Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what impact assessment they have carried out on the possible decommissioning of the Minor Ailments Scheme.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
No assessment of the impact of decommissioning of local Minor Ailment Schemes (MAS) has been undertaken nationally. MASs are currently commissioned locally by the National Health Service according to need. A pilot digital minor illness referral service (DMIRS) commenced last year in the North East with direct referrals from NHS 111 to community pharmacy. Building on this three further DMIRS pilots, supported by the Pharmacy Integration Fund, were launched in November 2018, in Devon, London and East Midlands. An evaluation will inform next steps.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how the Pharmacy Integration Fund has been spent; and what plans they have for the future of the fund.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Pharmacy Integration Fund (PhIF) has been used to support the employment of pharmacists in integrated urgent care, general practice and care homes where their expert knowledge of medicines is helping to ensure the best care for patients. It has also been used to fund pilots of the supply of urgent medicines to patients without the need for a general practitioner appointment as well as the referral of patients, presenting with minor illness, direct from NHS111 or NHS Online to community pharmacy. These programmes are aimed at better utilising the skillset and reach of community pharmacy teams to support the wider health service. They are being underpinned by several new education and leadership programmes which are also being funded by the PhIF.
The Government remains committed to this programme and we are continuing to invest in the development of community pharmacy through this fund. Most recently, NHS England announced their plans for a new pilot scheme, with investment of £1 million from the PhIF, to develop system leadership within pharmacy. These pharmacy leaders will set the vision for pharmacy and medicines optimisation within their area, and will support the delivery of a NHS Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation Transformation Plan, making the best use of pharmacy in meeting local and national health priorities.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many pharmaceutical manufacturers have guaranteed to hold six weeks' supply of their medicines for the next six months on top of their buffer stocks; and what proportion of pharmaceutical medicines used in the UK are now covered by that guarantee.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Government has agreed the terms of our exit from the European Union, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement. The Withdrawal Agreement offers a time-limited implementation period that provides a bridge to the future relationship, allowing business, including the life sciences industry, to continue trading as now until the end of 2020. The supply of medicines and medical supplies would remain unchanged during the implementation period.
As a responsible Government, however, we continue to prepare proportionately for all scenarios, including the unlikely outcome that we leave the EU without any deal in March 2019.
On 23 August 2018, the Department asked suppliers of all prescription-only and pharmacy medicines with an EU/European Economic Area touch point to confirm their contingency arrangements for continued supply to United Kingdom patients beyond 29 March 2019 in the event of a no-deal Brexit and possible delays at the border in the following period.
To date we have received very good engagement from industry, who share our aims of ensuring continuity of medicines supply for patients is maintained and able to cope with any potential delays at the border that may arise in the short term in the event of a no-deal Brexit. However, as our engagement exercise is still on-going we do not yet have final figures to report.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to protect patients from counterfeit medicines if the Falsified Medicines Directive ceases to apply in the UK after Brexit.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
In the United Kingdom, strict regulatory controls govern the sale, supply, manufacture, distribution and advertising of medicinal products. Although no fatalities in the UK have been attributed to a falsified medicine sourced from the UK regulated supply chain, the potential threat to patient health is recognised and taken seriously across Government.
The European Union Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) was adopted in 2011 and introduced new harmonised measures to ensure that medicines in the EU are safe and that trade in medicines is properly controlled.
The parts of the Directive that have already been implemented – including tougher rules on the control and inspection of producers of active pharmaceutical ingredients – would be converted into UK law through the Withdrawal Act and therefore remain in place after exit.
The final element of the Directive – the Delegated Regulation for new safety features – is due to come into force in February 2019, including the creation of a central EU data hub. The UK will still be a Member State in February 2019 and will therefore implement the FMD Delegated Regulation in line with our existing obligations.
In terms of what would happens after the UK exits the EU, during an implementation period the UK would maintain the new safety features and retain access to the EU central data hub, with arrangements beyond the implementation period still subject to negotiation. In the unlikely event the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 with no deal in place, then as stated in the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency recent No Deal consultation, we expect the UK would not have access to the EU central data hub, and therefore the proposal is that legal obligations related to this would be removed for actors in the UK supply chain. In the interests of public safety, we would then evaluate the options around a future national falsified medicines framework.
