Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) obese patients and (b) smokers have been denied routine operations in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Information on the number of obese patients and smokers considered unsuitable for operations is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GP practices have not been able to replace doctors who have retired in each of the last three years.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The information is not collected by the Department. The last GP Vacancy Survey in England was undertaken by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in 2010. The survey was suspended in 2011 and then discontinued in 2013 following the publication of the Fundamental Review of Data Returns, which aimed to reduce the burden of the collection of data from National Health Service organisations.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will include in the new NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles reduced fees for families of long-term hospital patients.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Department published new National Health Service patient, visitor and staff car parking principles on 23 August 2014. These principles, widely welcomed by a range of charities and organisations representing patients’ interests, made it clear that NHS trusts should provide concessions, including free or reduced charges or caps, to the following groups:
- people with disabilities;
- frequent outpatient attenders;
- visitors with relatives who are gravely ill;
- visitors to relatives who have an extended stay in hospital; and
- staff working shifts that mean public transport cannot be used.
Therefore, families of long-term hospital patients should be able to take advantage of the concessions for visitors to relatives who have an extended stay in hospital.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the devolved administrations about the availability of free diabetes tests.
Answered by Jane Ellison
There have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State and devolved administrations on the availability of free diabetes tests.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on sharing good practice concerning the treatment of people diagnosed with diabetes.
Answered by Jane Ellison
There have been no recent discussions between my Rt. hon Friend the Secretary of State and devolved administrations on sharing good practice concerning the treatment of people diagnosed with diabetes.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average cost is of treating a patient in (a) England and Wales and (b) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The average cost of treating a patient varies by setting. Health is a devolved matter in Wales and Northern Ireland, and the information is therefore not available in the format requested.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on Ebola screening at airports.
Answered by Jane Ellison
On 13 October 2014 we announced the decision to carry out entry screening for Ebola. This has now been implemented in Heathrow airport and will be expanded to Gatwick and Eurostar terminals this week and Manchester and Birmingham airport thereafter.
On 15 October 2014, there was a Four Nations Health Ministers meeting, with the devolved administrations, to discuss the United Kingdom response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which included discussion on issues such as entry screening for Ebola. Additionally, officials from the Department of Health have been in regular contact with their counterparts from the devolved administrations via weekly telecommunications, in which Ebola screening at airports has been discussed. The Department continues to share information and best practise with the devolved administrations.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has held with the devolved administrations on the standard of care provided for dementia patients across the UK.
Answered by Norman Lamb
A meeting of officials was held on 25 September 2014 to exchange information on current dementia care practice throughout the United Kingdom. The meeting was chaired by the National Clinical Director for Dementia for England, Professor Alistair Burns, with representatives present from the Department of Health, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for Northern Ireland. Future meetings are planned to take place every six months, with information exchanged on any key developments in between meetings.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the causes of trends in the number of abortions which were performed on women who had already had an abortion in the last 10 years.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Department has not made any such assessment in recent years, however, reproductive health charity, Marie Stopes UK, recently launched the findings of the first research (for Under 25s) in the United Kingdom into the contraceptive use of women aged 16-24 having one or more abortions.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2014, Official Report, column 611W, on abortion, what estimate he has made of the number of HSA4 forms returned to the terminating doctor pending completion as of June 2014.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Estimating the number of forms still pending completion as at June 2014 can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.