Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans NHS England has to ensure that speech and language therapists are identified as essential members of the multi-disciplinary teams in the Designated Long COVID clinics announced on 7 October 2020.
Answered by Lord Bethell
As part of the five point plan for ‘long’ COVID-19, NHS England made £10 million available to the National Health Service to establish post COVID-19 assessment clinics. The national specification for these services asks providers ensure patients have access to a multidisciplinary team of professionals to account for the multi-system nature of post COVID-19 syndrome. Where speech and language therapy are required, patients should be able to get the treatment they need.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (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 recommendation in the report by Children's Commissioner for England Still not safe: The public health response to youth violence, published on 6 February, for the levelling up of spending on speech and language therapy services around the country.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We recognise that early language development is a significant health inequalities issue. Improving the number of children having good speech, language and communication skills by five years old is a national priority. Public Health England, with the Department for Education, is working to ensure that speech, language and communication needs are identified early on. We are monitoring the effectiveness of local joint arrangements through inspections by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission. This will inform what further action is needed.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Bethell on 25 November (HL Deb, col 254), when they will answer the Written Question tabled by Baroness Whitaker on 21 October (HL9456), namely, what plans they have (1) to mark International Stammering Awareness Day on 22 October, and (2) to develop technology across the NHS which ensures equal access to specialist speech and language therapy for people who stammer.
Answered by Lord Bethell
I replied to the noble Baroness’s Question on 21 December 2020.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to mark International Stammering Awareness Day on 22 October, and (2) to develop technology across the NHS which ensures equal access to specialist speech and language therapy for people who stammer.
Answered by Lord Bethell
While there were no specific events to mark World Stammering Day on 22 October, we acknowledge the unique role that speech and language therapists play in the identification and assessment of children and adults with fluency disorders which affect their communication, including stammering. Their skills allow the diagnosis of specific fluency disorders, the associated consequences, as well as retained communication abilities.
NHS England provides assessment and treatment for children and adults with a stammer. There are different treatments available for stammering, depending on a person’s age and their circumstances. These include direct and indirect therapy, and other treatment options such as psychological therapies and the use of feedback devices which alter the way an individual hears their voice.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Bethell on 8 September (HL Deb, cols 662–5), what assessment they have made of the findings of the report by Friends, Families and Travellers, published on 21 August, that the suicide rate of people from the Gypsy and Traveller community is six to seven times higher than the rest of the population; why Gypsies and Travellers are not included on the list of high risk groups in their National Suicide Prevention Plan; and what plans they have to discuss measures to tackle the prevalence of suicide among Gypsy and Traveller communities with Baroness Whitaker and representatives of Friends, Families and Travellers.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We have not made a formal assessment. We continue to explore ways of improving the quality and timeliness of suicide data to allow both national and local partners to continue to monitor rates, identify trends and develop effective prevention plans.
We know that there are certain groups that may be exposed to more risk factors for suicide, and we expect local agencies to work together to ensure that their plans are tailored to meet the needs of these groups. These groups include people from minority ethnic groups, such as Romany Gypsies or Irish Travellers.
We will consider any request from the noble Baroness for such a discussion.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) reports that 58 per cent of Roma, and 43 per cent of Travellers, who have been tested for COVID-19 in Ireland have had a positive result, and (2), plans by the government of the Republic of Ireland to set up a mobile unit to test and treat marginalised groups in inner cities, with rapid delivery of test results; and whether they have any plans to set up similar facilities in the UK.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We are keen to learn from examples of best practice wherever they exist and the Department will continue to work with other countries throughout the crisis and beyond.
We are developing “prototypes” to pilot equal access to testing using existing local authority networks. The learning from these pilots will be disseminated to all local authorities in order to establish a national framework to support groups such as the Roma, Gypsy and Traveller communities.
We are also setting up a series of local testing sites to make testing easier to access for those without digital or vehicle access. 11 are operational as at 14 July 2020.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to set up a task force to address the risks to health faced by Gypsies and Travellers living in caravans in camps without amenities such as running water and sanitation during the COVID-19 pandemic, on the lines of the task force for rough sleepers.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We currently have no plans to set up such a task force.
We have been in close contact with Gypsy and Traveller voluntary and community sector organisations and are working hard to support these communities through the pandemic.
Ministers have written to councils and caravan and campsite owners about the particular needs of some Gypsy and Traveller communities at this time but it is our view that local authorities are best placed to determine how to support vulnerable groups, in line with their public health responsibilities.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the impact of COVID-19 on Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities; and whether these communities have been included in their assessments of the effects of the virus on BAME individuals.
Answered by Lord Bethell
There is emerging evidence of an association between ethnicity and COVID-19 incidence and adverse health outcomes. We are working hard to understand more about COVID-19 and establish robust data on the factors impacting the number of COVID-19 cases and health outcomes for different groups within the population.
As part of this, we have commissioned Public Health England to consider the impact of various factors such as ethnicity, obesity, age, gender and geographical location, where data is available.
The Minister of State for Home Affairs and Housing, Communities and Local Government (the noble Lord Greenhalgh) has written to councils outlining their responsibility to support all communities, including Gypsy and Traveller communities, and to ensure they have access to water, sanitation and waste collections. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Rough Sleeping and Housing (Luke Hall MP) has written to owners and managers of caravan sites making clear they should keep sites open to allow people to remain if they would otherwise have nowhere to live.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps have been taken to address concerns raised by the UN Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, that Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities are frequently refused registration at GP practices.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Registering with and access to primary medical care services is the same for all patients, whether they are gypsies, travellers, homeless or vulnerable migrants. People do not need to provide proof of address to register with a general practice (GP). NHS England is working with a range of community groups to redesign the patient registration leaflet so that people are aware of this when registering. The free NHS 111 service can assist anyone who has faced difficulty finding a GP or accessing other services in their local area.
NHS England is aware of difficulties some individuals have faced when trying to register with a GP and is taking steps to address shortcomings with individual practices, working in partnership with the voluntary sector.
The Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Health and Wellbeing Alliance is a partnership arrangement with the aim to facilitate integrated working between the voluntary and statutory sectors, to promote equality and reduce health inequalities. It receives £1.2 million for core work from the Department, with each member receiving funding of up to £60,000. Friends, Families and Travellers is a member of the Alliance and has supported the Department on a range of work to date including the Inclusion Health Audit Tool, on maternal health, mental health, end of life care and dementia.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which of the eight key recommendations they plan to implement from the final report by Leeds GATE, the University of Dundee and the University of York Enhancing Gypsy, Roma and Traveller peoples’ trust: using maternity and early years’ health services and dental health services as exemplars of mainstream service provision, published on 14 September 2018.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Department is currently considering the recommendations set out in the report Enhancing Gypsy, Roma and Traveller peoples’ trust: using maternity and early years’ health services and dental health services as exemplars of mainstream service provision to improve uptake of services and reduce inequalities.