Nursing and Midwifery

Debate between Lord Bishop of Carlisle and Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford

Thursday 30th January 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford]

We are of course conscious that we need to support midwives, especially as we look to raise standards in midwifery. Specific plans are being developed by the Chief Nursing Officer, Ruth May, which will ensure that all parts of the nursing profession, including midwives, will be focused on. These will be brought forward shortly.

[The Lord Bishop of Carlisle]

My Lords, given Florence Nightingale’s genius for exploring and combining very disparate fields of study and practice, including the worlds of healthcare and faith, will Her Majesty’s Government and the Minister join me in commending the work of parish nurses, who now bring health and healing to more than 100 communities around the country, complementing the work of both the NHS and social care agencies?

[Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford]

I absolutely agree with the right reverend Prelate on this issue. He will know that the long-term plan is committed to supporting and developing community care. Parish nurses are a key part of that, but so is the development of social prescribing, which we have committed to rolling out. I know that parish nurses work hand in hand with this programme, so I am pleased to agree with the points that the right reverend Prelate has made. We will also want to think carefully about how we can support the work that he is doing.

Asthma

Debate between Lord Bishop of Carlisle and Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford

Wednesday 3rd July 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford]

The noble Lord is asking me to step in and comment on matters that are slightly outside my brief. However, I am pleased that we have brought in the clean air strategy, which is a significant step forward. He is also asking me to commit the Mayor of London rather than leadership candidates to a policy area. We do need to move further and faster on air pollution; that is what I expect to see in the prevention Green Paper which will be published shortly.

[The Lord Bishop of Carlisle]

My Lords, given the recent report of an upsurge in acute asthma attacks among schoolchildren at the start of each school year, and given that—as we have already heard—there are three deaths per day from asthma in the UK, many of them preventable, what plans do Her Majesty’s Government have for encouraging better health education regarding the seriousness of this disease?

[Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford]

As ever, the right reverend Prelate is insightful on this matter. Children going into school with identified respiratory illnesses should have care plans to assist the school in caring for them. Asthma UK has indicated that many children are slipping through the net and remaining on long-term oral steroids in primary care. This results in repeated trips to A&E with no referral to specialist centres. We are working with NHS Improvement and others to ensure that we support them with training in the use of medication and improving the use of smart inhalers, which can track the management of their care and reduce referrals to secondary care.

Lung Health

Debate between Lord Bishop of Carlisle and Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford

Monday 1st July 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford]

The noble Baroness is quite right: COPD is the second most common lung disease in the UK. It is disturbing that around a third of people, in their first hospital admission for COPD, had not been previously diagnosed. NHS RightCare is developing a COPD pathway, which is being rolled out nationally through clinical commissioning groups, to identify the core components of an optimal service for people with COPD to ensure earlier diagnosis and better management, so that they do not experience the concerns that she has identified.

[The Lord Bishop of Carlisle]

My Lords, further to the Minister’s helpful comments about air quality, can she tell us to what extent Her Majesty’s Government are monitoring the existence of microparticles of plastic in the air, especially in our cities, and the impact they are having on lung health?

[Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford]

The right reverend Prelate raises an extremely important point on air health. While we have long-term commitments in the clean air strategy, and the other measures that have been put forward in the Green Paper and net-zero commitments, NICE has published guidance on the effect of air pollution on people with chronic respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. We also have the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, which advises the Government on many matters, including those the right reverend Prelate raised.

NHS Long-term Plan

Debate between Lord Bishop of Carlisle and Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford

Monday 1st July 2019 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of Carlisle]

My Lords, as a former member of the Long-Term Sustainability of the NHS Committee, I welcome the long-term plan and the Government’s response to it. I am especially glad that mental health issues will achieve financial parity with physical health issues. Does the Minister agree that research into and attention to the causes of these ever-increasing issues is as important as more spending on their treatment?

[Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford]

As ever, the right reverend Prelate is insightful in his question. He is right that although we have made a lot of progress in improving services, we were coming from a low base. One of the challenges is not understanding why there is such an increase in the challenges we face. This is why the NIHR has dramatically increased the amount of funding it provides to mental health research, and why other important organisations, such as the Wellcome Trust, are prioritising mental health research as a matter of urgency.