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  • 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 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the increase in demand for child and adolescent mental health following the launch of the MindEd e-portal; and what steps it is taking to accommodate that increase.

    Norman Lamb

    The Department has not made an estimate of the increase in demand for child and adolescent mental health following the launch of the MindEd e-portal on 25 March 2014.

    We know that many schools want to do more to help children who are, or may be, experiencing mental health problems. Many now have their own programmes and mental health support – such as a school-based counsellor, whilst others have whole school approaches to mental and emotional health. We want to ensure that such programmes offer the best support possible, but also that schools are better able to identify mental health problems in their pupils sooner.

    The Department funded the MindEd website which will help anyone working with children, including all school staff, to spot the signs of mental health problems in children and help them get the support they need. Spotting the signs of mental health problems early in children and young people is essential to prevent problems from escalating and continuing into adulthood.

    The Chief Medical Officer has recommended better data on children and young people’s mental health. The Department, with arms lengths bodies (ALBs) and other key partners, is currently looking at the options available for arranging a survey of children and young people to look at prevalence of mental health conditions. We are seeking advice from colleagues in the Department’s Health and Social Care Information Centre to consider options for the survey, and what such a survey would be able to tell us.

  • 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 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of teenage pregnancy co-ordinators in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department does not collect this information centrally. Efforts to tackle teenage pregnancy are led by local authorities, who will make local decisions on whether a teenage pregnancy co-ordinator is needed in their local area. There is no requirement for them to report centrally on whether they have a co-ordinator.

  • 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 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who will have responsibility for cervical screening under the forthcoming Public Health England commissioning framework.

    Jane Ellison

    The National Health Service (NHS) Cervical Screening Programme is commissioned by NHS England under the NHS public health functions agreement 2014-15 (the Section 7a agreement, covering public health functions to be exercised by NHS England on behalf of the Department). Public Health England is responsible for the piloting and roll-out of new screening programmes or improvements to existing programmes, including the current pilot of human papillomavirus testing as primary screening.

  • Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, in what circumstances he uses a calculation of the (a) value of preventing a fatality, (b) willingness to pay and (c) cost-per-quality adjusted life year approach to quantify the value of a policy intervention; what other tools he uses to quantify the benefit of a policy intervention; and if he will make a statement.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Green Book and associated supplementary guidance is publicly available on the Treasury website. It sets out a range of approaches and methods that may be appropriate in a number of different appraisal circumstances.

  • Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions officials in his Department have had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the development of NICE’s highly specialised technologies programme since 1 January 2014; what the content of those discussions was; and if he will make a statement.

    Norman Lamb

    Departmental officials have had no such discussions. Officials may discuss individual highly specialised technology topics with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, including at the topic selection stage.

  • Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what pharmaceutical companies supplied the Government’s stockpile of Tamiflu.

    Jane Ellison

    Roche is the only supplier of the Government’s stockpile of Tamiflu. There are currently no other suppliers of Tamiflu.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the online system for members of the public to compare hospitals on the basis of safety indicators will include information on cases in which patients with conditions such as Parkinson’s have not received their medication on time; and if he will make a statement.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    We are working with NHS England to prepare for the publication on NHS Choices of an extended set of patient safety indicators later this year. These indicators are being gathered together in a manner that will allow patients to compare local hospitals on the basis of a more rounded picture of safety performance than has been previously available in one place. The initial focus of this presentation will be on indicators that are relevant to the general population of hospital inpatients and for which information is available. There is not currently, to our knowledge, a suitable source of data regarding delayed medication for those being treated for diseases such as Parkinson’s.

  • Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions his Department has had on the potential for Patient Reported Outcome Measures to be used to measure improvements in outcomes for breast cancer patients.

    Jane Ellison

    No recent Ministerial discussions have taken place on the potential for Patient Reported Outcome Measures to be used to measure improvements in outcomes for breast cancer patients.

    NHS England took over responsibility for the Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) on 1 April 2013. The development of the CPES is overseen by the Cancer Patient Experience Advisory Group (CPEAG), which has a wide ranging membership including clinicians, cancer charities, experts in survey methodologies, research bodies, health service commissioners and NHS England staff.

    The survey questionnaire is reviewed by CPEAG each year to ensure that it captures the best information and as part of the process for the next survey, NHS England is engaging with a range of stakeholders to look at how it can improve and amend the survey appropriately.

    In the meantime, NHS England has added a new question to the 2014 survey questionnaire to identify patients who have been diagnosed with cancer more than once because the evidence suggests that there may be a difference in the experience of those patients.

    The results of the 2014 survey will be published later this year.

  • Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that future iterations of the Cancer Patient Experience Survey enable the responses of patients with primary and secondary cancer to be analysed separately.

    Jane Ellison

    No recent Ministerial discussions have taken place on the potential for Patient Reported Outcome Measures to be used to measure improvements in outcomes for breast cancer patients.

    NHS England took over responsibility for the Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) on 1 April 2013. The development of the CPES is overseen by the Cancer Patient Experience Advisory Group (CPEAG), which has a wide ranging membership including clinicians, cancer charities, experts in survey methodologies, research bodies, health service commissioners and NHS England staff.

    The survey questionnaire is reviewed by CPEAG each year to ensure that it captures the best information and as part of the process for the next survey, NHS England is engaging with a range of stakeholders to look at how it can improve and amend the survey appropriately.

    In the meantime, NHS England has added a new question to the 2014 survey questionnaire to identify patients who have been diagnosed with cancer more than once because the evidence suggests that there may be a difference in the experience of those patients.

    The results of the 2014 survey will be published later this year.

  • Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment his Department has made of the overall performance of cancer services against the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Breast cancer quality standard.

    Jane Ellison

    The Health and Social Care Act (2012) places a duty on NHS England to have regard to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standards. Commissioners should have regard to them in the planning of services they commission according to their population needs.

    Whilst no assessment has been made of the performance of services against the Breast Cancer Quality Standard, compliance with Quality Standards generally could be monitored through a range of mechanisms depending on the specific Quality Standard. For example, the 30 national clinical audits funded by NHS England, the Best Practice Tariff, Commissioning for Quality Improvement Initiatives arrangements and the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcome Indicator Set. These levers are designed to drive quality improvement in the National Health Service using Quality Standards where appropriate.

    At the request of NHS England, the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership will shortly begin commissioning a new national breast cancer clinical audit. There is an expectation that national clinical audits, where appropriate, support the implementation of NICE clinical guidelines and Quality Standards. The new national clinical audit will be in place by the end of 2014-15.