Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide any unused covid-19 vaccinations intended for the 50-65 age group to people aged 40-49.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government continues to be guided by the JCVI on COVID-19 vaccine deployment in line with its Living with Covid strategy. There are therefore no plans to make COVID-19 vaccination available through the NHS to groups not covered by JCVI advice.
The Government currently has no plans to allow private purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, but private access is under regular review. There are no plans to make COVID-19 vaccines available for public purchase and will require Government to work with manufacturers and private healthcare providers to develop a suitable and affordable route for the public.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to provide further vaccinations against covid-19 for people aged under 50; and whether he plans to allow people in less vulnerable groups to pay for further covid-19 vaccinations.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government continues to be guided by the JCVI on COVID-19 vaccine deployment in line with its Living with Covid strategy. There are therefore no plans to make COVID-19 vaccination available through the NHS to groups not covered by JCVI advice.
The Government currently has no plans to allow private purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, but private access is under regular review. There are no plans to make COVID-19 vaccines available for public purchase and will require Government to work with manufacturers and private healthcare providers to develop a suitable and affordable route for the public.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when proton beam therapy will be available in the UK to medulloblastoma patients over 25.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England Clinical Commissioning Policy Statement covers proton beam therapy for adult medulloblastoma for craniospinal irradiation. Implementation of the therapy service at the University College London Hospital proton centre is at a stage where there is capacity within the national service for this complex treatment. The use of protons will be determined in line with the assessment of clinical risk and benefit.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department provides to palliative care services and end of life care services in the community in response to changes in the number of deaths at home since the beginning of the pandemic; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
During the pandemic, approximately £356 million was distributed to palliative and end of life care providers, including hospices.
Palliative and end of life care services are commissioned locally and NHS England publishes statutory guidance to support commissioners with implementation of the Health and Care Act 2022. The guidance includes references to community approaches and service provision in community settings.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to (a) ensure integrated care boards apply statutory guidance on the provision of palliative care and (b) have sufficient support in the community to respond to changes in the number of deaths at home.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
During the pandemic, approximately £356 million was distributed to palliative and end of life care providers, including hospices.
Palliative and end of life care services are commissioned locally and NHS England publishes statutory guidance to support commissioners with implementation of the Health and Care Act 2022. The guidance includes references to community approaches and service provision in community settings.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
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 the impact of delays in diagnosis on the treatment of blood cancers.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No formal assessment has been made. The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years, including in cancer services. NHS England is providing additional support for trusts to deliver the commitments for cancer services in the plan.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that health and care providers prioritise training on how to support people who are dying; and what steps he is taking to ensure that education and training providers deliver this training to a high standard.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Individual providers are responsible for ensuring that staff are appropriately trained and competent for their role. NHS England has published statutory guidance to support commissioners with implementation of the Health and Care Act 2022, which references education and training to support high quality palliative and end of life care. Health Education England provides training through the ‘End of life care for all’ e-learning programme and is developing a end of life care core skills education and training framework with Skills for Health and Skills for Care.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the 10-year cancer plan will include specific plans to support patients with blood cancer.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following the call for evidence for a 10 year cancer plan earlier this year, we received over 5,000 submissions. We are currently reviewing these responses.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
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 capacity of (a) UK Conformity Assessment Bodies and (b) EU Notified Bodies to conduct timely accreditation and certification of medical devices.
Answered by Will Quince
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is supporting an increase in approved body capacity to ensure the United Kingdom can transition all medical devices to the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking system. The MHRA also works with international regulators and organisations to enhance the reputation of the UKCA mark and prevent disruption to the UK’s supply of medical device products. The MHRA is working with the already designated approved bodies, those organisations applying for this status and industry to assess whether this will deliver the required capacity.
We are engaging with industry partners to understand capacity issues within the European Union notified body system, which may impact the supply of devices to the UK market and assess what further action may be required to maintain supply of medical devices.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) supply chains, (b) manufacturing costs and (c) procurement processes on the waiting time for patients to receive mobility equipment.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department regularly monitors the continuity of supply to patients. While a number of global factors have impacted the supply of mobility aids, these pressures are alleviating.
A large proportion of mobility aids are recovered and reconditioned by providers in the United Kingdom. In addition, alternatives are often available where individual suppliers may experience disruption to supply. Any price increase by suppliers will have been considered according to standard public procurement processes.