Premature Deaths: Heart and Circulatory Conditions

Debate between Baroness Bull and Lord Markham

Tuesday 6th February 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Markham (Con)]

I am not quite sure that I agree with the word “refuse”, but I agree with the noble Lord that healthy food in all environments is a good thing. I know that the delay happened because it was originally planned for 2020 or 2021, I think, and then the pandemic got in the way. I freely accept that the review now needs to take place. We are not refusing to do it, because it is an important part of the armoury.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, many noble Lords have mentioned the importance of early years interventions, not smoking, diet and so on. Does the Minister agree about the importance of exercise and of cultivating the habit of exercise, not just in early years but ongoing throughout later years?

[Lord Markham (Con)]

Absolutely. These are all key parts of a good, healthy lifestyle for mind and body—for mental health as well. Social prescribing is important for all this as well.

NHS App: Medical Records

Debate between Baroness Bull and Lord Markham

Tuesday 19th December 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Markham (Con)]

The noble Lord is absolutely correct. Digital resource is well sought after. I was approving something just the other day which gives us more flexibility in that space, because sometimes you have to pay over and above to get people on it. As we all agree, this is vital to the future of what we are trying to do.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, as more people who are able to are switching between the National Health Service and private medical care for specific operations, is the Minister confident that relevant information is then transferred back to a single patient record? This will be very important if, for instance, somebody needs emergency care or is involved in an accident. Is the data all being kept in one place?

[Lord Markham (Con)]

Patient records is what the federated data platform is very good at, in terms of drawing data and information from all sorts of sources into one place, so it is always in the ownership of the person, the GP or the individual place. You can make your data available to the private care providers, if you are having an operation with them, for instance, but the data always remains within the NHS and in the ownership of the person.

Domestic Violence and Brain Injury

Debate between Baroness Bull and Lord Markham

Monday 23rd October 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Markham (Con)]

It is a good point, and there are already some very good examples, such as in Cambridge, where the ICB has a single front door to make sure that all facilities, whether it is neurologists, psychologists, physios or speech therapists, are there and available. The noble Baroness is correct: there are lessons we can learn and roll out straight away, and we are looking to do that.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, research projects in Glasgow and at Drake Hall prison in Staffordshire have shown a very high percentage of female prisoners to have traumatic brain injuries that have been sustained as a result of domestic violence. Is it now routine to screen female prisoners for brain injuries as they enter the Prison Service?

[Lord Markham (Con)]

My understanding is that it is not routine at the moment. I know there is some conflicting research as to how much screening should be used as a regular tool. I must admit that I do not fully understand the reasons behind some of that, so I was not quite persuaded as to why that was. It is something on which I want to do more research to understand. I will happily write to the noble Baroness to give her more information.

Food: Two-For-One Offers

Debate between Baroness Bull and Lord Markham

Wednesday 19th July 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Markham (Con)]

To me, that is a great example of how working in co-operation to allow people to make the right choices is the best way. For instance, 78% of shoppers have said that they are in favour of not having unhealthy items at the till because they know that they give in to pester power. That is why this has been focus of what we have done.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, notwithstanding the interesting “legal but harmful” point made by the noble Lord, Lord Naseby, I think that most of the House would agree that reducing high-fat, sugar and salt content is a good idea. However, the Minister has at least twice mentioned reduction of calories. Does he acknowledge and recognise that while one way to address obesity is calorie reduction, it is not an appropriate message for everybody and it certainly is not the sole cause of obesity across this country?

[Lord Markham (Con)]

The noble Baroness is correct; this is a complicated area, and a number of measures need to be taken. The best thing is the promotion of healthy foods, and the fresh fruit and veg initiatives that we have talked about today are perfect examples of that.

Long Covid

Debate between Baroness Bull and Lord Markham

Tuesday 25th April 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Markham (Con)]

I take issue with the statement of failure to deal with it. We pioneered this space. We set up 90 specialist adult centres and 14 specialist centres for kids. We have invested £314 million and 80% of people are seen within eight weeks of being referred. That shows that we are taking this seriously. The noble Lord is absolutely right that we want to ensure that we get as many people into work as possible. In the case of long Covid, we are definitely doing that.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister will know that evidence shows that the risk of long Covid increases with each subsequent reinfection, and that most adults were last vaccinated in the autumn, which means that their immunity is waning and that they are vulnerable to new infection. For many, this will be their second or even third case of Covid. Given that the living with Covid strategy is to manage Covid like other respiratory illnesses, what consideration have the Government given to adopting a similar vaccination strategy as they do for flu, in that those not eligible for free vaccinations could be offered the option to buy a vaccination? Have the Government made any assessment of the impact that such a strategy would have on the number of reinfections and therefore the rates of people suffering with long Covid?

[Lord Markham (Con)]

I thank the noble Baroness. I think we all accept that this is a complex area where, naturally, we are being guided by the science. Our vaccination strategy has been focused on the highest-risk groups. On allowing other people to pay over and above, as with flu, I think it is best that I come back in correspondence.

Stroke Rehabilitation and Community Services

Debate between Baroness Bull and Lord Markham

Wednesday 22nd March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Markham (Con)]

During the pandemic this was one of the areas that probably did not get enough time, for all the good reasons that we understand. Therefore, I am pleased to see that these pathways are being set out so that we can get back to the standards that we need. I believe this is something that we will see happening now.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister will know that stroke survivors, once in the community, face challenges with long-term rehabilitation and higher levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness than the rest of the community. What assessment have the Government made of arts-based therapies—I declare an interest as I am an adviser currently with King’s College Hospital—to address the whole patient as they recover from a stroke?

[Lord Markham (Con)]

We are very much believers in the importance of social prescribing. I was at a reception just yesterday given by the Alliance of Sport, talking about the importance of active lifestyles for people’s mental health and recovery, and in the criminal justice system. It is something that we agree on the importance of. I will come back in more detail on the arts.

GP Appointments

Debate between Baroness Bull and Lord Markham

Thursday 23rd February 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Markham (Con)]

I am clearly aware of that. At the same time, I am very aware that we want to make sure that people are able to see a doctor when they need to and are not deterred from that. So we would have to tread very carefully and it is definitely not in our plans at the moment.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, given that a dual system of online and in-person GP interaction is inevitably the future and that virtual appointments are clinically appropriate in some circumstances, what are the Government doing to increase public confidence in virtual interactions with their GP? How will they ensure that all triage systems do not disadvantage those groups who are less likely to vocalise their preference or to advocate for the urgency of their own needs?

[Lord Markham (Con)]

Absolutely. One of the key benefits of the digital approach is the triage system. We all know that a lot of people who call at 8 am for an appointment could probably be well served by a pharmacy, a physio service or nursing. So proper triage through a digital-type system is a big step forward. It will end up with them being able to make an appointment with the pharmacy, physio—or the GP in this case. It will also free up resources so that those people who are not able to access digital services are able to get through at 8 am and speak to a person. So I really believe there is a win-win for both sides and personally I am very excited to take this through the House later in the year and see all the services that will be launched.