Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost to the NHS in England of leg ulcers in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
No such assessment has been made as the relevant data is not centrally held by the Department.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits to the NHS in England of early endovenous ablation of leg ulcers.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The results of the Early Venous Reflux Ablation (EVRA) study (2018) and the Effect of Surgery and Compression on Healing and Recurrence (ESCHAR) trial (2004) indicate that early superficial endovenous ablation improves healing of venous leg ulceration, reduces the risk of ulcer recurrence and is cost-effective.
Therefore, the results of the EVRA study and the ESCHAR trial will be incorporated into the National Wound Care Strategy Programme recommendations for care, as this will bring benefits to both patients and the National Health Service.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of patient leg ulcer care pathways developed by the Venous Forum of the Royal Society of Medicine.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
NHS England is not aware of any assessments of the efficacy of patient leg ulcer care pathways developed by the Venous Forum of the Royal Society of Medicine.
There are plans to develop a national patient leg ulcer care pathway, and the Venous Forum has been invited to join the lower limb workstream to contribute to the development of this pathway.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits to people aged over 65 of endovenous ablation treatment of varicose veins.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Varicose veins can cause complications because they stop blood flowing properly, including venous leg ulcers as a result of chronic venous insufficiency.
The results of the Early Venous Reflux Ablation (EVRA) study (2018) and the Effect of Surgery and Compression on Healing and Recurrence (ESCHAR) trial (2004) indicate that early superficial endovenous ablation improves healing of venous leg ulceration, reduces the risk of ulcer recurrence and is cost-effective.
Therefore, the results of the EVRA study and the ESCHAR trial will be incorporated into the National Wound Care Strategy Programme recommendations for care, as this will bring benefits to both patients and the National Health Service.
The EVRA study and the ESCHAR trial included patients over the age of 65 so the results are applicable to older people. However, no sub-analysis is presented for people over the age of 65 so it is not possible to identify if there are any benefits or risks beyond the overall results for people over 65.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Shaughnessy on 5 April (HL6371), whether they have made any estimate of the cost of mesothelioma to the NHS; and if so, what.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Neither the Department or its arm’s length bodies have made any formal assessment or estimate about the cost of mesothelioma to the National Health Service.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Shaughnessy on 5 April (HL6371), whether anyone collects any data on the cost of mesothelioma to the NHS; and if so, who.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
While information is not held centrally, individual trusts may capture data relating to the cost of treating mesothelioma patients. However, this information could only be collected at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Shaughnessy on 27 March, whether any data is collected on the cost of mesothelioma to the NHS; and if so, what.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Data on the cost of mesothelioma to the National Health Service is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the cost to the NHS of treating mesothelioma in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The information requested is not held national level.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 9 March (HL5606), how much of the levy raised under the Mesothelioma Act 2014 for the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme in (1) 2014–15, and (2) 2015–16, was spent on (a) compensation, (b) payments to the scheme administrator, and (c) accounting for a deficit or surplus from previous years.
Answered by Lord Henley
In 2014–15, the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS):
(a) Paid £24.2m to successful applicants;
(b) Paid £140,000 to the scheme administrator to administer the scheme, and;
(c) There was no deficit or surplus from previous years.
In 2015–16 the DMPS:
(a) Paid £29.7m to successful applicants;
(b) Paid £160,000 to the scheme administrator to administer the scheme, and;
(c) The 2015-16 levy calculation reflected an over-levy of £7.8m from the previous year.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government in respect of the offence of manslaughter by gross negligence (1) how many case have been prosecuted, (2) how many cases have been successfully prosecuted, and (3) how many convictions have been quashed on appeal, in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The law relating to manslaughter by gross negligence was clarified in the case of R v Adomako (1994) where a four stage test, known as the Adomako Test, was outlined by the House of Lords. Before convicting a defendant of gross negligence manslaughter a jury has to be satisfied that:
(a) that there was the existence of a duty of care to the deceased;
(b) that there was a breach of that duty of care;
(c) that the breach of that duty of care caused (or significantly contributed) to the death of the victim; and
(d) that the breach of the duty of care “departed so far from accepted standards” as to be characterised as gross negligence, and therefore a crime.
The Government takes the view that the Adamako Test continues to provide effective and appropriate guidance in aiding the determination of gross negligence manslaughter cases. In allowing Dr Sellu’s appeal, the Court of Appeal did not call for the law to be changed, and the Government has no plans to reform the law in this area.
The overall statistics on manslaughter are available in the ‘Criminal Justice Statistics’ series at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015. Statistics are not separately captured on whether a case of manslaughter occurred as a result of gross negligence.