Tag: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-06-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what reductions they aim to achieve in rates of (1) stillbirths, (2) neonatal deaths, and (3) brain injuries, in (a) single pregnancies, and (b) multiple pregnancies, by 2030.

Lord Prior of Brampton

In November 2015, the Secretary of State announced a national ambition to halve the rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth by 2030. This ambition applies to both single and multiple pregnancies.

The Department will publish an annual report on the progress towards achieving this aim and will include information on twins and multiple births. The first report will be published later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce waiting times for autism diagnosis.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The number of children, young people and adults diagnosed with autism by the National Health Service is not collected centrally. Latest figures from the School Census (2015) state that there were 90,775 pupils with an autistic spectrum disorder at state funded schools and non-maintained special schools in England. This has increased from a total of 56,250 in 2010 who were recorded as having a primary need of autism, but it is not directly comparable to the 2015 figures because of a change in collection methodology. Local authority areas provide information for Public Health England’s annual self-assessment exercise on implementing the Autism Strategy. This includes the number of adults receiving an autism diagnosis but because information is submitted on a voluntary basis a complete total for England is not available.

The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis and support in a timely manner. NHS England has commenced a programme to visit clinical commissioning groups to identify and share good practice in accessing autism diagnosis, and look at possible barriers. The Department is funding the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services to support this work. NHS England will complete a report on this by the end of April 2016.

The Department is also encouraging the autism third sector to work together and the four charity representatives on the Cross Government Autism Programme Board, which oversees the implementation of the Autism Strategy, gave presentations at the meeting on 18 February on work they are doing to increase public awareness. The charities are the National Autistic Society, the Autism Alliance UK, Autism Plus and Ambitious about Autism. The Autism Alliance UK is also being funded by the Department to undertake work with national and local organisations, to make reasonable adjustments to services and to train staff to be aware of what autism can mean to individuals who have the condition and their families.

The Health and Social Care Information Centre’s publication Estimating the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Conditions in Adults – Extending the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) gave the overall prevalence of autism in England as 1.1% (95% confidence interval 0.3% to 1.9%). Among adults with learning disabilities living in private households whose learning disability was sufficiently severe that they could not have taken part in the 2007 APMS, the prevalence of autism was 35.4% (95% confidence interval 24.7% to 46.2%). Among adults with mild or severe learning disabilities living in communal care establishments, the prevalence of autism was 31% (95% confidence interval 23.9% to 38%). Detailed supporting information regarding the underlying data and how figures have been derived is found within the detail of the report, a copy of which is attached.

The APMS was repeated in 2014 and findings are scheduled to be published in September 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-06-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when, where and how often they plan to publish a formal update on progress made towards achieving their aim of halving the rates in England of stillbirths, neonatal deaths and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth by 2030.

Lord Prior of Brampton

In November 2015, the Secretary of State announced a national ambition to halve the rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth by 2030. This ambition applies to both single and multiple pregnancies.

The Department will publish an annual report on the progress towards achieving this aim and will include information on twins and multiple births. The first report will be published later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase public awareness and understanding of autism.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The number of children, young people and adults diagnosed with autism by the National Health Service is not collected centrally. Latest figures from the School Census (2015) state that there were 90,775 pupils with an autistic spectrum disorder at state funded schools and non-maintained special schools in England. This has increased from a total of 56,250 in 2010 who were recorded as having a primary need of autism, but it is not directly comparable to the 2015 figures because of a change in collection methodology. Local authority areas provide information for Public Health England’s annual self-assessment exercise on implementing the Autism Strategy. This includes the number of adults receiving an autism diagnosis but because information is submitted on a voluntary basis a complete total for England is not available.

The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis and support in a timely manner. NHS England has commenced a programme to visit clinical commissioning groups to identify and share good practice in accessing autism diagnosis, and look at possible barriers. The Department is funding the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services to support this work. NHS England will complete a report on this by the end of April 2016.

The Department is also encouraging the autism third sector to work together and the four charity representatives on the Cross Government Autism Programme Board, which oversees the implementation of the Autism Strategy, gave presentations at the meeting on 18 February on work they are doing to increase public awareness. The charities are the National Autistic Society, the Autism Alliance UK, Autism Plus and Ambitious about Autism. The Autism Alliance UK is also being funded by the Department to undertake work with national and local organisations, to make reasonable adjustments to services and to train staff to be aware of what autism can mean to individuals who have the condition and their families.

The Health and Social Care Information Centre’s publication Estimating the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Conditions in Adults – Extending the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) gave the overall prevalence of autism in England as 1.1% (95% confidence interval 0.3% to 1.9%). Among adults with learning disabilities living in private households whose learning disability was sufficiently severe that they could not have taken part in the 2007 APMS, the prevalence of autism was 35.4% (95% confidence interval 24.7% to 46.2%). Among adults with mild or severe learning disabilities living in communal care establishments, the prevalence of autism was 31% (95% confidence interval 23.9% to 38%). Detailed supporting information regarding the underlying data and how figures have been derived is found within the detail of the report, a copy of which is attached.

The APMS was repeated in 2014 and findings are scheduled to be published in September 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-06-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will include information on twins and multiple births in any formal updates on progress towards their aim of halving the rates in England of stillbirths, neonatal deaths and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth by 2030.

Lord Prior of Brampton

In November 2015, the Secretary of State announced a national ambition to halve the rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth by 2030. This ambition applies to both single and multiple pregnancies.

The Department will publish an annual report on the progress towards achieving this aim and will include information on twins and multiple births. The first report will be published later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2015-09-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the National Health Service Litigation Authority’s Sign Up to Safety maternity-related projects include measures to improve the care of multiple pregnancies; and if so, when they expect to report the findings on those projects.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Under the Sign up to Safety Scheme £8 Million has been awarded to 25 maternity units who submitted a successful bid to the National Health Service Litigation Authority incentivisation scheme. Most of the successful bids related to improvements in foetal monitoring (equipment and training) supervision, human factors and team working or a combination of these themes.

All 51 bids (successful and unsuccessful) had to demonstrate a link to their claims. As such none of the bids made a specific reference to multiple births, the focus was on the causes within maternity that resulted in a particular injury outcome, for example resulting in brain damage

A full evaluation of the impact of this scheme will be available next year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2015-09-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether NHS England’s Maternity Safety Thermometer will be updated to include a function to allow units to compare their data by (1) singleton, and (2) multiple, pregnancies; and if so, how they plan to use this information to drive improvements in care.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Maternity Safety Thermometer includes a function to allow staff to record whether the pregnancy in question was a singleton or multiple pregnancy. National Health Service providers who use the Maternity Safety Thermometer are therefore able to collect and use this information to drive improvements in care.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2015-09-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Care Quality Commission’s final report outlining the findings of their national maternity survey will include a specific summary setting out the experience of multiple birth mothers.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. The CQC has advised that the responses to the national survey of National Health Service maternity services are currently being collated and analysed. Until all of this data has been analysed it is not possible for the CQC to comment on what will be included in the final report.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2015-09-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of multiple pregnancies result in one or more babies with (1) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, (2) Attention Deficit Disorder, (3) cerebral palsy, and (4) speech and language delays; and what estimate they have made of the additional costs to families and public services in addressing each of those needs.

Lord Prior of Brampton

This information is not collected centrally.

The majority of the conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, cerebral palsy and speech and language delays identified in the question would only become apparent later in life. The Hospital Episode Statistics, which are collected by Health and Social Care Information Centre does not hold this data.

There has been no assessment made of the cost to families or public services of the implications of these conditions in multiple pregnancies.