Asked by: Baroness Gale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations of the report by the National Neurosciences Advisory Group on their June 2019 Mental Health and Neurosciences Leaders Away Day, published on 24 July.
Answered by Lord Bethell
While the Department has not made a specific assessment, NHS England and NHS Improvement work closely with the National Neurosciences Advisory Group (NNAG) which is a collaborative leadership group for neurosciences in England. The group is co-chaired by Professor Adrian Williams, who is also Chair of the Neurosciences Clinical Reference Group, at NHS England and NHS Improvement. The report published on 24 July, stems from the June 2019 Mental Health and Neurosciences Leaders Away Day, which was attended by senior NHS England and NHS Improvement officials.
The NNAG will begin consulting NHS England and NHS Improvement on the drafting of new clinical pathways across neurology shortly and aims to publish these on the Neurological Alliance website by the end of 2020. Furthermore, work is ongoing in other areas of NHS England and NHS Improvement to improve integration of care for neurology patients. For example, the training curriculum for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Long-Term Conditions programme is being updated and, once completed, mental health services will be able to pursue integration with neurological pathways
Asked by: Baroness Gale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people paid for a prescription each year in (1) 2015, (2) 2016, (3) 2017, (4) 2018, and (5) 2019.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The information requested on the number of people who have paid for prescriptions is not collected centrally. The NHS Business Services Authority collects data on the number of prescription items dispensed and paid for but does not hold data on the number of people who have paid for their prescriptions.
The NHS Business Services Authority processes the NHS Low Income Scheme and issues HC2 certificates. It does not hold data on how many people have used their certificate after it is issued; and multiple people in a household in addition to the applicant might be covered by a certificate, including partner and children. However, data is supplied on the number of HC2 certificates issued in 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19. This is shown in the following table:
Period | Number of HC2 certificates issued |
2014-15 | 214,975 |
2015-16 | 225,239 |
2016-17 | 214,867 |
2017-18 | 206,599 |
2018-19 | 182,661 |
Note: Data is recorded April-March. Data provided is recorded on a monthly basis and recorded in the NHS Low Income Scheme Annual Statistics Report. This data relates to the number of certificates issued, not the number of people supported by the NHS Low Income Scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Gale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have benefitted from the NHS low income scheme (HC2 certificate) each year in (1) 2015, (2) 2016, (3) 2017, (4) 2018, and (5) 2019.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The information requested on the number of people who have paid for prescriptions is not collected centrally. The NHS Business Services Authority collects data on the number of prescription items dispensed and paid for but does not hold data on the number of people who have paid for their prescriptions.
The NHS Business Services Authority processes the NHS Low Income Scheme and issues HC2 certificates. It does not hold data on how many people have used their certificate after it is issued; and multiple people in a household in addition to the applicant might be covered by a certificate, including partner and children. However, data is supplied on the number of HC2 certificates issued in 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19. This is shown in the following table:
Period | Number of HC2 certificates issued |
2014-15 | 214,975 |
2015-16 | 225,239 |
2016-17 | 214,867 |
2017-18 | 206,599 |
2018-19 | 182,661 |
Note: Data is recorded April-March. Data provided is recorded on a monthly basis and recorded in the NHS Low Income Scheme Annual Statistics Report. This data relates to the number of certificates issued, not the number of people supported by the NHS Low Income Scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Gale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to suspend prescription charges with immediate effect for all people with long-term conditions in England.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department has no plans to suspend or conduct a review of the current system for prescription charges and exemptions, including for those people with long-term conditions in England. Extensive arrangements are already in place to help people access National Health Service prescriptions. These include a broad range of exemptions from the prescription charge for which someone with a long-term condition may qualify, including for people on low incomes through receipt of specific benefits and through the NHS Low Income Scheme.
To support those with the greatest need who do not qualify for an exemption, prescription pre-payment certificates are available for three months or 12-month periods. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.
