Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what they estimate will be the cost to the public purse of clinical negligence by 2030; and what steps they intend to take to reduce this cost.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the written evidence to the Health and Social Care Select Committee’s inquiry into National Health Service litigation reform in 2022, following work with the Government Actuary's Department and NHS Resolution (NHSR), the Department advised that projections for the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) indicated that by 2029/30, annual cash payments for clinical negligence under the CNST could increase to £4.3 billion. The CNST, the largest clinical negligence scheme, covers all clinical negligence claims against member NHS bodies where the incident in question took place on or after 1 April 1995. The estimate does not include other smaller clinical negligence schemes run by NHSR. A copy of the Department’s full written evidence to the inquiry is attached.
The National Audit Office has announced that it is undertaking a review of clinical negligence costs this year, including an up-to-date assessment of how total cash costs may change in the future, and will publish its report in autumn 2025. Full details of the review can be found on the National Audit Office’s website, in an online only format.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had in the past nine months with representatives of the medical sector concerning the availability of radio isotopes for treating cancer patients.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department regularly engages with specialist clinicians, the British Nuclear Medicine Society, and the UK Radiopharmacy Group to assist in the management of supply issues with medical radioisotopes, including those used for treating cancer patients.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to legislating to establish a financial cap on compensation payments made by the NHS to patients who make claims arising from treatment or advice received from the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.
The causes of the overall cost rise are complex and there is no single fix, as costs are likely to be rising because of a range of factors, including higher compensation payments and legal costs, rather than more claims or a decline in patient safety.
We recognise that this is an important issue, and ministers intend to look at all the drivers of cost, how to manage spending on clinical negligence, and the potential merits of reform options.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Wales about safeguarding the funding of children's hospices that provide services to children on both sides of the England–Wales border.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There have not been any discussions between the Department and the Welsh Government about safeguarding the funding of children’s hospices.
The Department works collaboratively with the Devolved Governments to drive forward our objective of supporting people to lead more independent, healthier lives for longer. While health is predominantly devolved, the Department holds some reserved functions and working together across the United Kingdom on health and social care is ingrained in the values of our National Health Service and social care sector.
Children and young people’s hospices in England will receive £26 million in revenue funding for 2025/26, through what until recently was known as the Children’s Hospice Grant. We are also supporting both the children and adult hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. We will set out the details of the funding allocation and dissemination for both funding streams in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure the availability of medical radio-isotopes for the treatment of cancer patients in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The supply of radioisotopes has now returned to normal levels, and a Written Ministerial Statement was laid on 26 November to update Parliament. During the disruption to supply, the Department worked with industry, the devolved administrations, the National Health Service, members of the radiopharmaceutical community, and regulators to secure fair and equal access across the United Kingdom for patients, including for the treatment of cancer. Patients with the most critical needs were given priority.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of funding for community pharmacy services for 2025–26 and its adequacy to maintain current standards of service in rural areas.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system. We are committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and to better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists as we shift care from hospital to the community.
Now that the budget for Government has been set, we will shortly be resuming our consultation with Community Pharmacy England regarding the funding arrangements.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - 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 9 December 2022 (HL3870), when patients on home dialysis will receive information on funding to address the increased energy cost of powering such equipment.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
NHS England’s Haemodialysis service specification makes provision for financial support to offset energy costs incurred by recipients of at-home dialysis. NHS England has uplifted tariff prices by 4.1% this year to account for inflationary costs and support National Health Service trusts in uplifting their local reimbursement tariffs for patients.
In addition to the above, the Government’s cost of living support package delivers £15 billion worth of support measures to assist the most vulnerable with rising energy costs. The Government remains committed to supporting vulnerable households and is closely monitoring the situation.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they (1) have taken, or (2) plan to take, to ensure that seriously ill children who depend on electrical equipment for their survival can access a secure supply of affordable electricity this winter.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s cost of living support contains specific measures aimed at the most vulnerable, including households with critically ill-children requiring electricity dependent medical equipment at home, with £15 billion made available to those with the greatest need.
Specific National Health Service specialised services also grant financial rebates to offset energy costs, including home oxygen concentrators and adult home dialysis. NHS England is working with regional teams and integrated care systems as the commissioners of services to identify funding to address increases in the costs associated with operating medical equipment in the home. Local authorities can also provide support.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money they have allocated to meet the financial implications of the Down Syndrome Act 2022.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
No specific funding has been allocated. The Down Syndrome Act 2022 requires the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to issue guidance to relevant authorities on the appropriate actions to meet the needs of people with Down Syndrome in the exercise of the relevant functions. The guidance will be developed and published in due course. An assessment of any funding requirements will also be completed alongside the development of the guidance.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what investigations they have undertaken into the effect of COVID-19 vaccinations on boys between the ages of 10 and 15.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) surveillance strategy for monitoring the safety of all United Kingdom-approved COVID-19 vaccines includes child and adolescent age groups. The MHRA reviews the Yellow Card reports received in males and females aged under 18 years old, with safety data from international medicines regulators. The experience reported in those under 18 years old, including in the different sex and age subgroups of 5 to 11, 12 to 15 and 16 to 17 year olds, is similar to that identified in the general population. A review of these reports does not raise any additional safety topics specific to any of the subgroups.
As has been observed in adults, there have been a small number of reports involving inflammation of the heart in individuals under 18 years old in the UK and internationally. Since this is a recognised potential risk with the mRNA vaccines, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna and the MHRA are monitoring these events. These appear to be more frequent in younger males compared to females but are very rare. The events reported are typically mild with individuals usually recovering within a short time with standard treatment and rest.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advise that Pfizer/BioNTech is currently the preferred COVID-19 vaccine for those under 18 years old in the UK vaccination programme. The current data does not indicate that there is an increased reporting rate of suspected myocarditis and pericarditis in this age group overall compared to young adults for this vaccine. The MHRA continues to monitor the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines and the advice remains that the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the risks in the majority of people.