Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why Fampridine is being banned for new patients but is permitted to continue being prescribed for existing patients.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service in England on best practice. NICE evaluated the clinical and cost effectiveness of fampridine for use in the management of multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2014 but was unable to recommend it for routine use. NICE is currently updating its clinical guideline on MS and recently consulted on draft guidance. However, it was unable to recommend fampridine to treat mobility problems in people with MS. The independent guideline committee acknowledged that while it is a clinically effective treatment for some patients, at its current price it is not cost effective for the NHS.
NICE will carefully consider comments from stakeholders in finalising its recommendations. It is for local NHS commissioners to make funding decisions on the use of fampridine taking account of NICE’s guidance. The availability of treatments in Scotland and Wales is a matter for the devolved administrations.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (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 risk to hospital patients of catching the Omicron variant of COVID-19 from unvaccinated hospital staff; what estimate they have made, if any, of how many patients (1) may catch Omicron this way, and (2) may die as a result; and what plans they have, if any, to put in place processes by which unvaccinated staff may be subject to criminal liability for infecting patients with COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Kamall
We are still in the early stages of understanding the impact of the Omicron variant on vaccine efficacy, where evidence is limited. NHS England and NHS Improvement do not hold data of how many patients have acquired COVID-19, including the Omicron variant, whilst in hospital or how they became infected.
NHS England and NHS Improvement work with National Health Service trusts to ensure hospitals are implementing robust COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures in all areas to prevent the transmission of the virus. This includes physical distancing, optimal hand hygiene, equipment and environment decontamination and extended use of face masks by healthcare staff, patients and visitors, which is continually reviewed.
We have no plans to put in place processes by which unvaccinated staff may be subject to criminal liability for infecting patients with COVID-19. Organisations are responsible for ensuring safe systems of work, including managing the risk associated with infectious agents through the completion of risk assessments approved through local governance procedures. National guidance outlines the recommended principles to support local decision making within individual organisations. The vaccination programme has significantly weakened the link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths and will continue to be our first line of defence against COVID-19. We encourage those who are eligible for a booster vaccination, including NHS staff, to ensure they have this vital extra protection.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to bring forward proposals to dismiss all NHS staff who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to 1 January 2022.
Answered by Lord Kamall
In light of the concerns raised by stakeholders about the potential impacts of these measures on workforce pressures and the pressures on services, particularly over winter, the Government has made the decision to include a grace period of 12 weeks in regulations. This grace period will mean an enforcement date of 1 April 2022, crucially avoiding the winter period and helping to minimise workforce pressures.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of increases in the number of patients needing surgery following incidents involving e-scooters.
Answered by Lord Kamall
No such assessment has been made as this data is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to bring forward the date for requiring all NHS staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19; and, in particular, to dismiss any staff who have had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated but have declined to do so by 25 December.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) (No.2) Regulations 2021 provide for a twelve-week grace period including the time needed for currently unvaccinated workers to receive a complete primary course of vaccine. There are no plans to change this date. We encourage all health and social care workers to receive the vaccine to protect the people they care for, themselves and their colleagues.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Kamall on 19 October 2021 (HL2901 and HL2902), what plans they have to issue instructions to NHS trusts that women who request accommodation in single-sex wards should not be described or categorised as transphobic; and whether they intend to collect the information specified in relation to NHS trusts which have directed accusations of transphobia to patients.
Answered by Lord Kamall
NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently reviewing guidance to ensure that it remains focused on privacy and dignity for all patients. The content of this guidance will be determined through consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. The Department has no plans to collect information on National Health Service trusts that have allegedly accused women who request accommodation in single-sex wards of transphobia.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure non-frontline NHS staff who are not subject to mandatory vaccination requirements do not present a COVID-19 infection risk in areas of healthcare settings where patients are present; and which NHS occupations which are deemed to be 'non-frontline' and thus not subject to mandatory vaccination requirements.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The vaccination requirements apply if a worker has direct face to face contact with service users as part of the provision of a regulated activity. This is not dependent on occupation. Existing measures, communications and guidance for all employees on how to mitigate the risk of transmission in the workplace will continue alongside the regulatory requirements.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many GPs are currently working for (1) three or fewer days per week, (2) four days per week, and (3) five days per week; and what is the average salary for each of these categories.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The data on General Practitioners (GPs) working hours broken down by number of days worked per week is not collected.
Data on the full-time equivalent work commitments of GPs, broken down into working hours bands, are shown in the following table:
Headcount of qualified permanent GPs (excludes GPs in training grade and locums) by work commitment in England, September 2021 1,2, 3
Working commitment | Number (headcount) |
Working less than or equal to 15 hours per week ( | 2,879 |
Working greater than 15 hours to less than 37.5 hours per week (>0.4 to | 24,016 |
Working 37.5 hours and over per week (>= 1 FTE) | 8,447 |
Data on the average salaries of GPs broken down by days worked per week or weekly hours bands is not collected.
Notes
1 Headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components, due in part to individuals working across multiple roles and areas. Further information on the headcount methodology is available in the Data Quality statement.
2 Figures shown do not include staff working in Prisons, Army Bases, Educational Establishments, Specialist Care Centres including Drug Rehabilitation Centres, Walk-In Centres and other alternative settings outside of traditional general practice such as urgent treatment centres and minor injury units.
3 This is the third release to be based on the monthly collection of general practice workforce information. Following stakeholder feedback and the move to monthly publications we are reviewing the implementation of methodological changes introduced in the June 2021 publication. See the Methodology Review publication page of this release for more information. Until this review is complete, all published figures remain provisional and we will not be presenting a time series. Therefore, only statistics relating to September 2021 are included in this release. The time series will be reinstated once the review has been concluded and a methodology agreed.
This table shows the headcount numbers of staff by their work commitment, where 37.5 hours a week = 1 FTE
Data as at the last day of the applicable month
Source: NHS Digital
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the latest figures for NHS staff who have refused to have COVID-19 vaccinations.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The data requested is currently not collected centrally.
NHS England publishes the number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered to NHS Trust Health Care Workers in the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This covers all directly employed staff in NHS Trusts, but does not include data on agency staff and others that are not paid through ESR. This data is published weekly, with a percentage breakdown provided monthly. As of the latest data published data on 14 October, 92.4% of NHS Trust Health Care Workers in the NHS ESR had received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, whilst 89% had received their second dose. All primary schedules of currently deployed vaccines comprise two doses.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what statistics are available on the number of male patients identifying as female who have been placed on female-only NHS hospital wards, including in mental health facilities, and (2) how many assaults on female patients there have been by male patients identifying as female.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The information requested is not collected centrally. Any patient, irrespective of their gender, who has a history of violence or sex offences and may pose a risk to others should be risk assessed and any relevant action taken to ensure the safety of others.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have not received any information relating to these reports. All patients should be treated with respect and dignity, in accordance with the values of the National Health Service.