Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the letters from NHS England and NHS Improvement to GP practices dated 17 March 2020 and 4 August 2020, when additional costs related to COVID-19 borne by dispensing GPs will be reimbursed.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Dispensing practices continue to be reimbursed for additional costs related to COVID-19 in the same way as non-dispensing practices. At the beginning of the pandemic the COVID-19 support fund for general practice (GP) reimbursed practices for additional expenditure they incurred for absence cover, bank holiday opening and the costs of some consumables. A further £270 million has been made available from November 2020 until September 2021, allocated to systems and ring-fenced exclusively for use in GP to ensure practices can continue to provide the necessary care for all patients.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the operation of the NHS COVID-19 app.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The NHS COVID-19 app is kept under close review and is continually being refined and enhanced to ensure it can continue to break chains of transmission. Research from academics and bodies such as The Alan Turing Institute and The University of Oxford have shown that the app continues to work effectively, and user research and feedback are continually considered and incorporated into app releases. Constant evaluation is conducted to ensure the app can continue to support present and future requirements.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure patients in rural areas receive the COVID-19 vaccination in a timely manner; whether any such steps take into account the (1) isolation of such patients, and (2) the distances such patients have to travel to medical facilities.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Currently, in England, more than 98% of the population is within 10 miles of a vaccine service. In a small number of highly rural areas, the vaccination centre will be a mobile unit. The mobile model helps more remote rural communities, particularly those where public transport is limited.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what treatments are available on the NHS in England which help to prevent those with ostopenia contracting osteoporosis; and whether those with ostopenia are kept under regular review to assess the risk of developing osteoporosis.
Answered by Lord Bethell
People with osteopenia will not necessarily go on to develop osteoporosis. In those found to have a bone density within an osteopenic range, preventative lifestyle measures, such as healthy eating, exercise and taking vitamin D supplements, are recommended to protect against developing osteoporosis.
Clinicians may wish to monitor patients found to have a bone density within an osteopenic range, depending on what risk factors they have for osteoporosis or fragility fracture.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to work with dispensing doctors for the administration of COVID-19 vaccines to patients in rural areas.
Answered by Lord Bethell
General practices, including dispensing practices, form just one part of the plan for delivering COVID-19 vaccination and will operate as part of a system of providers, ensuring the best possible coverage of the UK population. Each Primary Care Network grouping is required to work with their local regional team to understand the current healthcare provision for vulnerable groups. Where there are gaps in provision, NHS England will commission additional providers, such as community pharmacy, hospital hubs, and mass vaccination centres, to provide COVID-19 vaccinations. The first community pharmacy sites and mass vaccination centres opened the week commencing 11 January 2021.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (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 potential reliance on paracetamol in alleviating possible side effects of the COVID-19 vaccination; what plans they have to ensure that patients in rural areas can access such medication where there is no community pharmacy in place; and whether rural dispensing practices will be permitted to sell sufficient quantities of such medication.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Assessments on the potential reliance on medication in alleviating possible side effects of the COVID-19 vaccination are not finalised as we do not yet know the full characteristics, including side effects, of any of the vaccines in development. All plans for deployment remain flexible as there are no certainties in the development, production, formulation and timing of any new vaccines.
Detailed planning is underway building on the National Health Service’s expertise to deliver immunisation programmes, such as the flu vaccination programme. Planning considerations, includes the supporting infrastructure required, including warehousing, transport, logistics for transport across the nation and end-destination ‘clinic’ storage.
Medication such as paracetamol can also be purchased from supermarkets and other retail outlets, as a ‘general sales’ medicine. Paracetamol can also be purchased online, including in a larger quantity from an online pharmacy.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - 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 the COVID-19 vaccination will be available in those rural areas which are less easily accessible and with higher population sparsity.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The National Health Service has a tried and tested track record for delivering vaccination programmes and will work with existing partners across the healthcare system to ensure a COVID-19 vaccine can be deployed safely and effectively. Detailed planning is underway building on the NHS’s expertise delivering immunisation programmes including the flu vaccination programme. Planning considerations include the size and make-up of the workforce needed to deliver a potentially extensive vaccination programme at pace, training requirements, guidance, consumables and other equipment. They also include the supporting infrastructure required, including warehousing, transport, logistics for transport across the nation and end-destination ‘clinic’ storage.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (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 future importance of dispensing practices in administering COVID-19 vaccinations in rural areas with poor transport links and connectivity.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The National Health Service has a tried and tested track record for delivering vaccination programmes and will work with existing partners across the healthcare system, including general practices, to ensure a COVID-19 vaccine can be deployed safely and effectively. Detailed planning is underway building on the NHS’s expertise to deliver immunisation programmes, such as the flu vaccination programme. Planning considerations, includes the supporting infrastructure required, including warehousing, transport, logistics for transport across the nation and end-destination ‘clinic’ storage.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - 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 remaining influenza vaccines are delivered to GP practices and administered for those over the age of 50 in advance of the COVID-19 vaccine being made available.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The flu vaccine programme is currently underway, with priority given to those who are most at risk from the effects of flu, and frontline health and social care workers. We have announced that we will be extending the programme to those aged 50-64 from 1 December.
The Department has procured additional doses of seasonal flu vaccine to ensure more flu vaccines are available this winter. General practitioners who have exhausted their own supply are now able to order from this central stock.
Overall, there is sufficient vaccine for more than 30 million people to be vaccinated in England this winter.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the British Medical Association about the capacity to deliver seasonal flu jabs to all people aged over 50 in the autumn. [T]
Answered by Lord Bethell
NHS England and NHS Improvement have had discussions with the British Medical Association, and other representative bodies to discuss delivery of the expanded flu programme.
In addition to developing the existing system of providing vaccinations through general practice, community pharmacies, schools, community and other National Health Service settings to reach new cohorts and increase uptake in existing cohorts; new models of delivery have been shared with regional commissioning teams to encourage innovative thinking to deliver the programme this winter.