Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 3 January (HL1166), whether they are encouraging the fluoridation of drinking water supplies, given that the report cited in the Answer Water Fluoridation: Health Monitoring Report for England 2022 noted that there was contradictory evidence relating to adverse neurodevelopmental effects in children.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Health and Care Act 2022 transferred responsibility for water fluoridation from local authorities to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. This was to make it simpler to expand water fluoridation schemes. Subject to a public consultation, which will be published shortly, the Government has announced its intention to expand the current water fluoridation scheme across the North East of England.
The overall weight of evidence and authoritative reviews of relevant and suitable studies indicate that there is no convincing evidence that fluoride at the levels permitted in fluoridated drinking water present a risk of adverse neurodevelopmental effects in children.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of studies in the United States, Canada and China which have concluded that high levels of fluoride permanently reduce the IQ of children.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Some studies from these countries have reported a reduction in IQ in children associated with exposure to relatively high levels of fluoride. However, the overall weight of evidence and authoritative reviews of relevant and suitable studies indicate that there is no convincing evidence that fluoride at the levels permitted in fluoridated drinking water present a risk of adverse neurodevelopmental effects in children.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Victoria Atkins MP) continues to have a duty to monitor the effects of water fluoridation schemes on health and to produce reports at no greater than four-yearly intervals. The last monitoring report for England was published in 2022. This supported the findings of earlier monitoring reports and the wider evidence that water fluoridation, at levels recommended in the United Kingdom, is a safe and effective public health measure to reduce dental caries and inequalities in dental health.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk to the neurodevelopment of children from fluoride, particularly if administered through its addition to water supplies.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Water Fluoridation: Health Monitoring Report for England 2022 considered the overall weight of evidence and authoritative reviews of relevant and suitable studies. These indicate that there is no convincing evidence that fluoride at the levels permitted in fluoridated drinking water present a risk of adverse neurodevelopmental effects in children.
A copy of the report is attached.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total number of hospitalisations of patients with COVID-19 since 1 March 2020.
Answered by Lord Bethell
NHS England began collecting data on the number of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 from 20 March 2020. From 20 March 2020 to 4 July 2021, the number of such patients hospitalised in England is 407,019.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bethell on 1 December (HL Deb, cols 717–21), how many people have been infected with COVID-19 in the UK.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center published statistics on 23 February 2021 to show there have been 4,138,233 COVID-19 infections in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bethell on 1 December (HL Deb, cols 717–21), how many beds are currently occupied in each of the NHS Nightingale Hospitals.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Nightingale hospitals are activated based on local clinical decisions in response to patient demand. The National Health Service will flex Nightingale capacity to address demand as has been done throughout the pandemic. As at week commencing 18 January 2021, the NHS Nightingale Hospital Exeter is providing inpatient services to COVID-19 patients from 48 beds. The NHS Nightingale Hospital North West and the NHS Nightingale Hospital London are providing ‘step-down’ care to non-covid-19 patients and provide 36 and 64 beds respectively. Other Nightingale sites at Harrogate and Bristol are supporting NHS elective and diagnostic services but are not providing inpatient services.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bethell on 1 December (HL Deb, cols 717–21), what assessment they have made of the efficacy of lockdowns in preventing the transmission of COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Evidence suggests that more stringent interventions tend to reduce the reproduction number of the virus.
The lockdown imposed in late March and the changes in behaviour that preceded this had a high level of uptake and resulted in a rapid reduction in the reproduction number ‘R’ from about 2.5-3.0 to about 0.5-0.7. That is a reduction in ‘R’ of about 2, or a reduction in transmission of 75%. We continue to review the efficacy of measures.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bethell on 1 December (HL Deb, cols 717–21), how many hospitals have no spare bed capacity; and how many beds are currently occupied above the seasonal norm.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Data on overall spare hospital bed capacity is not collected in the format requested. Data collections on hospital beds are divided into key bed subgroups, including general and acute beds, critical care beds and mental health beds. Hospital bed capacity is not fixed and can be scaled according to requirement.
Additionally, there is no official agreed seasonal norm for bed occupancy.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bethell on 1 December (HL Deb, cols 717–21), what assessment they have made of the life expectancy of people dying from COVID-19 compared with those dying from other illnesses.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Data are not available to estimate the life expectancy of people who are dying from COVID-19 or dying from other illnesses.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) doctors, and (2) nurses, employed by the NHS have died as a result of COVID-19; and how many of those had comorbidities.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Office for National Statistics publishes mortality data for deaths involving COVID-19 for healthcare workers and social care workers in England and Wales. The last iteration of this release showed that in England there were 305 deaths involving among healthcare workers and 307 deaths among social care workers registered between 9 March and 12 October 2020 in England, aged 20-64 years, using their last known occupation.
The definition of healthcare workers used will include not only those employed in the National Health Service but wider healthcare sector workers. No information is published relating to comorbidities these staff may have had.