Anti-depressants: Cost, Risks and Ramifications
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford Excerpts(2 weeks ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
I would be very pleased to write further to the noble Baroness. This is a very important point about support for women during the menopause. However, a prescription is made only after discussion with the patient about it and other alternatives, and the clinician has to follow and comply with the guidelines. Patient choice is absolutely key here. Every individual is an individual, and only what is appropriate should be prescribed—if needed.
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford (Con)
My Lords, as the Minister pointed out, SSRIs can be the right choice for some patients, but for there to be patient choice, there has to be the capacity for those therapeutic options. In April 2024, around 1 million people were recorded as waiting for mental health services, 340,000 of whom were children, and over 100,000 had waited for more than a year. The Government have pledged to provide an additional 8,500 mental health staff. Can the Minister say what she will do to increase patient choice and build that capacity?
Baroness Merron (Lab)
We have already made a number of commitments, but the noble Baroness is quite right to observe the excessive numbers on the waiting list. We are deeply aware of the distress and continuing difficulty that this causes for many. The noble Lord, Lord Darzi, in his independent investigation, confirmed that about 1 million people are waiting for mental health support as of April 2024. Moving to the 10-year plan will be an opportunity to put mental health services in a different place. In addition to the commitments that the noble Baroness has mentioned, we are providing access to a specialist mental health professional in every school and providing open-access Young Futures hubs.
Drug-related Deaths in England and Wales
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford Excerpts(4 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford (Con)
My Lords, the two-year review of the LGA’s 10-year drugs plan has made a number of recommendations to improve the response. On the question of synthetic drugs, it recommended the implementation of early-warning systems so that changes at street level can be responded to in real time and samples of new substances can be tested as soon as possible. Can the Minister please look into those recommendations and see what support can be provided by the Government?
Baroness Merron (Lab)
I will indeed be doing that, not least because our work with other departments continues to take account of the early warning to which the noble Baroness refers. That is in respect of the threat of synthetic opioids, which we know is extremely real and pressing.
Pharmacies: Rural Areas
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford Excerpts(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
I am pleased to say that, as I am sure the noble Lord is aware, prescribing pilots are going on in NHS England. These will look at what more pharmacies could do in this regard, in particular asking whether more minor illnesses could be dealt with, and whether the long-term management of conditions could be better managed through pharmacies. We will be very interested in what those pilots come up with. They are across the entire country, so will of course include rural areas. This is something that we will want to ensure is available in rural and urban environments.
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford (Con)
My Lords, the Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee pharmacy inquiry found that, while most medicines are in good supply, medicines shortages have doubled since 2021. This means that pharmacists spend time dealing with medicines shortages every day—some as much as four and a half hours. The committee recommended an independent review into how to improve resilience of the medicines supply chain, including looking at pharmacists’ prescribing. Will the Minister commit to this, and if not, what will she do to improve the situation?
Baroness Merron (Lab)
The noble Baroness makes a good point about the shortage of medicines; this has been raised many times in your Lordships’ House. I will ensure that my colleague Ministers are aware of the points raised today, to build these into our consideration of how we support pharmacists and pharmacies to continue to do a good job and, indeed, expand their remit.
NHS Blood and Transplant Service: Blood Stocks
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford Excerpts(4 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
The noble Baroness is absolutely right that we need to encourage young people to come forward and to stay in the system. I have been in discussion with the chief executive and the chair of the service about how we can build more resilience and extend the number of donors. I am sure noble Lords will be pleased to know that, with the assistance of the actors Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds, there is an exciting partnership with the Disney action film “Deadpool & Wolverine”, which is exactly intended to reach new and younger donors, and donors of black heritage. I am sure it will.
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest as former chair of the Human Tissue Authority. I understand that this alert was in part triggered by the cyberattack, and that Synnovis has largely stabilised the system for wider testing, but can the Minister say when the system will be wholly stabilised for blood transfusions? Can she also say whether any backlog has been created as a result of the cyberattack and what steps will be taken to create resilience so this cannot happen again?
Baroness Merron (Lab)
The noble Baroness is right in her observations. What I can say is that, while there has been a dramatic and somewhat sustained increase in the need for O-group blood, that is now improving. There has not been a negative effect on elective surgery; I think that is an important reassurance. In the future, obviously cyberattacks are going to be something that we are going to have to always be mindful of. That is why the service, at my request, is working to come up with plans for greater resilience, and such work is already ongoing within the department and across government.