Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (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 report by the Commission on Human Medicines Public Assessment Report: Recommendations to support the effective and safe use of adrenaline auto-injectors, published on 11 November; and what steps they will take in response.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
This report was commissioned by the Commission of Human Medicines (CHM), which is an independent advisory group to Ministers. The report and suggested actions, endorsed by the CHM, was accepted by Ministers ahead of the implementation of its recommendations.
While some recommendations have already been implemented, others are underway including changes to product labelling and improvements in adverse event reporting. Other recommendations, such as the availability of adrenaline auto-injectors, will require legislative amendment preceded by public consultation, to ensure that stakeholders are engaged and prepared before deployment.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to introduce comprehensive diagnostic and outcome data collection on outpatient appointments within the NHS.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Detailed information is collected and published on diagnostic and outpatient appointments. These data sets include Hospital Episode Statistics, Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity, and Diagnostic Imaging Dataset.
We are working to improve the range of data we collect on diagnostic activity to support the delivery of the Sir Mike Richards Review, Diagnostics: Recovery and Renewal.
We are also working to improve outcome data collection for outpatient appointments, and from April 2022, a new facility will be available in outpatient data collection, which will report on the ‘latest Clinically Appropriate Date’ by which the patient should next be seen or reviewed.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (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 homeless people without access to GP services receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recognises that many people who are homeless or sleeping rough are likely to have underlying health conditions which would place them in priority group six. These conditions are likely to be under-diagnosed or not properly reflected in general practitioner (GP) records. The JCVI has advised that homeless people without access to GP services should be offered the vaccine without the need for a National Health Service number or GP registration.
There is work being undertaken to update our operational guidance on reaching rough sleepers and homeless people based on this recent JCVI advice. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government are working closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement to support outreach, and further work is being done to explore the availability of effective on-street models which could be used to support this work. Local teams are now prioritising all homeless people for vaccination alongside priority group six.