Whatever the exit scenario, we will continue to ensure that UK patients are able to access the best and most innovative medicines and that their safety is protected.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many contracts they have signed for additional cold chain capacity for medicines after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
In October, the Department invited wholesalers and pre-wholesalers of pharmaceutical warehouse space to bid for Government funding to secure the additional capacity needed for stockpiled medicines covering ambient, cold chain and controlled drug storage. We had a good response to that invitation and funding for selected organisations has now been agreed. Contracts will be signed shortly.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to consider extending the consultation period on proposed amendments to the Nutrition (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 to allow sufficient time for stakeholders to provide meaningful feedback.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Proposals addressed by the Nutrition (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 public consultation are predominantly technical in nature, simply changing European Union-specific references so that relevant legislation remains effective when the United Kingdom is no longer a member state.
Plans outlined in the consultation would therefore provide continuity and assurance for business and consumers, as they seek to mirror existing European systems domestically as far as is practically possible.
As the duration of a consultation is informed by the nature and impact of the proposals we consider a relatively short consultation period appropriate, and therefore have no plans to extend its length.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what factors they took into consideration when deciding that 11 days was an appropriate consultation period for the Nutrition (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Proposals addressed by the Nutrition (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 public consultation are predominantly technical in nature, simply changing European Union-specific references so that relevant legislation remains effective when the United Kingdom is no longer a member state.
Plans outlined in the consultation would therefore provide continuity and assurance for business and consumers, as they seek to mirror existing European systems domestically as far as is practically possible.
As the duration of a consultation is informed by the nature and impact of the proposals we consider a relatively short consultation period appropriate, and therefore have no plans to extend its length.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the role that community pharmacies could play in supporting the delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
National Health Service leaders, clinicians and experts are working to develop the NHS long-term plan to ensure that the NHS, including community pharmacy, can cope with the serious demand and cost pressures it faces in the future. The Government has been clear that prevention of ill-health is one of the six principles it expects to underpin the long-term plan.
Community pharmacies have an important contribution to make in preventing ill health and supporting self-care. The Government is already encouraging local pharmacies to play a more significant role in helping people stay well in the community and in keeping pressure off general practitioners and secondary care. We want to encourage people to use pharmacies more and think ‘pharmacy first’, as advocated by our Help Us Help You campaign. Part of this involves an important shift in emphasis towards dispensing health and wellbeing advice, not just prescriptions.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to using community pharmacies as part of a national self-care strategy.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
National Health Service leaders, clinicians and experts are working to develop the NHS long-term plan to ensure that the NHS, including community pharmacy, can cope with the serious demand and cost pressures it faces in the future. The Government has been clear that prevention of ill-health is one of the six principles it expects to underpin the long-term plan.
Community pharmacies have an important contribution to make in preventing ill health and supporting self-care. The Government is already encouraging local pharmacies to play a more significant role in helping people stay well in the community and in keeping pressure off general practitioners and secondary care. We want to encourage people to use pharmacies more and think ‘pharmacy first’, as advocated by our Help Us Help You campaign. Part of this involves an important shift in emphasis towards dispensing health and wellbeing advice, not just prescriptions.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to use community pharmacies as the first port of call for patients with minor ailments.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
National Health Service leaders, clinicians and experts are working to develop the NHS long-term plan to ensure that the NHS, including community pharmacy, can cope with the serious demand and cost pressures it faces in the future. The Government has been clear that prevention of ill-health is one of the six principles it expects to underpin the long-term plan.
Community pharmacies have an important contribution to make in preventing ill health and supporting self-care. The Government is already encouraging local pharmacies to play a more significant role in helping people stay well in the community and in keeping pressure off general practitioners and secondary care. We want to encourage people to use pharmacies more and think ‘pharmacy first’, as advocated by our Help Us Help You campaign. Part of this involves an important shift in emphasis towards dispensing health and wellbeing advice, not just prescriptions.