Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect the first staff treatment hubs, announced in the NHS 10-year plan, will be established; how many they expect to be operational between 2026 and 2029; and what criteria will guide their location.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan outlines plans to pilot Staff Treatment Hubs, to provide a high-quality, wellbeing and occupational health service for all National Health Service staff. Work is underway to develop implementation and operational plans for the Staff Treatments Hubs. This will determine factors such as location, budgets, timeframes and capacity. The Staff Treatment Hubs were designed to be inclusive of primary care workers delivering NHS contracts including general practitioners and NHS dentists.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether (1) GPs, and (2) dentists holding NHS dental contracts, will be eligible for treatment in the staff treatment hubs announced in the NHS 10-year plan.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan outlines plans to pilot Staff Treatment Hubs, to provide a high-quality, wellbeing and occupational health service for all National Health Service staff. Work is underway to develop implementation and operational plans for the Staff Treatments Hubs. This will determine factors such as location, budgets, timeframes and capacity. The Staff Treatment Hubs were designed to be inclusive of primary care workers delivering NHS contracts including general practitioners and NHS dentists.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Centre for Mental Health’s report published on 2 April, Improving support for people with complex mental illnesses; and what plans they have, if any, to take those recommendations forward.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While no such specific assessment has been made, we know that people with complex mental illnesses are not always able to access the care and treatment they need. We are determined to change that.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out our vision for the neighbourhood health service. It will bring care into local communities, convene professionals into patient-centred teams, end fragmentation, and abolish the National Health Service default of ‘one size fits all’ care. As part of this, we will transform the current mental health system so people can access the right support at the right time in the right place.
We are piloting 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres to bring together a range of community mental health services under one roof, including crisis services and short-stay beds. People with severe or complex mental illness will be able to walk in without an appointment if they need mental health support, as well as advice on employment, housing, or volunteering, delivered by a multi-disciplinary team. The centres will improve continuity of care, drive down waits, and reduce inpatient admissions. Other local areas are looking to rollout the model more widely.
In addition, working with experts and people with lived experience, we will publish a new modern service framework for severe or complex mental illness, setting consistency in clinical standards across the country so that patients and families get high quality, evidence-based treatment and support.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of progress against the April 2016 NHS England General Practice Forward View plan to recruit an extra 3000 mental health therapists.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
NHS England has advised that its interim target of 800 extra Improving Access to Psychological Therapies therapists working in primary care by March 2018 has been met. NHS England is now analysing data to establish if the target to increase this number to 1,500 by March 2019 has been achieved.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to raise awareness of the potential side-effects of the drug metamizole among UK citizens and tourists in Spain.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
Metamizole is a medicine used in some European Union countries to treat severe pain and fever. Metamizole magnesium is authorised in Spain, Portugal and Poland (as a generic medicine and under various brand names including Nolotil in Spain and Portugal and Pyralgina in Poland). The medicine has not been licensed for use in the United Kingdom.
As with all medicines, the safety of metamizole is kept under close review within the EU. A European review was conducted last year to assess all data available concerning the maximum daily dose and its contraindications on pregnancy and breastfeeding. This review was completed in December 2018 and led to agreement of harmonised information on the maximum dose to be used and that it should not be used during the third trimester of pregnancy. It was also recommended that use during breast-feeding should be avoided. As a result, consistent warnings will be available in the product information for patients and healthcare professionals within each country where authorised for use.
A recent evaluation by the European Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee noted reports of cases of agranulocytosis (lowered white blood cell count) which had occurred in UK residents in Spain. Agranulocytosis is a known risk of metamizole and is described in the product information for healthcare professionals. However, based on the review of available data, the Spanish Medicines Agency has taken further action to strengthen the warnings with regards to the risk of agranulocytosis. We are also aware that in October 2018 a communication was issued to healthcare professionals in Spain reminding them of this risk and the need to advise patients of the signs and symptoms and to avoid use in patients who have risk factors for agranulocytosis.
All medicines are supplied with information for patients which contain information on all known side effects and those signs and symptoms which they need to be aware of. Patients being treated with metamizole medicines who have any questions or concerns should talk to a healthcare professional.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will have discussions with his Spanish counterpart on the effect of dispensing metamizole to (a) UK and (b) Spanish residents in Spain.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
Metamizole is a medicine used in some European Union countries to treat severe pain and fever. Metamizole magnesium is authorised in Spain, Portugal and Poland (as a generic medicine and under various brand names including Nolotil in Spain and Portugal and Pyralgina in Poland). The medicine has not been licensed for use in the United Kingdom.
As with all medicines, the safety of metamizole is kept under close review within the EU. A European review was conducted last year to assess all data available concerning the maximum daily dose and its contraindications on pregnancy and breastfeeding. This review was completed in December 2018 and led to agreement of harmonised information on the maximum dose to be used and that it should not be used during the third trimester of pregnancy. It was also recommended that use during breast-feeding should be avoided. As a result, consistent warnings will be available in the product information for patients and healthcare professionals within each country where authorised for use.
