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Tag: 2015

  • Harry Harpham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Harry Harpham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harry Harpham on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England is taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (i) children and (ii) adults in Sheffield Brightside meet NICE guidance.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to gather information that can be shared between areas that have arrangements in place to meet National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism: support for commissioning and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations.

    NHS Newcastle Gateshead CCG is working with Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust to refine their autism pathway, from diagnosis through to therapy and support if appropriate, to be in line with the NICE recommendations. In October 2013, Sheffield CCG commissioned a service to be NICE compliant. However, the service has received a higher volume of referrals than had been anticipated, and is currently the subject of a review to ensure the right model and level of service is delivered in Sheffield.We are not aware of any issues in Carshalton and Wallington.

  • 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 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of public sector pay restraint on (a) staff recruitment, (b) staff retention and (c) expenditure on agency staff in the NHS.

    Alistair Burt

    Over the last five years, neither the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) nor the Doctors and Dentist Pay Review Body (DDRB) which make pay recommendations to government for employed non-medical and medical National Health Service staff, have identified any significant recruitment and retention issues because of pay restraint or expenditure on agency staff. In fact there are 8,500 more full time equivalent doctors and 6,800 more nurses since 2010.

    In addition to consolidated and non-consolidated pay increases, over the last five years, just under half of all employed NHS staff also received incremental pay at an average of over 3% each year.

    The Government has said that it will fund public sector workforces for a pay award of 1% for four years from 2016/17. The NHSPRB and DDRB will make recommendations to Government for 2016/17 and in making their recommendations will take into account the funding available to the NHS and expenditure on the workforce, including temporary staffing through agencies. They will also consider how their recommendations might affect the retention, recruitment and motivation of all their remit group.

    It is recognised that the policy of pay restraint is challenging and difficult for NHS staff, however at a time of necessary decisions, the Government’s pay policy will help to ensure the NHS workforce is affordable and protect jobs.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Matthew Pennycook – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects to publish mandated NHS data and related data flows to regional cancer registries in recurrent and metastatic breast cancer.

    Jane Ellison

    The National Cancer Registry Service, within Public Health England, recognises the importance of the collection of data on recurrent and metastatic breast cancer. Further work is being scoped by NHS England and Public Health England based on the recommendation in the recent Independent Cancer Taskforce report to establish robust surveillance systems to collect this data on all cancers.

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

    Stuart Andrew – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart Andrew on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding was allocated to each NHS Trust for children’s congenital heart disease services in each year since 1995.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on the amount of funding allocated to each region for providing congenital heart disease services and to each National Health Service trust for children’s congenital heart disease services is not collected centrally.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure earlier diagnosis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia in babies and young children; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    The UK National Screening Committee currently recommends antenatal screening for congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) as part of the Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme. CDH is primarily detected through the fetal anomaly ultrasound which is carried out between 18 weeks and 21 weeks of pregnancy.

    Research from around the world has shown that with current screening techniques only around 70% of cases of CDH can be diagnosed before birth and that those not diagnosed before delivery tend to be less severe and have better outcomes. The fetal anomaly screening programme in England continues to monitor the quality of the antenatal screening process for all such anomalies.

    A recent confidential enquiry focussed on CDH and a report of the findings was published in December 2014 by MBRRACE-UK on behalf of NHS England. This report considered the care provided for CDH cases diagnosed before and after birth, and considered all aspects of the care pathway following review of a sample of cases drawn from across the United Kingdom. The report highlighted certain aspects of practice that needed improvement, including the lack of evidence-based guidance for care. It recommended that consensus guidance is needed on the optimal management for the care and treatment for babies diagnosed with CDH and the management of late termination of affected pregnancies. It also flagged the inconsistent information provided to families which sometimes led to misunderstanding; for example the extent to which, with current technology, it is possible to diagnose CDH cases antenatally.

    A new neonatal surgical service specification is currently under development which should, once approved, lead to greater accountability and clearer practice in this area.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) financial and (b) environmental guidance NHS England provides to clinical commissioning groups on delivering sustainable healthcare in England.

    Alistair Burt

    In its mandate for NHS England, the Government sets a clear objective for NHS England to work with others to secure unprecedented improvements in value for money across the NHS in order to maximise resources for frontline patient care.

    NHS England has responsibility for clinical commissioning group (CCG) allocations. While NHS England does not set explicit financial savings targets for commissioners, CCGs are required to manage their expenditure within their allocation whilst meeting the business rules as set out in the planning guidance, which include setting aside a 0.5% contingency and planning for 1% of their allocation to be invested non-recurrently. To demonstrate that the requirements of the planning guidance have been fulfilled, a CCG is required to submit clear and credible plans that are financially sustainable. Tools are available to support CCGs in establishing whether they are applying their allocation in a financially sustainable way.

    With regard to environmental guidance, in January 2014 the Sustainable Development Unit (SDU) for NHS England and Public Health England launched a Sustainable Development Strategy for the NHS, Public Health and Social Care System. The Strategy is complemented by a number of specific modules, one of which focuses on commissioning and procurement.

    There is guidance on the SDU website on how CCGs can embed sustainable development in all the work they do, especially as commissioners of services and local system leaders. This guidance was written jointly by the SDU and the Royal College of General Practitioners.

    Service Condition 18 of the he NHS Standard Contract 2015-16, which is mandated by NHS England for use by commissioners for all contracts for healthcare services other than for primary care, relates to sustainable development. The clause requires providers to take all reasonable steps to minimise their adverse impact on the environment and to maintain a sustainable development plan.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects a decision to be made on the asylum applications from Libyan personnel formerly based at Bassingbourn Barracks.

    James Brokenshire

    It is long-standing Government policy not to comment on individual cases.

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current average time taken is to process asylum applications from the point of initial screening interview to substantive asylum interview.

    James Brokenshire

    The current average time to process an asylum claim is 80 days, from the date of the screening interview to the date the substantive asylum interview has been concluded. This is down from a peak of 142 days in 2008.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to limit the use of antibiotics on farms to sick animals.

    George Eustice

    There are no plans to significantly revise the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 until the conclusion of the current review of the EU legislative framework on veterinary medicines and medicated feedingstuffs.

    The Government has reissued guidance on the responsible use of animal medicines on the farm to emphasise that we do not support the routine preventative use of antibiotics, or the use of antibiotics to compensate for poor animal husbandry.

    Under the current UK legislation, all antibiotic veterinary medicines are only available through a prescription from a veterinary surgeon, who in turn can only prescribe to animals under their care following a clinical diagnosis. Using antibiotics responsibly is a requirement of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Code of Professional Conduct for Vets.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UN assesses that the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) is a protracted crisis with humanitarian consequences, driven by insufficient respect for international law by all sides. According to the UN, Palestinians in the OPTs face a range of serious threats including threats to life, liberty and security, destruction or damage to homes and other property, forced displacement, restrictions on freedom of movement and access to livelihoods, and lack of accountability and effective remedy. We are particularly concerned by the recent violent clashes across the OPTs and Israel, which underline the need for a just and lasting political settlement that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.