Asked by: Baroness Gale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to conduct a review of the current system for prescription charges and exemptions in the light of COVID-19 and its impact.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department has no plans to suspend or conduct a review of the current system for prescription charges and exemptions, including for those people with long-term conditions in England. Extensive arrangements are already in place to help people access National Health Service prescriptions. These include a broad range of exemptions from the prescription charge for which someone with a long-term condition may qualify, including for people on low incomes through receipt of specific benefits and through the NHS Low Income Scheme.
To support those with the greatest need who do not qualify for an exemption, prescription pre-payment certificates are available for three months or 12-month periods. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.
Asked by: Baroness Gale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much NHS England has saved since over the counter medicines were taken off the prescription list in 2018.
Answered by Lord Bethell
In March 2018, NHS England and NHS Improvement and NHS Clinical Commissioners published Conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care: Guidance for Clinical Commissioning Groups.
Since publication of this guidance, there has been a reduction in spend of £32 million on over the counter items. This reduction includes spending on over the counter items for conditions that are self-limiting and conditions which lend themselves to self-care, as well as vitamins, minerals and probiotics. This estimate is correct as at 10 July 2020.
The list of over the counter products is updated as new products become available.
Asked by: Baroness Gale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have had to pay for an additional prescription each year if their medication has been recalled due to safety concerns in (1) 2015, (2) 2016, (3) 2017, (4) 2018, and (5) 2019.
Answered by Lord Bethell
If a prescription item is recalled, the patient is issued with a new prescription for an alternative product which will then be dispensed as a separate item. The prescriptions data systems are unable to identify this as a replacement product; therefore, this information is not held centrally.
Asked by: Baroness Gale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what monitoring and evaluation they have undertaken to ascertain the compliance of NHS continuing healthcare (1) virtual assessments, and (2) associated services, delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic with (a) the national framework for NHS continuing healthcare, and (b) relevant legislation.
Answered by Lord Bethell
During the COVID-19 emergency period, National Health Service Continuing Healthcare (CHC) assessments have not been required due to changes made under section 14 of the Coronavirus Act 2020. Where CHC assessments have continued during the emergency period, these must be compliant with the NHS Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) Regulations 2012 and the CHC National Framework.
CCGs may use a number of approaches to arrange Multidisciplinary Team assessments, including video conference. Preferences for how these are carried out should be indicated by the individual being assessed or their representatives.
To ensure the delivery of high-quality assessments, local assurance processes should be in place. There is also a detailed review process for eligibility decisions if an individual is dissatisfied with the outcome.
Asked by: Baroness Gale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to produce guidance on monitoring and evaluating the quality of virtual NHS continuing healthcare assessments.
Answered by Lord Bethell
During the COVID-19 emergency period, National Health Service Continuing Healthcare (CHC) assessments have not been required due to changes made under section 14 of the Coronavirus Act 2020. Where CHC assessments have continued during the emergency period, these must be compliant with the NHS Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) Regulations 2012 and the CHC National Framework.
CCGs may use a number of approaches to arrange Multidisciplinary Team assessments, including video conference. Preferences for how these are carried out should be indicated by the individual being assessed or their representatives.
To ensure the delivery of high-quality assessments, local assurance processes should be in place. There is also a detailed review process for eligibility decisions if an individual is dissatisfied with the outcome.
Asked by: Baroness Gale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that virtual NHS continuing healthcare assessments are compliant with the Equality Act 2010 reasonable adjustments duty.
Answered by Lord Bethell
During the COVID-19 emergency period, National Health Service Continuing Healthcare (CHC) assessments have not been required due to changes made under section 14 of the Coronavirus Act 2020. Where CHC assessments have continued during the emergency period, these must be compliant with the NHS Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) Regulations 2012 and the CHC National Framework.
CCGs may use a number of approaches to arrange Multidisciplinary Team assessments, including video conference. Preferences for how these are carried out should be indicated by the individual being assessed or their representatives.
To ensure the delivery of high-quality assessments, local assurance processes should be in place. There is also a detailed review process for eligibility decisions if an individual is dissatisfied with the outcome.