiveness of influenza vaccination in people taking statins may be reduced. As suggested by the authors of both studies, there are limitations in the data and design of these studies which do not allow any firm conclusions to be drawn. Other research has suggested that statin use decreases the risk of severe outcomes from influenza.

    Influenza vaccines are important in reducing the complications of influenza, and statins are important medicines in patients with lipid disorders and in the prevention of heart attack and stroke. As stated in an editorial accompanying the publications, the findings of these studies do not affect current recommendations for use of influenza vaccines or the prescribing of statins.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in the last year.

    Jane Ellison

    No assessment has been made of the number of people who have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in the last year.

    In 2007 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produced the clinical guidance Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children, which estimates that the annual prevalence is approximately 4,000 cases per million of the population.

    There is no medication available to specifically treat CFS, however the NICE guidance recommends that pharmacological pain relief may be appropriate for the relief of chronic pain that the condition can cause. Other methods of treatment that may be of benefit are cognitive behavioural therapy, graded exercise therapy or activity management. The guidance can be found at the following link:

    https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg53

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much West Yorkshire PCTs are owed by foreign patients for medical treatment from the NHS.

    Alistair Burt

    Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, primary care trusts (PCTs) ceased to exist from 1 April 2013, being replaced by clinical commissioning groups.

    The Department does not hold information centrally on the amounts owed to clinical commissioning groups by foreign patients for National Health Service medical treatment received.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much PCTs are owed by foreign patients for medical treatment received from the NHS.

    Alistair Burt

    Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, primary care trusts (PCTs) ceased to exist from 1 April 2013, being replaced by clinical commissioning groups.

    The Department does not hold information centrally on the amounts owed to clinical commissioning groups by foreign patients for National Health Service medical treatment received.

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to local government funding on the delivery of the National Dementia Strategy.

    Jane Ellison

    On 21 February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his new Challenge on Dementia 2020, which builds on the achievements of the Prime Minister’s challenge on dementia 2012-2015. It sets out the vision for dementia care, support, awareness and research to be transformed by 2020.

    Local authorities as well as clinical commissioning groups are responsible for funding and commissioning services based on their local population’s needs and ensuring that the services they secure provide the best quality for local people.

    As part of the Spending Review, the Government announced that councils will be able to introduce a new social care precept. The social care precept gives local authorities that are facing significant pressures the freedom to raise council tax to help mitigate against these pressures. It puts money raising powers into the hands of local areas who best understand the need in their area and who are best placed to respond.

    Further, the Spending Review set out the Government’s commitment to fund a Dementia Research Institute.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the survey published in November 2015 by Cancer Research UK which found that only 19 per cent of women aged from 50 to 64 were aware that the main purpose of the national cervical screening programme is to prevent cervical cancer.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS Screening Programmes are committed to giving people information to support them to make an informed choice about whether or not to take up the offer of screening. There is a group dedicated to researching, developing and evaluating information for those invited for screening, and service users and providers are involved at all stages.

    The NHS Screening Programmes aim to provide clarity in the leaflets and information given to people.

    The NHS Screening Programmes will continue to work closely with voluntary sector groups like Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust and with NHS Choices to help raise awareness of the intentions of the programmes.

  • John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that medical and fuel supplies for Nepal are not blocked by the Indian government.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 26 November 2015 (PQ 17369) and 16 November (PQ 15614).