Tag: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Health Education England over any action required to stem the loss of consultant clinical pharmacologist posts in the NHS.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Figures published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that there has not been a reduction in the number of consultant clinical pharmacologists employed in the National Health Service in England.

As part of its workforce planning, Health Education England (HEE) take account of a range of factors including forecast rates of retirement. HEE has recently undertaken a review of the clinical pharmacology and therapeutics workforce, the findings of which will contribute to future workforce planning for this specialty in England.

It is for the respective Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to consider workforce planning for their health system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the draft recommendation from NICE not to recommend the drug Strensiq for the treatment of hypophosphatasia for critically ill infants who are otherwise likely to die, what other treatment options are available.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently evaluating Strensiq (asfotase alfa) for the treatment of paediatric-onset hypophosphatasia under its highly specialised technologies programme.

NICE’s draft guidance, published in December 2015 for consultation, did not recommended asfotase alfa. However this is not NICE’s final guidance to the National Health Service.

NICE’s draft guidance states that there are currently no other treatments available that specifically prevent or delay the progression of hypophosphatasia.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people are employed full-time and part-time by NHS England as (1) audiologists, (2) cardiac physiologists, (3) gastro-intestinal physiologists, (4) neurophysiologists, (5) respiratory physiologists, and (6) sleep physiologists.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS Digital collects data on the number of staff employed full-time and part-time by the National Health Service in England.

Within the data held by NHS Digital it is not possible to definitively identify those staff groups requested. Therefore a best approximation has been provided based on the guidance available to NHS organisations. This information is in the attached table and provides the latest available data as at 31 May 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Age UK report on self-funders in care homes published on 20 October showing that self-funded care home patients are in effect subsidising local authority funded patients.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Care and support is arranged on an open market where prices and fee rates are negotiated locally by commissioners for state funded clients, whilst individuals and their families do so for those who self-fund. The Government has no say in these individual negotiations.

Under the Care Act, councils are under a duty to promote their overall local provider market to ensure it remains sustainable and delivers high-quality services for all local people. Prices and fee rates paid by commissioners to provider organisations must reflect these new duties.

The Department published the Care and Support statutory guidance setting out how councils should meet these new duties when commissioning, including the consideration of the actual costs of care and support when negotiating fee levels. This guidance is an online-only resource, subject to updates.

The Department is aware of the Age UK report Behind the headlines: ‘stuck in the middle’ – self-funders in care homes. There are many reasons why individuals who self-fund may pay more than local authorities, including premium accommodation and services, and discounts that may be available to authorities for bulk purchasing and lower transaction costs.

The Government has no plans to ask the competition authorities or the Care Quality Commission to review the Age UK report, though we maintain a continuing dialogue across government and with the sector to encourage good practice and fairness to consumers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will respond to the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group report on the regulation of herbal practitioners published in March.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government response to the Report on the Regulation of Herbal Medicines and Practitioners will be published by the end of 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether, and to what extent, the report of the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group on the regulation of herbal practitioners represented the views solely of the Chairman.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Report on the Regulation of Herbal Medicines and Practitioners is Professor Walker’s independent advice to Government. As the Report acknowledges this advice was informed by the input of the Working Group.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the report of the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group on the regulation of herbal practitioners was signed off by all members of that group.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The independent Report on the Regulation of Herbal Medicines and Practitioners is Professor Walker’s and so, although the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group informed the development the Report, it was not signed off by the Group.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the governance arrangements of the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group report on the regulation of herbal practitioners.

Lord Prior of Brampton

As an independent Working Group the governance arrangements were a matter for the Chair and members of the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group to determine. The Working Group agreed its terms of reference and membership.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current assessment of the effectiveness of the NHS 111 service.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government has seen successes with the NHS 111 service since its launch, with over a million calls offered to the NHS 111 service in August, of which 93.6% were answered within 60 seconds.

The Government expects all NHS 111 centres to be appropriately staffed to offer people safe care and advice and treatment at all times and has asked NHS England for assurances that the NHS 111 service is doing all it can to help patients. Furthermore the Care Quality Commission has announced it will inspect and rate NHS 111 services by September 2016 to give additional assurances that minimum levels of quality are attained.

New Commissioning Standards for Integrated Urgent Care were published last week by NHS England. Developed jointly with commissioners and providers, the Commissioning Standards will support the transformation of urgent care services; introducing the clinical hub employing a broader range of clinical skills, direct booking into general practitioner appointments, improved clinical governance and staff development amongst other developments. Commissioners will now complete their plans to achieve the Commissioning Standards. A copy is attached.

The commissioning of NHS 111 services is led by local Clinical Commissioning Groups and the safety and effectiveness of NHS 111 services are subject to constant review by local commissioners, monitoring performance and investigating complaints and clinical incidents through existing clinical governance arrangements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the draft report of the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group was shared informally amongst members of that group prior to publication.

Lord Prior of Brampton

As an independent Working Group, the informal sharing of the Report was a matter for the Chair to determine.