Folic Acid Fortification
Debate between Lord Evans of Rainow and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
The noble Lord raises a very important question. I asked about this, and it is my understanding that the labelling of imported flours will make it clear that folic acid is present.
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)
My Lords, will the Minister clarify a point raised by my noble friend Lord Blunkett? I agree with his views, of course, but I was slightly troubled by the use of the term “mass medication” in relation to this intervention. We already fortify flour with a number of things; this is in addition to that—or it will be if it goes forward. Is it right to classify it as medication? I rather suspect not.
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
The word “medication” was used in this case, but, as the noble Baroness says, it is a supplement that is going into flour, along with lots of other minerals and vitamins that go into flour and other products. I agree with the noble Baroness.
NHS Waiting Times: Long-Term Sickness Absence
Debate between Lord Evans of Rainow and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
I am sorry, but I do not have a specific answer to that precise question, so I will write to the noble Lord in detail. He raises an important point: obviously, being on the waiting list for a long time is not good from the point of view of pain and a general deterioration in health.
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)
My Lords, to take the noble Lord back to the question about GPs, clearly there is an extensive capacity issue with GP services across the country, but would the noble Lord not agree that there is also now a structural problem in the relationship between primary and secondary care? One of the impacts of this is that, partly for capacity and partly for structural reasons, GPs default to sending people to A&E, which builds up the pressure in hospitals. How are the Government looking at that relationship between primary and secondary care to see whether we can get back to something that looks a bit more like a joined-up system?
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
The noble Baroness raises an important point. One of the issues is best practice: some GP practices engage through social media and other electronic internet-based systems where you can book appointments, but, sadly, some others are still unable to do that. For example, in some, the only way you can get an appointment is by phoning between 8 am and 10 am and, if they are booked up, you have to wait until the following day—but they do not tell you that that is the only time you can call. So GP practices can clearly do more to interface with their patients. There are some outstanding examples, but, unfortunately, there is still a lot more to do on that.
Primary Care: Inequality
Debate between Lord Evans of Rainow and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
If the noble Baroness is talking about diversity and equality, the NHS has a fine record as an equal opportunities employer. On her invitation to inquire into the organisation she mentioned that is helping girls and women in her community, I am very happy to look into that.
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)
My Lords, I think the noble Lord did not quite answer the question from his noble friend on social prescribing. As I understand it, social prescribing is to do principally with non-pharmaceutical interventions which extend the reach of healthcare into areas that benefit, among other things, mental health. Will he have another go at answering it and see whether he can give us a slightly better account?
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
My Lords, I apologise to my noble friend for not answering her question fully and to the noble Baroness who asked it again. I am a big fan of social prescribing. If I could prescribe one thing to all Members of this House, it would be to take up parkrun, an excellent thing to do on a Saturday at 9 am in your local park. It is sponsored by the Co-op and its strapline is “Run, jog, walk, volunteer”. It is all-inclusive; everybody of any shape or size can turn up. That is a good example of social prescribing.
Secondary Metastatic Breast Cancer
Debate between Lord Evans of Rainow and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
I can reassure the noble Lord that I asked that exact question before I came to this Dispatch Box. Unfortunately, I cannot give a definition of spring; my personal view is that spring ends sort of at the end of June, but I hope to bring a work- force plan to noble Lords sooner rather than later.
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)
My Lords, perhaps I could assist the Minister. This morning he may have been listening to one of his colleagues, who told the “Today” programme that, in his view, the workforce plan would be published within the next couple of months. I think that is a slightly less precise answer than the one he has just given, for which no doubt the House is grateful. Of the very large numbers that the Minister has mentioned in the course of giving various answers on this Question, can he tell the House how much of the money he has mentioned is new money, and how much of it is simply being repurposed from the current NHS budget?
Eating Disorder Services: Men
Debate between Lord Evans of Rainow and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
I thank my noble friend for that excellent question. There are over 11,000 community pharmacies in England. All provide advice on healthy living; that is already part of their terms of service. People know and trust their local pharmacies, but people do not always know just what pharmacies are able to do and how skilled pharmacists are in diagnosing minor illnesses. Specifically on “pharmacy first”, we want to go further. We are exploring what more pharmacies could do, learning from the “pharmacy first” approach in Scotland, including enabling the supply of some prescription-only medicines without a prescription.
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)
My Lords, the focus of the Question, and of some of the Minister’s answers, has understandably been on young people; admittedly, eating disorders frequently start in early years but they are lifelong disorders. They can go away and then flare up again when adverse life events cause them to do so. Following on from my noble friend Lord Brooke’s question, can the Minister say what particular kinds of therapy the Government are planning to invest in—he spoke earlier about investment—and what research they have done into the efficacy of different therapies at different points in people’s lives?
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
I am most grateful to the noble Baroness for that excellent question. I do not want to mislead the House that this is all about young people. She is right: disorders start in early life but continue through adult life. The Government are taking steps to expand the number of practitioners who can deliver evidence-based psychological interventions intended to treat those with an eating disorder. This includes expanding the number of individual trainees and qualified practitioners who are competent to deliver cognitive behavioural therapy for eating disorders, as well as the Maudsley model of anorexia nervosa therapy in adults.