Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to GPs requiring patients to take blood pressure readings at home and send them to the surgery, what support is available to people with the cost of purchasing a blood pressure monitor; and how a patient can ensure that the monitor is calibrated to NHS standards at no extra cost.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The third phase of the National Health Service’s response to COVID-19, effective from the 1 August, focused on accelerating the return to near-normal levels of non-COVID-19 health services, which included the ask to accelerate preventative programmes and specifically the better targeting of long-term condition prevention and management programmes. NHS England’s letter regarding the third phase is available at the following link:
Hypertension monitoring and management is a priority for the NHS and we are developing safe systems to manage this making use of digital technology where appropriate. It is acknowledged that home blood pressure (BP) monitoring is not a preferred or possible option for all patients and there is no requirement on patients to pursue this option as primary care are continuing to offer this service where appropriate at practices. When a validated BP monitor is purchased it is calibrated to the required standard.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if (a) amateur and (b) professional (i) choirs, (ii) orchestras and (iii) music groups that can demonstrate they are covid-secure are exempt from the covid-19 restrictions on the number of people allowed to meet in a group from 14 September 2020.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Amateur choirs, orchestras or drama groups should not rehearse or perform together in groups of more than six. They could split into sub-groups to do so, provided these groups do not interact.
Further guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to have an independent review of the definition of autism as a mental disorder under the Mental Health Act 1983.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
We recognise the significance and importance of this issue. We are committed to improving the treatment of people with learning disabilities and/ or autism in law. We will comment on this in our Mental Health Act White Paper, which will be published as soon as it is possible to do so.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will undertake to a review of disabled people’s health outcomes during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Government is committed to ensuring disabled people receive the support they need during the COVID-19 outbreak and beyond. We know that many people with long-standing, limiting illnesses or health conditions are at higher risk of poorer outcomes from COVID-19.
We are continuing to review all the available evidence and commissioning new research to better understand the specific impact of COVID-19 on disabled people. This will inform future policy development and what additional practical measures we can take to protect disabled people.