Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (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 Non-Sterile Disposable Glove Use Fundamentals online courses; and what plans they have to make that course a component of NHS staff training.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. Individual employers are responsible for determining the appropriate mandatory training for staff to meet the required standards for patient care set by regulatory bodies.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (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 Kamall on 11 July (HL1645), what steps they are taking to raise awareness of heart failure, particularly among those most at risk.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is addressing the factors which increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke, including working with local government to modernise the NHS Health Check programme and delivering social marketing and behavioural interventions.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (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 Kamall on 11 July (HL1644), what steps they are taking to roll out the ‘Managing Heart Failure @home’ scheme across the NHS following its successful pilot in July.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is selecting early adopter sites to trial a ‘Managing Heart Failure@home’ approach and is working with clinical cardiac networks on local plans for systems to support patients with managing heart failure and raising awareness.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in response to the imminent industrial action by NHS workers; and what estimate they have made of the impact this will have on the current elective (1) medicine, and (2) surgery, waiting lists in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is working with NHS England on the operational planning and assurance in the event of any industrial action and with NHS Employers on national discussions with trade unions and to support employers locally. Employers and trade unions will discuss local derogations to identify which services are exempt from strike action in order to protect patient safety.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage pharmaceutical companies, in particular Sanofi, to (1) licence, and (2) register, new medications for tuberculosis in England, in particular Rifapentine.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Suppliers, such as Sanofi, will determine whether to apply for a marketing authorisation for a new medicine from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). For an authorisation to be granted for a medicine, the MHRA must receive a full marketing application from the applicant.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the shortage of tuberculosis medication, in particular for the most vulnerable.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is aware that one supplier of rifampicin 300 milligram capsules is currently out of stock, although re-supply is expected in mid-November 2022. However, these capsules remain available from alternative suppliers. We are aware of manufacturing delays which have affected the supply of a limited number of tuberculosis medicines, which have now been resolved. Alternative products have remained available during this time.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that healthcare providers administering COVID-19 vaccines have access to the full portfolio of vaccines purchased by the Government and available in the UK.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the United Kingdom, the COVID-19 vaccines currently in use have been authorised by the independent regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority. The majority of people will be offered a vaccine manufactured by Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna. However, for those clinically intolerant to these MRNA vaccines, the Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Novavax is also available. All vaccination centres order supplies according to anticipated requirements. NHS England has asked regional teams to nominate sites in England to administer the Nuvaxovid vaccine.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the (1) process, and (2) timeline, for the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to issue advice for use of newly MHRA-approved vaccines.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following the authorisation of a vaccine by Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) can consider its use in an immunisation programme, following an official request from the Department or independently with an intent to review a possible improvement to public health.
The timetable for such consideration is dependent on factors including the current burden of disease to the population, whether an effective vaccine is already available and the amount of evidence available at the time. In order to issue evidence-based advice on the use of a particular vaccine, data on disease epidemiology, vaccine safety and efficacy will be required. Additional analysis including modelling or cost-effectiveness may also be necessary. The vaccine will either be discussed in an forthcoming scheduled meeting or in the case of a public health emergency, an extraordinary meeting may be arranged. These meetings may result in new or updated advice being issued by the JCVI and provided to the Government to inform, develop and make policy.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of efforts by the government of Australia to recruit (1) doctors, and (2) nurses, from the UK; and what steps they will take to improve staff retention in the NHS.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made. The NHS Retention Programme seeks to understand why staff may leave, resulting in targeted interventions to support staff to stay whilst keeping them well. Guidance on retention for National Health Service employers has been updated.
Asked by: Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to make it easier to employ personal carers from abroad.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
In February 2022, the Government amended immigration rules which allows domiciliary and care home workers to be recruited from overseas. Under current visa rules, overseas recruits are required to work for a registered sponsor. The sponsorship system ensures employers fulfil specific duties to confirm those who apply for permission to enter or stay in the United Kingdom to work are eligible and will comply with the conditions of their visa. Businesses are able to comply with these duties and demonstrate a verifiable track record of operating lawfully in the UK in a way private individuals and households cannot, both within the immigration system and the employer regulatory regime.
This ensures the integrity of the immigration system and provides important welfare safeguards for workers who migrate to the UK and individuals requiring care. There are no current plans to change this approach.