Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the additional annual cost to the NHS and social care in England incurred as a result of cheap absorbent continence products leading to (1) additional, avoidable treatments being required, (2) laundry and other associated costs, including energy, and (3) staff time spent changing patients and undertaking the additional laundering of bed linen and clothing.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Continence is an important component in a person’s health and well-being at any stage of life, and is also an important factor in the use of health resources. Early assessment by an appropriately trained professional allows a patient centred and cost-effective care pathway to be followed. After assessment, the use of containment products, medication, and the level of intervention can be triaged and escalated.
An absorbent incontinence pad is the ‘most commonly used product for absorbing and containing both light and moderate/heavy leakage’, as per the Continence Product Advisor in 2017. An incontinence pad is classified as a medical device, as per the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in 2014, and therefore safety and fitness for purpose is fundamental in achieving quality care. The clinician who assesses an individual to provide an absorbent product is accountable for that decision, and needs to ensure that the chosen product is fit for purpose and safe to use at the time of assessment, in accordance with the MHRA.
No current assessment has been made in determining the difference between the brands of continence pads in relation to additional or avoidable treatments being required, laundry and other associated costs, including energy, or staff time spent changing patients.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of avoidable skin infections, pressure ulcers and urinary tract infections caused or aggravated by issuing to patients the cheapest absorbent continence products rather than products which are most clinically appropriate.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Continence is an important component in a person’s health and well-being at any stage of life, and is also an important factor in the use of health resources. Early assessment by an appropriately trained professional allows a patient centred and cost-effective care pathway to be followed. After assessment, the use of containment products, medication, and the level of intervention can be triaged and escalated.
An absorbent incontinence pad is the ‘most commonly used product for absorbing and containing both light and moderate/heavy leakage’, as per the Continence Product Advisor in 2017. An incontinence pad is classified as a medical device, as per the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in 2014, and therefore safety and fitness for purpose is fundamental in achieving quality care. The clinician who assesses an individual to provide an absorbent product is accountable for that decision, and needs to ensure that the chosen product is fit for purpose and safe to use at the time of assessment, in accordance with the MHRA.
No current assessment has been made in determining the difference between the brands of continence pads in relation to additional or avoidable treatments being required, laundry and other associated costs, including energy, or staff time spent changing patients.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 11 May 2023 (HL7210), what progress they have made in developing and promoting to NHS trusts and integrated care systems in England an effective methodology for assessing value, including on patient experience and outcomes, and on whole system costs, rather than item price, when purchasing medical devices and consumables; and what future plans they have to do so.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is working with NHS England and the NHS Supply Chain to develop and promote a standardised methodology for National Health Service trusts and integrated care systems (ICS) to assess value when procuring medical technologies, including devices and consumables. As part of this, the Department is engaging medical technology suppliers, patient forums, as well as broader networks of financial teams, clinicians, and NHS procurement professionals.
The methodology will provide a consistent and transparent approach to assessing value, for use at both the national and local levels. This aims to shift the majority of the weighting in procurement decisions towards value over upfront cost. The guidance will include a bank of questions, model answers, and scoring criteria showing how to assess defined values consistently, such as patient experience and outcomes, and whole system costs.
The Department will be testing this guidance with the NHS at the ICS and NHS trust level over the coming months, with the ambition to refine and publish the guidance in Autumn 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish any legal analysis supporting their assertion in paragraph 77 of the Mental Health Bill: Memorandum on European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), published on 14 November, that the Mental Health Bill complies with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The measures in the Mental Health Bill will give patients greater choice, enhanced rights, and support, and will ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect throughout treatment. The Government’s view is that the Mental Health Bill is compatible with both the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and does not plan to publish further legal analysis.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enable (1) people with learning difficulties, (2) autistic people, including those who are currently on a hospital detention or a community treatment order under the Mental Health Act 1983, (3) individuals with lived experience of hospital detention under the Mental Health Act 1983, and (4) organisations representing those groups, to engage with them on the provisions of the Mental Health Bill.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The reforms delivered by the Mental Health Bill reflect the recommendations made by the Independent Review into the Mental Health Act, which engaged widely with stakeholders, including people with lived experience of a learning disability or autism under the Mental Health Act 1983. There was extensive consultation following this, to develop the draft bill, most notably on the Government’s White Paper, Reforming the Mental Health Act. Since the initial draft bill, we have taken on board several recommendations from the pre-legislative scrutiny committee, which heard from a range of stakeholders and organisations representing service users, patients, and professionals.
