Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure the safe landing and dispatch of critical patients from the helipad located on Royal Sussex County Hospital tower block.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The structure of the helideck has been approved by the Civil Aviation Authority. It has the capacity to receive all the types of helicopter regularly used by the emergency services and the military in the area to transfer patients. The patient care and transfer model for the helideck has been approved by the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust’s clinical experts and by partner organisations, including the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance service. The helideck is scheduled to open in the autumn of 2023.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they anticipate the helipad located on top of the Royal Sussex County Hospital tower block will become operational.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The structure of the helideck has been approved by the Civil Aviation Authority. It has the capacity to receive all the types of helicopter regularly used by the emergency services and the military in the area to transfer patients. The patient care and transfer model for the helideck has been approved by the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust’s clinical experts and by partner organisations, including the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance service. The helideck is scheduled to open in the autumn of 2023.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government to set out the relevant background of each of the current office-holders of the key decision-making roles within their COVID-19 testing programme.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The following table shows the NHS Test and Trace Executive Committee. The committee is comprised of existing civil servants and the public and private sector.
Dido Harding | Executive Chair |
Gareth Williams | Chief Operating Officer |
Mark Hewlett | Testing Chief Operating Officer |
Steve McManus | Trace Divisional Director |
Carolyn Wilkins | Contain Divisional Director |
Clare Gardiner | Joint Biosecurity Council Director General |
Simon Bolton | Chief Information Officer |
Faran Johnson | Chief People Officer |
Donald Shepherd | Chief Financial Officer |
Ben Dyson | Director of Policy |
Susan Hopkins | Chief Medical Adviser |
Jacqui Rock | Chief Commercial Officer |
Ben Stimson | Chief Customer Officer |
Raghuv Bhasin | Chief of Staff |
Michael Brodie | Chief Executive, Public Health England |
Jonathan Marron | Director General Public Health, Department of Health and Social Care and NHS Test and Trace Senior Sponsor |
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell (HL5829) on 21 October, what is the cost of sending 150,000 tests under the Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission (REACT-1) to German laboratories; what impact did the additional time taken to process these tests in Germany have on NHS test and trace services; which company or companies process the tests in Germany; whether the contract procurement process for the company or companies in Germany was completed in accordance with Cabinet Office rules and guidance; and what assessment they have made of the impact of any future trade deal with the EU on their ability to procure laboratory services in Germany.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The cost of sending tests to German laboratories as part of the REACT-1 study is variable subject to the volume of tests being completed per round. The testing process for this study has been expedient with it playing a vital role in supporting NHS Test and Trace with important surveillance information.
The tests for REACT-1 are processed in Germany by Eurofins Biomnis whose services have been procured in accordance with relevant legislation and guidance. The impact of using laboratory services within the European Union has been and continues to be considered. No undue impact has been identified of any future trade deal on the future of the REACT-1 study.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of (1) syringes, (2) vials, and (3) other medical equipment required for a national COVID-19 vaccination programme they have (a) purchased, and (b) ordered.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Purchase orders have been raised for all required medical equipment to support a vaccination programme and further orders have been made to support the ongoing deployment. NHS England have published the Supply Service Inventory List online.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many staff from (1) Deloitte, (2) the Boston Consulting Group, and (3) McKinsey, are currently employed within their COVID-19 testing system; and what experience in laboratory-based testing is required in order to be eligible for those roles.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The information requested is as follows:
Deloitte - 1,127
Boston Consulting Group - 27
McKinsey - 24
Consultants are not working in roles which require medical expertise such as laboratories or hospitals.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what contingency plans they have made to alter a COVID-19 vaccination schedule if a booster dose is required.
Answered by Lord Bethell
A COVID-19 vaccine will only be deployed once it has met robust standards on safety, efficacy and quality through clinical trials and approved for use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The Government has asked the National Health Service to be ready to deploy any safe and effective vaccines when available. All plans for deployment remain flexible as there are no certainties in the development, production, formulation and timing of any new vaccines. Information on vaccine characteristics, including potential requirements for a booster dose, is being factored into programme deployment planning.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell (HL5829) on 21 October, what was the cost of using laboratory facilities in the USA for processing the 66,648 tests; which company or companies were used in sending those tests to the USA; what percentage of tests processed in the USA yielded usable data; and what impact the additional time in sending tests to the USA had on NHS test and trace services.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 20 July (HL5350), how many COVID-19 tests have been sent by post and subsequently returned to laboratories, for each day since the scheme began; and how many of the tests sent by post have been discounted because swabbed material was not collected correctly.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The information is not collected in the format requested.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what infrastructure they have place to ensure RNA-based COVID-19 vaccines could remain frozen throughout the supply chain.
Answered by Lord Bethell
National preparations for storage of COVID-19 vaccines at the required temperatures are being made by Public Health England to support a national COVID-19 vaccination programme. This includes both the central storage of vaccines and distribution capability across the United Kingdom to the National Health Service. The Vaccine Task Force has also conducted supply chain risk assessments and it is working with potential vaccine suppliers to understand the optimal logistics and timings. Plans are tailored by vaccine as the storage requirements are based on different requirements of the individual vaccine and will cover a wide range of timescales.