Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of clinical commissioning groups have added pulse checks to existing GP and pharmacy enhanced services for people over 65.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
This information is not held by the Department or NHS England, as general practitioner (GP) and pharmacy contracts do not mandate pulse checks as part of the existing GP and pharmacy enhanced services for people over 65.
However, in England all local authorities are required to offer the NHS Health Check programme, with the large majority commissioning general practice to provide them on their behalf. Between 2014 and 2018 more than 15 million people aged 40-74 will be eligible for an NHS Health Check. The programme’s best practice guidance recommends that a pulse check is carried out as part of the process of taking a blood pressure reading, and those individuals who are found to have an irregular pulse rhythm should be referred for further investigation.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the advice by Professors Stanley, Lawler, Graham, and others, to extend HPV vaccinations to boys to curb the spread of throat and other cancers.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the expert committee that advises Ministers on immunisation related issues, is currently in the process of considering the impact and cost-effectiveness of extending the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination to adolescent boys. This includes assessing all the necessary evidence and information on the potential impact of a boys vaccination programme on non-cervical cancers caused by HPV.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether x-ray equipment bought for a hospital trust by local fundraising efforts belongs to that trust or to NHS Property Services.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
On the abolition of primary care trusts in April 2013, former primary care trust land, buildings and related contracts transferred either to NHS Property Services or to National Health Service trusts, depending on the details of the individual transfer schemes. Clinical equipment was not generally transferred to NHS Property Services.
Equipment donated after April 2013 directly to individual NHS hospital trusts and x-ray equipment bought for a trust by local fundraising efforts would belong to the NHS trust unless it has been specifically transferred to NHS Property Services under the terms of a particular transfer scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether total Accident and Emergency (A&E) waiting times are calculated, for the purposes of reporting, from the time the ambulance arrives at A&E or from the time the patient enters the A&E Department.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Accident and emergency (A&E) waiting times for patients who arrive by ambulance start either when the ambulance crew hand over the patient to the A&E department, or 15 minutes after the ambulance registers its arrival at A&E, whichever is earlier.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many organ donors are registered in each local authority and Parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Providing the complete information on the number of people who have joined the NHS Organ Donor Register by local authority and Parliamentary constituency in the main body of this reply would exceed the word limit for responses to written parliamentary questions. The information is therefore in the attached table.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have assessed the amount of infection brought into hospitals by staff uniforms worn outside.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department first published Uniforms and Work wear: An evidence base for developing local policy in 2007, with an update to this guidance published in March 2010. A copy of this document is attached.
The guidance was informed by two extensive literature reviews conducted by Thames Valley University and by practical research on washing uniform fabrics carried out at University College Hospital. Whilst there is a theoretical risk, this work supported the conclusion that there was no evidence that uniforms and workwear played a direct role in spreading infection.
Nonetheless, the clothes that staff wear should facilitate good practice and minimise any risk to patients. Public attitudes and perceptions indicate that it is good practice for staff either to change at work or to cover their uniforms as they travel to and from work. Changing into and out of uniforms at work is included as a good practice example in the guidance.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to make the Meningitis B vaccine available on the NHS to children born before 1 May 2015.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the independent expert body that advises ministers on immunisation matters, recommended a meningococcal B (MenB) immunisation programme that will protect infants because they are at highest risk, with the peak incidence of MenB being in infants at about five months of age. The MenB vaccine is offered to babies at two months of age, with further doses offered when they reach four and 12 months of age.
The JCVI keeps the eligibility criteria of all vaccination programmes under review and considers new evidence as it becomes available. If the JCVI provides further advice about the programme, we will consider this.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assurances the Department of Health has received that neurology services will not be disadvantaged in comparison to other condition areas by the absence of national clinical leadership for neurology services, in the light of NHS England’s decision not to renew the role of National Clinical Director for adult neurology.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s Medical Director, has undertaken a review of the National Clinical Director (NCD) resource designed to focus clinical advisory resources on areas where major programmes of work are currently being taking forward, or areas identified as priorities for improvement. As a result of the review, NHS England has proposed to change the way in which clinical advice is received in speciality areas in the future.
Where there will no longer be a specific NCD role, NHS England will secure expert clinical advice from its Clinical Networks and through its relationships with professional bodies and by appointing clinical advisors. For neurology it is planned that access to advice will be through clinical leads and members of the NHS England-funded neurology clinical networks, the Neurology Clinical Reference Group and Royal Colleges. It is expected that these new arrangements will be in place from 1 April 2016.
The Neurology Intelligence Network (NIN) is a joint partnership programme between Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England to support the generation and dissemination of neurology related health intelligence. PHE currently funds the on-going design, development and management of the NIN.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will inform local authorities how much their public health budgets will be in 2016–17 and 2017–18, and why that information has not yet been provided.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Local authorities’ public health allocations for 2016-17 and indicative allocations for 2017-18 were published on 11 February 2016. Allocations are set out in the attached document.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the timetable for implementing the comprehensive legislative reform of health professional regulation to which they have committed.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
This Government is grateful for the work of the Law Commissions of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in reviewing the regulation of health and (in England) social care professionals.
The Law Commissions made 125 recommendations to reform the existing complex and burdensome regulatory system. The joint four United Kingdom country response to the Law Commissions was published on 29 January 2015 which accepted wholly or in part the vast majority of its recommendations. A copy of the response is attached.
The Department is currently reviewing how best to take forward the work of the Law Commissions. We hope to be able to provide an update on this work soon.