A recent evaluation by the European Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee noted reports of cases of agranulocytosis (lowered white blood cell count) which had occurred in UK residents in Spain. Agranulocytosis is a known risk of metamizole and is described in the product information for healthcare professionals. However, based on the review of available data, the Spanish Medicines Agency has taken further action to strengthen the warnings with regards to the risk of agranulocytosis. We are also aware that in October 2018 a communication was issued to healthcare professionals in Spain reminding them of this risk and the need to advise patients of the signs and symptoms and to avoid use in patients who have risk factors for agranulocytosis.
All medicines are supplied with information for patients which contain information on all known side effects and those signs and symptoms which they need to be aware of. Patients being treated with metamizole medicines who have any questions or concerns should talk to a healthcare professional.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment has been made of the side-effects of the drug metamizole.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
Metamizole is a medicine used in some European Union countries to treat severe pain and fever. Metamizole magnesium is authorised in Spain, Portugal and Poland (as a generic medicine and under various brand names including Nolotil in Spain and Portugal and Pyralgina in Poland). The medicine has not been licensed for use in the United Kingdom.
As with all medicines, the safety of metamizole is kept under close review within the EU. A European review was conducted last year to assess all data available concerning the maximum daily dose and its contraindications on pregnancy and breastfeeding. This review was completed in December 2018 and led to agreement of harmonised information on the maximum dose to be used and that it should not be used during the third trimester of pregnancy. It was also recommended that use during breast-feeding should be avoided. As a result, consistent warnings will be available in the product information for patients and healthcare professionals within each country where authorised for use.
A recent evaluation by the European Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee noted reports of cases of agranulocytosis (lowered white blood cell count) which had occurred in UK residents in Spain. Agranulocytosis is a known risk of metamizole and is described in the product information for healthcare professionals. However, based on the review of available data, the Spanish Medicines Agency has taken further action to strengthen the warnings with regards to the risk of agranulocytosis. We are also aware that in October 2018 a communication was issued to healthcare professionals in Spain reminding them of this risk and the need to advise patients of the signs and symptoms and to avoid use in patients who have risk factors for agranulocytosis.
All medicines are supplied with information for patients which contain information on all known side effects and those signs and symptoms which they need to be aware of. Patients being treated with metamizole medicines who have any questions or concerns should talk to a healthcare professional.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement, Government review confirms local authorities will continue to commission public health services, published by his Department on 7 June 2019, when he plans to publish the proposals in relation to the review of the commissioning arrangements for sexual and reproductive health set out in paragraph 2.4 of the NHS Long Term Plan.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced the outcome of the review, confirming that local authorities will continue to take the lead in commissioning sexual and reproductive health, school nursing and health visiting services, at his Royal Society of Medicine lecture on 6 June.
The review consulted a range of stake-holders. Stakeholder forums were organised by the National Aids Trust and the Public Health Systems Group, to which many organisations were invited to express their views. Officials from the Department also met with a number of organisations, and the review received a number of written submissions.
The forthcoming Prevention Green Paper will provide an opportunity for people to give us their views on more we can do to encourage local authorities and National Health Service bodies to work well together in commissioning health services.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement, Government review confirms local authorities will continue to commission public health services, published by his Department on 7 June 2019 and paragraph 2.4 of the NHS Long Term Plan, in what form will the consultation into the proposals to improve co-commissioning developed in relation to the commissioning arrangements for sexual and reproductive health be conducted.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced the outcome of the review, confirming that local authorities will continue to take the lead in commissioning sexual and reproductive health, school nursing and health visiting services, at his Royal Society of Medicine lecture on 6 June.
The review consulted a range of stake-holders. Stakeholder forums were organised by the National Aids Trust and the Public Health Systems Group, to which many organisations were invited to express their views. Officials from the Department also met with a number of organisations, and the review received a number of written submissions.
The forthcoming Prevention Green Paper will provide an opportunity for people to give us their views on more we can do to encourage local authorities and National Health Service bodies to work well together in commissioning health services.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 2.4 of the NHS Long Term Plan, what public consultation his Department undertook with the sexual and reproductive health sector on the review of the commissioning arrangements for sexual and reproductive health.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced the outcome of the review, confirming that local authorities will continue to take the lead in commissioning sexual and reproductive health, school nursing and health visiting services, at his Royal Society of Medicine lecture on 6 June.
The review consulted a range of stake-holders. Stakeholder forums were organised by the National Aids Trust and the Public Health Systems Group, to which many organisations were invited to express their views. Officials from the Department also met with a number of organisations, and the review received a number of written submissions.
The forthcoming Prevention Green Paper will provide an opportunity for people to give us their views on more we can do to encourage local authorities and National Health Service bodies to work well together in commissioning health services.