Regarding the learning disability and autism specific measures, we recognise that strong community support must be in place to improve care and reduce reliance on mental health hospitals. We will engage with expert stakeholders to inform implementation planning, including in respect of the development of strong community services.
We will engage further with the relevant stakeholders on the development of the Code of Practice, the statutory guidance which informs practice under the Mental Health Bill.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Government response to the Concluding observations on the initial report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in October 2017, what steps they are taking to deinstitutionalise persons with disabilities, and develop community-based independent living schemes, in collaboration with organisations of persons with disabilities.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Through our proposed reforms to the Mental Health Act, we want to ensure people get the support they need in the community, improve care and prevent admission to hospitals. We recognise that strong community support must be in place to improve care and reduce reliance on mental health hospitals for people with a learning disability and autistic people. We will engage with expert stakeholders to inform implementation planning, including in respect of the development of strong community services.
The National Health Service’s 2024/25 priorities and operational planning guidance sets out the objective of reducing reliance on mental health inpatient care for people with a learning disability and autistic people. In 2024/2025, NHS England has allocated £124 million of transformation funding for learning disability and autism services which includes funding to reduce reliance on mental health inpatient settings.
We recognise how important the right housing arrangements are in supporting people to live independently, and the need to support people to live behind their own front door wherever possible. We incentivise the supply of supported housing in England for older people and adults with a physical or learning disability, autistic people, or adults with mental ill-health. The Government will bring forward details of future investment in affordable housing at the multi-year Spending Review next year.
The Government is required to provide an annual update outlining the progress the United Kingdom has made on the Committee’s recommendations following the 2016 inquiry and most recently gave evidence to the Committee at a dialogue in Geneva in March 2024.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government which organisations the Department of Health and Social Care consulted on the Mental Health Bill and their wider mental health policy.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Mental Health Bill reflects the recommendations of Professor Sir Simon Wessely’s Independent Review into the Mental Health Act of 2018, which engaged widely with a number of organisations. The review’s advisory panel brought together a range of stakeholders to serve as a forum for gathering evidence and insight throughout the course of the review. The membership of the advisory panel comprised of individuals with lived experience, advocacy organisations, professionals and representative bodies, and representatives from the statutory system.
Following this, the Government ran an extensive public consultation on the proposals in the Mental Health Act White Paper, which received more than 1,700 responses. A draft bill was then published in 2022 for pre-legislative scrutiny (PLS), during which a range of stakeholders and organisations representing service users, patients, and professionals provided their views on how the draft bill could be improved.
The Mental Health Bill has been further strengthened through recommendations made by the PLS joint committee. Since July 2024, we have further engaged with range of key stakeholders, and we will continue to engage further, and consult widely, on the development of the Mental Health Act Code of Practice, the statutory guidance which will inform practice under the bill.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the waiting lists for gynaecology services.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
Gynaecology services will be included within the recovery of elective care. This will be funded by £2 billion this year and an additional £8 billion over the next three years, which could deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million more checks, scans and procedures. The delivery plan for tackling the elective care backlog will be published later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the Women's Health Strategy; and what plans they have to include commitments on menstrual health conditions in that strategy.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
We will publish the Women’s Health Strategy in due course. We are currently analysing the responses to the call for evidence which will inform the priorities, content and actions in the Strategy. Within the call for evidence, the online survey included questions on menstrual health.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the study 'Does Euthanasia Have a Dampening Effect on Suicide Rates? Recent Experiences from the Netherlands', published in the Journal of Ethics in Mental Health on 28 December 2017, and (2) the relationship between the legalisation of assisted suicide and suicide rates in the general population; and what plans they have to address any such relationship as part of their Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Work plan, published in January 2019.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government has made no formal assessment of these studies, nor of the relationship between the legislation of assisted suicide and the rate of suicide in the general population.