Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (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 effect of air quality on the exacerbation of COVID-19 symptoms.
Answered by Lord Bethell
There is no clear evidence yet to suggest that air pollution has a direct link to the spread or severity of COVID-19.
Public Health England and other Government departments are reviewing and considering factors such as air pollution which may influence the health impact of COVID-19. This includes assessing whether there is any evidence of an association between exposure of particulates and COVID-19 mortality in the United Kingdom. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ independent Air Quality Expert Group has launched a call for evidence to assess the impact of the pandemic on air quality issues.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many staff currently working in the NHS are in England on a family reunion visa that is due to expire before 1 October 2020.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Information on the number of staff currently working in the National Health Service on a family reunion visa that is due to expire before 1 October 2020 is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they have put in place to provide additional (1) monitoring, and (2) reporting, of anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide, and other mental illnesses, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Public Health England has instigated processes with the aim of providing near to real time information about changes to the population’s mental health and wellbeing during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. These processes will identify, gather and analyse available sources of real time (or near to real time) data about population mental health and wellbeing and will bring together, in one place, information on anxiety, depression, loneliness, stress, self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
There is currently no national real-time suspected suicide surveillance system - although some local areas have developed such systems. Public Health England is considering how variation in the number and nature of deaths by suspected suicide in the population might be assessed during and beyond the COVID-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (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 shortage of the drug Chloroquine.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department is working closely with industry, the National Health Service and others in the supply chain to help ensure patients can access the medicines they need, including chloroquine, and precautions are in place to reduce the likelihood of future shortages.
Chloroquine is not currently licensed to treat COVID-19 related symptoms or prevent infection. Clinical trials are being established to test chloroquine as an agent in the treatment of COVID-19. Supplies of chloroquine for patients that are using this medicine for its licensed indications can be accessed through usual routes. The company has experienced a significant increase in demand recently, so are working with their wholesalers to manage orders and are working hard to make further stocks available. In addition, there is an export ban in place to protect United Kingdom stocks of chloroquine that are intended for UK patients.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure medical supply lines are not compromised.
Answered by Lord Bethell
As part of our concerted national efforts to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, we are doing everything we can to ensure patients and health and social care workers continue to access the appropriate medicines and medical supplies.
The Department is working closely with industry, the National Health Service and others in the supply chain to help ensure patients and health and social care workers can access the medical supplies they need, and precautions are in place to reduce the likelihood of future shortages.
The Department shares regular information about impending supply issues and management plans with the NHS and industry and will liaise with relevant patient groups about issues affecting specific medicines and other medical supplies.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (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 impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on (1) the prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in those patients who contract bacterial pneumonia, and (2) the spread of such bacteria in hospitals.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Public Health England (PHE) regularly reports on healthcare-associated infections and resistance to key antibiotics, which can be viewed online on the antimicrobial resistance Fingertips webpage. PHE will track the impact of COVID-19 on these infections using these established surveillance data systems.
Analysis looking at bacterial species which commonly cause pneumonia following flu showed a reduction in overall bacterial reports with antibiotic resistance remaining relatively stable, as the COVID-19 incident developed. PHE will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of complications experienced by patients with COVID-19 who have lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Answered by Lord Bethell
People with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are at very high risk of severe illness as a result of COVID-19.
From 21 March, letters are being sent out from general practitioners to the 1.5 million patients with pre-existing health conditions which put them most at-risk from serious complications from COVID-19.
People who are extremely vulnerable will be advised to stay at home at all times and avoid any face-to-face contact for a period of at least 12 weeks from the day they receive their letter.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (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 use of plasma transfusions from survivors of COVID-19 to patients in a critical condition.
Answered by Lord Bethell
There is emerging evidence from China of some effectiveness of using convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19. The Department and NHS Blood and Transplant are aware that research protocols are being developed to assess the possibility of using convalescent plasma from United Kingdom donors to determine its efficacy for treating COVID-19.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are providing for (1) vaccine research, and (2) the development of cheaper versions of existing vaccines.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including the development of cheaper vaccines. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.
The NIHR and the Medical Research Council both have a wide portfolio of research activity in vaccines which cover clinical trials for new vaccines, new technologies, ways of improving uptake and cost effectiveness.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is an expert advisory group which advises United Kingdom health departments on immunisation. When recommending vaccines, they are required to show that cost-effectiveness criteria are met. This helps to keep vaccine prices down.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of work being undertaken to create synthetic cells.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
In 2014 the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) provided £1,213,385 in funding for a research study on creating synthetic cells to support cancer treatments. This is due to conclude in 2018. Additionally, in 2017/18 the NIHR provided £406,071 in clinical research support for 26 studies on the creation or use of synthetic cells in areas such as cancer, dementia and neurodegeneration, paediatrics, diabetes, hepatology, musculoskeletal disorders, ophthalmology and reproductive health.
Synthetic biology is also an area of strategic interest for UK Research and Innovation, through the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The MRC has invested £9.5 million, from April 2017 to March 2022, into two programmes at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. These focus on the incorporation of a range of different amino acids into proteins for novel applications.
The BBSRC and EPSRC have in part funded the Synthetic Yeast genomes (Sc2.0) project collaboration between the University of Edinburgh and Imperial College London, as well as a project at the University of Bristol which is working to create a minimal version of a cell (protocell).