NHS: Violence Against NHS Staff

Debate between Baroness Merron and Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath

Monday 2nd March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

Again, I am very sorry to hear of the experience that the noble Baroness had and should not have had. Sadly, I am sure that she was not—and is not—alone in having had such experiences. We have zero tolerance towards violence, bullying and intimidation, and I would regard that as being an instance of that. We need to improve our data and our recording. We are developing a common reporting framework for violence prevention and reduction which will support the adoption of more consistent approaches to dealing with it and improve comparability across not just systems but services. The noble Baroness’s point about community-based violence is as valid as points about hospital-based violence: violence is unacceptable wherever it is.

[Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a lay member of the General Medical Council. I was very sorry to hear the example given by the noble Lord; unfortunately, we have all heard too many such examples. If a healthcare professional is the subject of violence in the workplace, the police may be required, sadly, to arrange for a forensic physician to examine the victim. That experience can be stressful and daunting for the member of staff in question. Can my noble friend the Minister outline what steps are being put in place to support those practitioners in such instances?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I think I understand my noble friend’s question; if I have misunderstood, I will gladly write to her. The point here, I think, is about not just practice but culture. We need to see good leadership. We need good organisational culture to improve staff engagement and staff responsibilities when faced with dealing with such incidents. Again, our NHS working cultures need to be more compassionate and more inclusive, and they need better support, including around occupational health and staff well-being. Practitioners are part of the solution, and of course we give them our full support.

Emergency Adrenaline

Debate between Baroness Merron and Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath

Monday 15th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of community access to emergency adrenaline following the authorisation of needle-free delivery methods.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Baroness Merron) (Lab)]

My Lords, the Government welcome the approval of needle-free adrenaline delivery methods. In July, the medicines regulator, the MHRA, recommended consideration of changes to legislation to allow the supply of and access to such methods of emergency adrenaline delivery, particularly in schools. The Government are currently considering that recommendation, as well as any changes to regulations that may be required. The Government may assess community access to emergency adrenaline as part of any legislative changes.

[Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, as the mother of a severely allergic needle-phobic 17 year-old, the authorisation of needle-free adrenaline devices such as Neffy is a potentially transformative development. These products offer families vital peace of mind by enabling life-saving treatment without needles. The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, for which I am a parliamentary ambassador, is urging better access to such treatments, but Neffy is currently available only privately. Could my noble friend the Minister confirm when it will be accessible on the NHS and whether wider rollout could improve adrenaline availability in public settings?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I very much understand my noble friend’s personal involvement in this area. I congratulate her on her work in promoting the availability of needle-free delivery of adrenaline, and I too welcome its approval. It is down to local area prescribing committees to provide advice to integrated care systems on whether to include new products such as nasal adrenaline and whether they should be included in local formularies. This takes into account available evidence, as well as any relevant guidance. Following this Question from my noble friend, I will seek a view from NICE as to whether it is considering developing guidance in this area, as I know she would find that helpful.

Autism and Learning Disabilities: Hospital Detention

Debate between Baroness Merron and Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath

Tuesday 11th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I am most grateful to the noble Baroness for her contribution and expertise in this area, which I know we all look to in your Lordships’ House, as well as outside it. The points she makes are quite right and important. On this particular case, which is very sad and concerning, I understand that the person is now living in the community with 24/7 care and has been since 2022. I saw at Rampton how people were being supported out into the community with the right support. On the example the noble Baroness gave, we are very keen to improve the uptake of advocacy services, and she will know that all these matters are being addressed in our discussions on the Mental Health Bill.

[Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, I refer to my particular interest in this subject as the younger sister of a woman with severe learning difficulties who was detained in a hospital for many years. Is my noble friend the Minister confident that this sort of tragic lengthy detention of a non-verbal woman with both autism and learning disabilities will be prevented in future by the register proposed in the Mental Health Bill to be established and maintained by integrated care boards?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

Yes, because we are, as my noble friend knows, updating an Act that is over 40 years old, to keep pace with demands and changes, and to meet our expectations of providing care through a compassionate and appropriate service. There were particular circumstances in this case, which I do not seek to excuse, but it is not appropriate for me to go into them. It is important to look at specific cases.