Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the increased (1) cost of living, and (2) cost of energy, on hospices in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made. Palliative and end of life care, including hospice care, is commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs) in response to the needs of its local population. Any assessment would therefore be made at a local level.
At a national level, NHS England have released £1.5 billion additional funding to ICBs to provide support for inflation, with ICBs deciding how best to distribute this funding within its system. This is in addition to the support provided by Government through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme which will run from April 2023 until March 2024 and continue to provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers, including hospices.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure early diagnosis of cancers in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving early diagnosis of cancer is a priority for the National Health Service. That is why one of the core ambitions in the NHS Long Term Plan is to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028. The NHS is implementing non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who do not fit clearly into a single ‘urgent cancer’ referral pathway, but who are at risk of being diagnosed with cancer. 99 NSS pathways are currently operational across England, with more in development.
To encourage people to get in touch with their general practitioner if they notice or are worried about symptoms that could be cancer, NHS England is running the ‘Help Us, Help You’ (HUHY) campaigns, which seeks to address the barriers that are deterring patients from accessing the NHS. The current HUHY campaign is focused on addressing fear of cancer as a barrier to presentation across all cancer types. NHS England is in the process of planning HUHY activity for 2023/24.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether complaints about GPs in England can go to mediation.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 governs the National Health Service complaints system. Under the Regulations, those who wish to raise a complaint should raise it with the provider or the commissioner of that service. If the complainant is unsatisfied with the response received, they can escalate their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman who will make a final decision. The Regulations do not describe a role for the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution or for mediation.
Patients can raise concerns directly with the General Medical Council (GMC) if the complaint relates to a doctor, including general practitioners, rather than the operation of a service such as the practice or another health care professional. The GMC’s online complaint form states which matters it can investigate.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why in England the process to complain about GPs differs from the process to complain about doctors in hospitals.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 governs the National Health Service complaints system. Under the Regulations, those who wish to raise a complaint should raise it with the provider or the commissioner of that service. If the complainant is unsatisfied with the response received, they can escalate their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman who will make a final decision. The Regulations do not describe a role for the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution or for mediation.
Patients can raise concerns directly with the General Medical Council (GMC) if the complaint relates to a doctor, including general practitioners, rather than the operation of a service such as the practice or another health care professional. The GMC’s online complaint form states which matters it can investigate.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether patients can use the services of the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution when they do not accept the findings of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 governs the National Health Service complaints system. Under the Regulations, those who wish to raise a complaint should raise it with the provider or the commissioner of that service. If the complainant is unsatisfied with the response received, they can escalate their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman who will make a final decision. The Regulations do not describe a role for the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution or for mediation.
Patients can raise concerns directly with the General Medical Council (GMC) if the complaint relates to a doctor, including general practitioners, rather than the operation of a service such as the practice or another health care professional. The GMC’s online complaint form states which matters it can investigate.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how patients can appeal the outcome of complaints against GPs in England.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 governs the National Health Service complaints system. Under the Regulations, those who wish to raise a complaint should raise it with the provider or the commissioner of that service. If the complainant is unsatisfied with the response received, they can escalate their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman who will make a final decision. The Regulations do not describe a role for the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution or for mediation.
Patients can raise concerns directly with the General Medical Council (GMC) if the complaint relates to a doctor, including general practitioners, rather than the operation of a service such as the practice or another health care professional. The GMC’s online complaint form states which matters it can investigate.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 22 February (HL6027), how much was spent on the 24.1 billion items of Personal Protective Equipment where China is recorded as the country of origin.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Department estimates the total cost of the 24.1 billion items to be £10.9 billion.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many pieces of Personal Protective Equipment were procured from China since January 2020.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Department ordered 36.9 billion items of personal protective equipment, with 24.1 billion items where China is recorded as the country of origin.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government who is responsible for giving the COVID-19 booster vaccination to housebound patients; and what is their mechanism for delivery if their GPs have opted out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The National Health Service is responsible for providing COVID-19 booster vaccinations to housebound patients. If a general practitioner (GP) practice is signed up to the Enhanced Service for phase three of the vaccination programme, the practice will provide booster doses to housebound patients or make alternative arrangements. If a practice is not signed up to the Enhanced Service, they will request that the local clinical commissioning group make arrangements via another Primary Care Network (PCN) grouping or alternative provider.
Some patients may be able to attend a PCN designated site with assistance. Discussions should be held between the GP and the patient’s family and/or carer to facilitate this. For those patients who are unable to travel to a designated site, PCNs have established mobile or roving vaccination teams to deliver COVID-19 vaccines directly in an individual’s home.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether housebound patients are receiving COVID-19 vaccinations in the same timeframe as those who are able to visit vaccination centres in person; and, if not, what is the average delay.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The information is not held centrally in the format requested.