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Written Question
Medicine: Research
Thursday 12th December 2024

Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)

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 improve the (a) quality and (b) quantity of medical research in the NHS.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is improving the quality and quantity of clinical research in the National Health Service, and health and care research more widely, through investing in the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The recent Budget provides record levels of Government research and development investment, with funding for research through the Department increasing to over £2 billion in 2025/26.


Written Question
Vaccination: Older People
Monday 2nd December 2024

Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of elderly people have received their (a) influenza, (b) RSV and (c) covid-19 vaccination in the last six months.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As of 17 November 2024, 68.7% of those aged 65 years old and over had been vaccinated for influenza, whist 54.2% had been vaccinated for COVID-19.

The respiratory syncytial virus adult vaccination programme in England began on 1 September 2024, however only data for the catch-up cohort, adults aged 75 to 79 years old before the programme start date, has been published. As of 30 September, 22.6% of the catch-up cohort had been vaccinated. Further data will be published in due course.


Written Question
Blood: Donors
Monday 2nd December 2024

Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)

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 there is an adequate supply of (a) donated blood and (b) blood products.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for the collection, manufacture, and supply of blood and blood products to National Health Service hospitals.

The Department provided seed funding in 2023 to support NHSBT to increase its collection capacity. New donor centres will open in Brixton and Brighton in 2025 to increase and diversify the donor base.

Since July 2024, NHSBT has been responding to an Amber Alert for O group blood. NHSBT is now meeting the demand for blood and blood products, thanks to increased donations and better management of stock.

With respect to blood products, the Department, in conjunction with NHSBT and NHS England, has led a programme to increase self-sufficiency and resilience in life-saving plasma-based medicines, in response to the lifting of the ban on United Kingdom donor plasma in 2021. The first of these medicines will be given to NHS patients in early 2025.

NHSBT runs campaigns throughout the year, partners with trusted brands, and funds community groups to promote both donation of blood and blood products, stem cells, and organs.


Written Question
Tuberculosis
Monday 2nd December 2024

Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)

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 rates of tuberculosis in (a) adults and (b) children in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table shows the total number and rate of tuberculosis (TB) notifications in England, each year from 2012 to 2024:

Year

Total number of notifications

Total rate per 100,000 (95% Confidence interval)

2012

8,087

15.12 (14.79 to 15.45)

2013

7,266

13.49 (13.18 to 13.80)

2014

6,472

11.92 (11.63 to 12.21)

2015

5,735

10.47 (10.20 to 10.74)

2016

5,620

10.17 (9.90 to 10.44)

2017

5,067

9.11 (8.86 to 9.36)

2018

4,610

8.24 (8.00 to 8.48)

2019

4,704

8.36 (8.12 to 8.60)

2020

4,122

7.29 (7.07 to 7.52)

2021

4,411

7.80 (7.57 to 8.04)

2022

4,380

7.75 (7.52 to 7.98)

2023

4,850

Not available

2024

4155

Not available

Notes:

  1. for 2023, the provisional data rate is awaited; and
  2. for 2024, data is only available up to September.

Data on rates of TB in adults alone is not published. In line with the reporting to the World Health Organisation, children are defined as those aged under 15 years old. The following table shows the number and rate of TB notifications in children in England from 2012 to 2022:

Year

Total number of notifications in children

Rate per 100,000 (95% confidence interval)

2012

396

4.2 (3.8 to 4.6)

2013

293

3.1 (2.7 to 3.4)

2014

263

2.7 (2.4 to 3.1)

2015

215

2.2 (1.9 to 2.5)

2016

208

2.1 (1.8 to 2.4)

2017

178

1.8 (1.5 to 2.1)

2018

147

1.4 (1.2 to 1.7)

2019

168

1.6 (1.4 to 1.9)

2020

148

1.4 (1.2 to 1.7)

2021

127

1.3 (1.1 to 1.5)

2022

136

1.3 (1.1 to 1.6)

Provisional data is not subdivided by age, hence the data in the tables is presented up to 2022, where age specific rates are available. TB rates in children have been declining since 2012 and remained stable at 1.3 per 100,000 in 2021 and 2022.

TB data for England is published by the UK Health Security Agency, and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tuberculosis-in-england-2023-report-data-up-to-end-of-2022

Provisional TB data for England is published quarterly, with the latest quarterly reports available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tuberculosis-in-england-national-quarterly-reports

Detailed data for 2023 will be published in the TB in England 2023 annual report.


