Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued guidance to NHS trusts in the North West as a result of the increase of cases of covid-19 in that region.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Public Health England (PHE) COVID-19 data dashboard includes data by upper tier local authority. As at 13 May, the COVID-19 incidence rate was 306.2 cases per 100,000 resident population for Liverpool, 353.9 per 100,000 for Wirral, and 248.7 per 100,000 for Manchester. Data from 31 January to 13 May 2020 show the COVID-19 cumulative incidence rate for the North West was 313.4 cases per 100,000 resident population. This is lower than the North East, although higher than other regions. The PHE COVID-19 Dashboard is available at the following link:
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with Local Resilience Forums in the North West about the reasons for the North West having the highest reported incidences of cases of covid-19.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Public Health England (PHE) COVID-19 data dashboard includes data by upper tier local authority. As at 13 May, the COVID-19 incidence rate was 306.2 cases per 100,000 resident population for Liverpool, 353.9 per 100,000 for Wirral, and 248.7 per 100,000 for Manchester. Data from 31 January to 13 May 2020 show the COVID-19 cumulative incidence rate for the North West was 313.4 cases per 100,000 resident population. This is lower than the North East, although higher than other regions. The PHE COVID-19 Dashboard is available at the following link:
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
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 trends in the level of covid-19 cases in (a) Liverpool, (b) Wirral and (c) Manchester.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Public Health England (PHE) COVID-19 data dashboard includes data by upper tier local authority. As at 13 May, the COVID-19 incidence rate was 306.2 cases per 100,000 resident population for Liverpool, 353.9 per 100,000 for Wirral, and 248.7 per 100,000 for Manchester. Data from 31 January to 13 May 2020 show the COVID-19 cumulative incidence rate for the North West was 313.4 cases per 100,000 resident population. This is lower than the North East, although higher than other regions. The PHE COVID-19 Dashboard is available at the following link:
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional support his Department is providing to NHS trusts in the North West to tackle the increase in cases of covid-19 in that region.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The North West runs a robust process, led by the Regional Medical Director, working with three critical care networks in the region ensuring trusts in the region have access to all the appropriate resources to manage patient care.
Additional capacity has been established within each trust to ensure that there is capacity and capability for the increase of patients with COVID-19 requiring care including oxygen therapy, non-invasive ventilatory support and mechanical ventilation.
Trusts, through their critical care network, have requested additional equipment from the national team where a need has been identified, to ensure each is well supplied and able to support the changing needs of the situation.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with private healthcare providers in (a) the North West, (b) Merseyside and (c) Wirral on the NHS requisitioning private beds for use during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the independent sector on a national basis to increase capacity and resource within the National Health Service, adding around 8,000 beds and 20,000 clinical staff. This will ensure that more facilities across England are available for patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
Under the agreement, the independent sector will be reimbursed at cost.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department will take steps for pharmacists who are dealing with members of the public to be issued protective clothing and equipment.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Packs of personal protective equipment (PPE) have now been delivered to community pharmacies by DPD. This began on 13 March 2020; and deliveries were completed on 17 March 2020. These packs are only for use by pharmacy staff in line with the standard operating procedure for community pharmacy, and contain masks, aprons and gloves.
If pharmacies have not received their PPE packs, or if the pack delivered is incomplete, they can contact the National Supply Disruption Service.
Should community pharmacies require further PPE supplies, they can order this through their wholesalers.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional critical care beds the NHS has made available in (a) the North West, (b) Liverpool City Region, (c) Merseyside and (d) Wirral since the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The National Health Service is scaling up the number of intensive care beds. There are currently 3,771 critical care beds in the NHS in England. As part of the readiness for the likely influx of more COVID-19 patients, the NHS is taking concerted action to free up to a third of its 100,000 general and acute beds.
In addition, NHS England has agreed a major deal with the nation’s independent hospitals. The deal – the first of its kind ever - includes the provision of 8,000 hospital beds across England and nearly 1,200 more ventilators.
A new temporary hospital - the NHS Nightingale hospital – will open at the Excel Centre in London next week. It will have capacity for 4,000 people.
Two new temporary hospitals will be set up at Birmingham's NEC and the Manchester conference centre and will be ready next month.
The NHS is making sure that not just overall hospital beds but particularly intensive care beds, operating theatres, recovery bays being repurposed, mechanical ventilation and other facilities across the hospital sector are expanded to the greatest possible extent so that the NHS can do all it possibly can.
Data on the number of critical care beds made available in the North West, Liverpool City Region, Merseyside and Wirral since the COVID-19 outbreak is not currently available.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust on tackling covid-19.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is doing everything it can to tackle the pandemic and mitigate its impact. The Department is supporting the National Health Service so that it can help those who need it the most.
The Chancellor has also set out a package of targeted measures which include a £5 billion emergency response fund to support the NHS and other public services. He has since reiterated that whatever resources the NHS needs, it will get.
The NHS works very closely with NHS foundation trusts across England to enact these measures.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for treatment at gender identity clinics.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In 2018 NHS England published two new service specifications for adult gender identity services, formed through a process of extensive stakeholder engagement and public consultation. NHS England and NHS Improvement have now completed several procurements to identify which organisations are best placed for future delivery of these services.
In addition, NHS England will pilot new gender dysphoria services for adults in 2020/21 in a number of localities across England, following which national rollout will be considered. The first of the new services will be established in London at a National Health Service HIV and sexual health clinic in Soho, the planned ‘go live’ date is April 2020.
These new services will increase the number of patients that are able to access specialised services and reduce waiting times.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have used the 111 service in (a) Merseyside (b) Wirral and (c) Wallasey constituency in each of the last six months.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The data is not held in the format requested.