The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to merge clinical commissioning groups during the course of the current Parliament.
George Freeman
There are no plans to merge clinical commissioning groups.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve provision of IVF as a result of the meeting held by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State with Monitor and NHS England on 14 December 2015.
Jane Ellison
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 clinical commissioning groups are currently paying for in vitro fertilisation treatment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will expand the scope of the Learning Disability Mortality Review to include people with autism and a learning disability.
Alistair Burt
The National Health Service is taking action to reduce premature death by increasing annual health checks for people with learning disabilities, including for those who also have autism. The NHS is working to reduce variation and improve care for physical health conditions that disproportionately impact on people with learning disabilities who also may have autism, including epilepsy and cancer. NHS England has commissioned the world’s first Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme to support local areas to review deaths of people with learning disabilities and to use the information to improve service provision. This review programme for people with learning disabilities includes those who also have autism.
Think Autism set out a clear, cross Government programme of action, developed alongside people with autism, their families and carers to improve their lives and reduce premature mortality through better access to healthcare by making adjustments to services. This includes supporting the Royal College of General Practitioners Autism Initiative to improve understanding of autism amongst general practitioners (GPs).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on commissioning of integrated paediatric continence services.
Jane Ellison
In November 2015, NHS England published the Commissioning Framework for Continence Services Excellence in Continence Care.
This covers all ages including children and outlines a pathway including assessment, diagnosis and treatment to recovery where possible. The framework sets out a number of principles for a good design of service including integration across primary, secondary and tertiary services, health, education and social care.
The framework references the Paediatric Continence Commissioning Guide (2014) which provides a specification for paediatric continence services which again puts integration at its heart.
A national Excellence in Continence Care Board, chaired by NHS England and with membership of paediatric continence specialists and the Paediatric Forum continues to oversee the implementation of the Excellence in Continence Care framework.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what comparative information his Department holds on the rate of pregnancies affected by neural tube defects in the UK and in other EU member states.
Ben Gummer
The prevalence of neural tube defects in live births, fetal deaths (over 20 weeks’ gestation) and terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomaly in 2012 in the British Isles Network of Congenital Anomaly Registers, registers (covering 36% of the births in England and Wales) was 12.5 per 10,000 births (source: Congenital anomaly statistics 2012, England and Wales (2014)).
In European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies registries (covering 25.8% of the births in the United Kingdom) the prevalence of neural tube defects in 2012 for the UK was 12.53 neural tube defects per 10,000 births. By comparison, other European Union member states ranged from 1.75 per 10,000 births to 17.37 per 10,000 births. Differences in total prevalence rates may reflect a number of factors including genetic and environmental differences.
Data on prevalence is available at:
http://www.eurocat-network.eu/AccessPrevalenceData/PrevalenceTables
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, by what date he expects that the population of England will be covered by the National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Disease Registration Service.
George Freeman
Public Health England achieved complete national coverage for the National Congenital Anomalies and Rare Disease Registration Service in April 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions Ministers of his Department have had with counterparts in non-EU states on policies and steps to reduce the number of neural tube defect-affected pregnancies.
Ben Gummer
We are not aware that any Ministers have attended any formal meetings with countries outside the European Union member states where policies on reducing the number of neural tube affected pregnancies have been discussed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to introduce a GP registry for autism to allow the collection of population-level data.
Alistair Burt
General practitioners already maintain a register of people with learning disabilities which may include patients on their lists who also have autism where this has been diagnosed. The Royal College of General Practitioners’ Autism Initiative, which is part funded by the Department, is currently looking at the idea of an autism indicator in general practice. This work is at an early stage.
NHS England has been working with the Health and Social Care Information Centre to develop the Mental Health Services Data Set. This mandatory data set will include provision for the diagnosis of autism to be recorded. The data will be published and available for everyone to use to support and develop services based on health outcomes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Prisk on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the scope is of the current consultation on the Government National Carers Strategy.
Alistair Burt
The Government recognises the valuable contribution made by carers, many of whom spend a significant proportion of their life providing support to family members, friends and neighbours and they must receive support.
This is why the Department is leading on a new cross-Government National Carers Strategy to look at what more we can do to support existing and future carers.
On 18 March the Department launched the National Carers Strategy call for evidence for carers and those who support them. This is focussed on improving knowledge of local practice and hearing from carers about the kind of support that helps them. The consultation will end on 30 June 2016. We intend to publish the new strategy towards the end of 2016 but want to ensure that it is based on an academically robust examination of evidence and draws on a wide range of views and ideas.
As the strategy develops, we will consider evidence around the economic impact of caring and what role it plays within the health and care sectors and wider society. We will also look at both international and national best practice to see what support works best for carers so that they can find a healthy balance between providing high quality care and support and maintaining their own life and wellbeing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to measure and improve the rate of premature mortality of people with autism who have no co-occurring learning disability.
Alistair Burt
The National Health Service is taking action to reduce premature death by increasing annual health checks for people with learning disabilities, including for those who also have autism. The NHS is working to reduce variation and improve care for physical health conditions that disproportionately impact on people with learning disabilities who also may have autism, including epilepsy and cancer. NHS England has commissioned the world’s first Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme to support local areas to review deaths of people with learning disabilities and to use the information to improve service provision. This review programme for people with learning disabilities includes those who also have autism.
Think Autism set out a clear, cross Government programme of action, developed alongside people with autism, their families and carers to improve their lives and reduce premature mortality through better access to healthcare by making adjustments to services. This includes supporting the Royal College of General Practitioners Autism Initiative to improve understanding of autism amongst general practitioners (GPs).