Written Question
Long Covid
Monday 2nd December 2024

Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) people and (b) children are living with long covid.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The most recent data from the Winter Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Study, a joint study carried out by the Office for National Statistics and the UK Health Security Agency, shows that, for the period between 6 February 2024 and 7 March 2024, an estimated 1.8 million people across all ages, or 3.3% of the population, in private households in England, reported experiencing long COVID symptoms more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection.

The data shows that for the same period, an estimated 111,816 or 1% of those aged between three and 17 years old, in private households in England and Scotland, reported experiencing long COVID symptoms more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection.

The data is available at the following link:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/datasets/


Written Question
NHS: Managers
Friday 29th November 2024

Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is to bring forward legislation to regulate NHS managers.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

This Government recognises the importance of ensuring that the NHS has strong and effective leadership in place, and we are committed to introducing professional standards for, and regulation of NHS managers. On 26 November 2024 we published a consultation seeking views from stakeholders on options for regulating NHS managers. The consultation will close on 18 February 2025. We will carefully consider responses to the consultation and set out next steps in due course.


Written Question
Childbirth
Thursday 28th November 2024

Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)

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 reduce perineal injury during vaginal deliveries.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Integrated care boards are rolling out the Perinatal Pelvic Health Services (PPHS) across England, to reduce the rates of perineal tears and improve outcomes for women.

A national service specification was published in October 2023 that set out the expected standards of care for prevention, identification, and access to physiotherapy for pelvic health issues during pregnancy and at least one year after birth. This includes the implementation of the Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injuries (OASI) care bundle to reduce perineal injury in childbirth, which is a significant factor for pelvic health problems. This included perineal training and a new best practice framework for healthcare professionals, covering prevention and care under the OASI pathway. Further information on the service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/PRN00147-Service-specification-perinatal-pelvic-health-services.pdf

PPHS’ also work with maternity and physiotherapy services to provide quality information about the risk of developing pelvic health problems, key signs of pelvic floor dysfunction, and preventative measures like pelvic floor exercises.


Written Question
Radioisotopes
Wednesday 27th November 2024

Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)

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 increase the availability of medical radioisotopes.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Supply of radioisotopes that were in short supply in recent weeks has now returned to normal levels and a Written Ministerial Statement was laid on 26 November 2024 to update Parliament. During the disruption to supply, the Department worked with industry, devolved Governments, the National Health Service, members of the radiopharmaceutical community and regulators to secure fair and equal access across the United Kingdom and ensure that patients with critical needs were given priority.


Written Question
Nurses
Wednesday 27th November 2024

Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of people with a nursing qualification working in the NHS are not in patient-facing roles.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold the information requested.


Written Question
Ambulance Services: Standards
Wednesday 27th November 2024

Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average ambulance response time was for each category in each of the last 24 months.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table shows the national mean average ambulance service response times in England, in minutes and broken down by category, in each of the last 24 months:

Year

Month

Category 1 mean

Category 2 mean

Category 3 mean

Category 4 mean

2022

November

0:09:26

0:48:10

2:42:14

3:21:43

2022

December

0:10:58

1:32:55

4:18:16

4:34:56

2023

January

0:08:30

0:32:06

1:26:09

1:48:46

2023

February

0:08:30

0:32:20

1:42:39

2:12:24

2023

March

0:08:49

0:39:33

2:13:39

2:51:49

2023

April

0:08:07

0:28:33

1:30:54

1:54:17

2023

May

0:08:17

0:32:22

1:46:10

2:20:15

2023

June

0:08:41

0:36:47

2:05:38

2:45:28

2023

July

0:08:21

0:31:49

1:50:11

2:21:31

2023

August

0:08:17

0:31:30

1:45:27

2:07:18

2023

September

0:08:31

0:37:39

2:16:04

2:41:45

2023

October

0:08:41

0:41:43

2:31:14

2:51:00

2023

November

0:08:31

0:38:30

2:16:32

2:36:57

2023

December

0:08:44

0:45:57

2:37:12

2:55:53

2024

January

0:08:25

0:40:06

2:12:53

2:42:45

2024

February

0:08:25

0:36:20

2:04:15

2:33:06

2024

March

0:08:20

0:33:50

2:03:47

2:29:48

2024

April

0:08:10

0:30:22

1:42:13

2:03:16

2024

May

0:08:16

0:32:44

2:00:00

2:21:11

2024

June

0:08:21

0:34:38

2:02:34

2:20:58

2024

July

0:08:15

0:33:25

2:01:21

2:21:47

2024

August

0:08:03

0:27:25

1:30:33

1:56:10

2024

September

0:08:25

0:36:02

2:12:54

2:32:51

2024

October

0:08:38

0:42:15

2:41:28

2:57:18

Source: the data is published by NHS England, and is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/