Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help equip the NHS workforce to meet future increased patient need for treatment for diabetic foot complications.
Answered by Will Quince
The General Medical Council and Healthcare Professions Council ensure that graduates are equipped with the skills required to treat patients who come to seek help. It is for individual NHS Employers to ensure that NHS staff have the up to date skills they need to treat patients referred for treatment.
Health Education England published in September 2021 “The Standards for the Foot Health Workforce”. Amendments were made to the Standards following the consultation and the final version of the Standards, alongside the consultation findings, were published in May 2022.
The Foot Health Standards are part of work that aims to increase the supply of podiatrists in the NHS while expanding the role of the support workforce. The Standards will ensure that the NHS recognises the knowledge and skills of the wider foot health support workforce.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the UK Health Security Agency plans to release its assessment of the efficacy of fractional dosing in vaccination against monkeypox as a means of addressing the discrepancy in estimated doses of vaccination that are required; and is she will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Johnson
In August 2022, following the emergency use approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation endorsed the use of a fractional dose of the vaccines used for monkeypox given by intradermal injection during periods of supply constraints.
Under the approach, eligible people are offered a 0.1 millilitre (ml) dose of the vaccines, instead of the 0.5ml dose typically administered. This will potentially enable up to a five-fold increase in the number of people that can be offered vaccination. NHS England and the UKHSA are currently assessing the operational feasibility of using fractional dosing, including necessary staffing model, vaccination throughput, volume and patient experience.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
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 monitor the provision of free incontinence products across Integrated Care Boards; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the availability of those products on disabled people’s mobility and quality of life.
Answered by Caroline Johnson
No specific assessment has been made. However, general practitioners and incontinence clinics are expected to offer free incontinence products to all eligible patients following an assessment and diagnosis of incontinence issues. While there is no statutory requirement for the provision of pads for incontinence, all clinicians and integrated care boards are expected to follow the best practice in provision of incontinence products.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the current average wait time for (a) assessment and (b) treatment for Long Covid in (i) Oxfordshire and (ii) England.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The information requested for Oxfordshire is not available in the format requested. However, the attached table showing initial specialist assessments by waiting time in England between 14 February 2022 and 13 March 2022. The average waiting time for treatment following an initial specialist assessment is not held.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the current average wait time for a hip replacement operation in (a) Oxfordshire and (b) England.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The most recent available data shows that in 2021/2022, the average waiting time for a hip replacement operation is 198 days in Oxfordshire and 237 days in England.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the current average wait time for a cataract operation in (a) Oxfordshire and (b) England.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In 2021/2022, the average waiting time for a cataract operation was 133 days in Oxfordshire and 199 days in England.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2022 to Question 116035 on Protective Clothing: Females and with reference to finding of Women in Global Health's report, Fit for Women? Safe and decent PPE for women health and care workers, that unisex personal protective equipment in many cases does not fit female wearers, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that buying teams source a range of different sizes; and whether he has plans to (a) set direct requirements on and (b) monitor purchasing teams.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Although we have no plans to set direct requirements on or monitor purchasing organisations, the level of demand will be used to ensure the variety of sizes available is in line with healthcare workers’ needs. It is the responsibility of individuals organisations to monitor the stock and procure a variety of sizes to meet the needs of the workforce.
To inform buying decisions an engagement programme was established, which includes customer engagement panels. Staff groups with different characteristics, including male and female wearers, were engaged in discussions on experiences of using personal protective equipment.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
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 monitor trends in the level of (a) breast cancer caused by shift work and (b) ovarian cancer caused by asbestos.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No assessment has been made of these trends. While NHS Digital collects data on the prevalence of breast and ovarian cancer, it is not possible to determine whether these cancers are caused by shift work and asbestos. Hospital episode statistics do not record patients’ career or workplace and the codes used to identify groups of chemicals or noxious substances as the cause of a specific condition do not separately identify asbestos.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2022 to Question 81967 on Randox Laboratories, which of his Department's officials were present on the call of 9 April 2020 between the former Parliamentary Under Secretary for Innovation and Randox Laboratory, broken down by civil service grade; whether any special adviser attended that call; and whether (a) an official or (b) a special adviser wrote the minute of that call, published by his Department.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Bethell) was supported by a private secretary at Higher Executive Officer grade who wrote the minute and by Dr Samantha Roberts, Director of Testing Supply at the National Testing Programme. Special advisers were not present.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the current (a) level of staff vacancies in midwifery services in England and (b) average caseload per midwife in England.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The data requested on vacancies of midwives is not held in the format requested. The information requested on caseloads of midwives is not held centrally.