Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of presentations of children and young people at accident and emergency departments where the presentation is primarily due to or related to an eating disorder in each year from 2017 to 2022.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
No specific estimate has been made. NHS Digital has advised that between April 2017 to March 2021, presentations related to an eating disorder are not separately identifiable within Hospital Episode Statistics for accident and emergency departments. Data for 2021/22 is collected within the Emergency Care Dataset. However, NHS Digital has advised that the information requested on diagnoses is not currently available due to issues related to data quality.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of deaths of child and young person patients whilst under the treatment of independent mental health providers in each of the last three years.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We are unable to provide the information requested as it could lead to the identification of individuals. Data held by NHS England and NHS Improvement relates to a small patient count of fewer than five cases.
All deaths of patients under the care of Tier 4 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services are routinely reported to the Department via NHS England and NHS Improvement. Such deaths are also notified to the Care Quality Commission and the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of deaths of patients treated under the Mental Health Act 1983 within NHS and independent settings in the 12 months to March 2021.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Providers have a legal duty to notify the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of deaths of people detained, or liable to be detained, under the Mental Health Act 1983.
In the twelve months up to March 2021, the CQC were notified that there were 363 such deaths, including 268 from natural causes, of which 114 were identified as caused by COVID-19. In the previous twelve months to March 2020, the number of deaths notified to the CQC was 240, of which 143 were from natural causes. The data therefore suggests that COVID-19 has been a significant factor in the increase of natural cause deaths in 2020/21.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of non-Covid-19 related deaths of patients treated under the Mental Health Act 1983 within NHS and independent settings in the 12 months to March 2021.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Providers have a legal duty to notify the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of deaths of people detained, or liable to be detained, under the Mental Health Act 1983.
In the twelve months up to March 2021, the CQC were notified that there were 363 such deaths, including 268 from natural causes, of which 114 were identified as caused by COVID-19. In the previous twelve months to March 2020, the number of deaths notified to the CQC was 240, of which 143 were from natural causes. The data therefore suggests that COVID-19 has been a significant factor in the increase of natural cause deaths in 2020/21.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the cost of IVF treatment for LGBTQ+ people on the financial wellbeing of people from that community seeking that treatment.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific assessment has been made. We expect local National Health Service commissioning bodies to commission fertility services in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines, to ensure equitable access in England. NICE guidelines were updated in 2013 to include provision for female same-sex couples. However, the Department has agreed with NICE that the fertility guidelines should be reviewed and scoping for the review has started.
The Department also undertook an internal policy review of the variation in access to NHS fertility services in 2021. The review will inform the Women’s Health Strategy, which is due to be published in spring 2022.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to commit to ensuring parity of access to IVF for same-sex couples.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Ealing Central and Acton (Dr Rupa Huq MP) on 31 January 2022 to Question 112645.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support and treatment is being developed to protect people from covid-19 who have previously had a severe allergic reaction to vaccinations.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Antivirals Taskforce has secured 480,000 patient courses of Molnupiravir and 250,000 courses of PF-07321332 from Pfizer. These novel treatments may be used to treat individuals who do not respond to the vaccine, such as immunocompromised groups, as well as those who are unable to take the vaccine due to allergies. Molnupiravir is now available to clinically eligible patients through a new national study. Participants will be randomly selected and will still be able to access any other National Health Service care. In addition, patients in the highest-risk group will be able to access antiviral treatments directly, without the need to enrol in the study.
The UK Health Security Agency’s Green Book provides advice for clinicians to assess individuals with a history of allergies who may suffer an allergic reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine. It also sets out how second dose vaccinations may be considered for those who experienced a reaction to the first dose. The advice has been developed with the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI).
Anyone with a history of allergic reaction to an ingredient in a COVID-19 vaccine should not receive that vaccine, except with expert advice and should be offered an alternative if appropriate. Those with any other allergies, including those with prior anaphylaxis, can receive the vaccine. If an individual has an allergic reaction to a first dose of vaccine, the BSACI has advised that these individuals may be able to receive a second dose of vaccine. Many individuals have tolerated subsequent doses of the same vaccine and this is preferred as it avoids an individual being wrongly labelled as allergic for life. Individuals with non-allergic reactions to the first dose can receive the second dose in any vaccination setting.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of eligible patients unable to book a covid-19 booster vaccine.
Answered by Maggie Throup
No estimate has been made.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
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 21 October 2021 to Question 54029 on Coronavirus Vaccination, when will individuals vaccinated in Hong Kong be (a) able to register for the NHS Covid Passport and (b) eligible for the covid-19 booster vaccine.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Individuals who have received a vaccine approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency administered overseas and reside in England can record their vaccination on the National Immunisation Management System (NIMS). Those individuals are now able to book a face-to-face appointment at a specific vaccination centre to verify and record these doses in NIMS, which will then be displayed in the NHS COVID Pass.
Further expansion of the service to include additional vaccines in the NHS COVID Pass is planned in due course. People with a vaccine from Hong Kong will also be able to show their record of this vaccination where certification is required. Once an overseas vaccine is recorded in NIMS, they will automatically be invited for a booster dose, when eligible. For those whose vaccinations are not recorded in NIMS in England, they will be unable to book an appointment through the National Booking System. However, individuals can access a booster vaccination at a walk-in centre without needing their record to be updated in advance.