Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to help support (a) people with dementia and (b) their carers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has recently refreshed the RightCare Dementia Scenario. This sets out best practice for supporting people with dementia. NHS England has also funded an evidence-based improvement project to fund two trusts in each region, 14 sites in total, to pilot the Diagnosing Advanced Dementia Mandate tool to improve the diagnosis of dementia and the provision of support in care homes. All pilots completed at the end of May 2024, and it is anticipated that learning will be shared in early 2025. The Government is investing in dementia research across all areas, from causes, diagnosis, and prevention, to treatment, and care and support, including for carers.
The Government is committed to ensuring that both the person with dementia and their family have the support that they need. In April 2025, the Government will increase the Carer's Allowance weekly earnings limit from £151 a week to £196, the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage. This represents the largest increase in the earnings limit since Carer’s Allowance was introduced in 1976. It means carers can earn up to £10,000 a year whilst still retaining Carer's Allowance, which is approximately an additional £2,000 a year.
On 28 November 2024, the Government also announced that the Accelerating Reform Fund's (ARF) second tranche of funding worth £22.6 million will shortly be released for 2024/25. More than half of the ARF projects, and at least one in each integrated care system area, are focussed on identifying, recognising, and supporting unpaid carers.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential risk to vulnerable people of the accidental ingestion of hearing aid batteries.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In terms of the Department’s policy on rechargeable hearing aids on the National Health Service, audiology services are locally commissioned and as such the responsibility for meeting the needs of non-hearing adults lies with local NHS commissioners. In July 2016, NHS England published a framework which supports clinical commissioning groups and assists integrated care boards (ICBs) to make informed decisions about what is good value for the populations they serve, and to provide more consistent, high quality, integrated care. The Framework for Clinical Commissioning Groups is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/HLCF.pdf
NHS England supports ICBs to make informed decisions about the provision of hearing services so that they can provide consistent, high quality, and integrated care to adults with hearing loss.
ICBs commission services to provide hearing aids, and service specification indicates that the NHS will provide up to two packets of hearing aid batteries per hearing aid at a time. If an individual has to have an NHS hearing aid, they can get free batteries and repairs from the NHS hearing aid service who fitted the hearing aids. Both rechargeable and battery powered devices are available on the NHS Supply Chain Framework Agreement, as are the batteries, and over the last 12 months, approximately £4.63 million was spent on batteries by trusts via NHS Supply Chain Framework Agreements, although this may not include all spend by the NHS.
Regarding an assessment of the potential risk to vulnerable people of the accidental ingestion of hearing aid batteries, all users of hearing aids should be provided with the manufacturer’s user guide and appropriate guidance on hearing aid and batteries management. Guidance on hearing aid and battery management based on the national safety alert is available at the following link:
There is a known risk to paediatric and vulnerable patients of accidentally ingesting hearing aid batteries, but in the case of paediatric patients, there has to be a tamperproof battery door on the device to meet the product specification. These devices are physically evaluated by a team of audiologists, ahead of being available through the framework agreement. There are also adult devices that have this same provision, so again this mitigates the risk.
Any button and coin batteries can pose a severe health risk, particularly to children, if inserted, swallowed, or ingested. All consumer products must be safe before they can be placed on the market, and the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) published guidance for businesses on the steps to take to mitigate potential battery-related risks in products that incorporate or are powered by button and coin batteries. The guidance for businesses on the use of button and coin batteries, published by the OPSS, is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-button-and-coin-batteries
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the yearly cost to the NHS is of the provision of replacement hearing aid batteries.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In terms of the Department’s policy on rechargeable hearing aids on the National Health Service, audiology services are locally commissioned and as such the responsibility for meeting the needs of non-hearing adults lies with local NHS commissioners. In July 2016, NHS England published a framework which supports clinical commissioning groups and assists integrated care boards (ICBs) to make informed decisions about what is good value for the populations they serve, and to provide more consistent, high quality, integrated care. The Framework for Clinical Commissioning Groups is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/HLCF.pdf
NHS England supports ICBs to make informed decisions about the provision of hearing services so that they can provide consistent, high quality, and integrated care to adults with hearing loss.
ICBs commission services to provide hearing aids, and service specification indicates that the NHS will provide up to two packets of hearing aid batteries per hearing aid at a time. If an individual has to have an NHS hearing aid, they can get free batteries and repairs from the NHS hearing aid service who fitted the hearing aids. Both rechargeable and battery powered devices are available on the NHS Supply Chain Framework Agreement, as are the batteries, and over the last 12 months, approximately £4.63 million was spent on batteries by trusts via NHS Supply Chain Framework Agreements, although this may not include all spend by the NHS.
Regarding an assessment of the potential risk to vulnerable people of the accidental ingestion of hearing aid batteries, all users of hearing aids should be provided with the manufacturer’s user guide and appropriate guidance on hearing aid and batteries management. Guidance on hearing aid and battery management based on the national safety alert is available at the following link:
There is a known risk to paediatric and vulnerable patients of accidentally ingesting hearing aid batteries, but in the case of paediatric patients, there has to be a tamperproof battery door on the device to meet the product specification. These devices are physically evaluated by a team of audiologists, ahead of being available through the framework agreement. There are also adult devices that have this same provision, so again this mitigates the risk.
Any button and coin batteries can pose a severe health risk, particularly to children, if inserted, swallowed, or ingested. All consumer products must be safe before they can be placed on the market, and the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) published guidance for businesses on the steps to take to mitigate potential battery-related risks in products that incorporate or are powered by button and coin batteries. The guidance for businesses on the use of button and coin batteries, published by the OPSS, is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-button-and-coin-batteries
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on the provision of rechargable hearing aids on the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In terms of the Department’s policy on rechargeable hearing aids on the National Health Service, audiology services are locally commissioned and as such the responsibility for meeting the needs of non-hearing adults lies with local NHS commissioners. In July 2016, NHS England published a framework which supports clinical commissioning groups and assists integrated care boards (ICBs) to make informed decisions about what is good value for the populations they serve, and to provide more consistent, high quality, integrated care. The Framework for Clinical Commissioning Groups is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/HLCF.pdf
NHS England supports ICBs to make informed decisions about the provision of hearing services so that they can provide consistent, high quality, and integrated care to adults with hearing loss.
ICBs commission services to provide hearing aids, and service specification indicates that the NHS will provide up to two packets of hearing aid batteries per hearing aid at a time. If an individual has to have an NHS hearing aid, they can get free batteries and repairs from the NHS hearing aid service who fitted the hearing aids. Both rechargeable and battery powered devices are available on the NHS Supply Chain Framework Agreement, as are the batteries, and over the last 12 months, approximately £4.63 million was spent on batteries by trusts via NHS Supply Chain Framework Agreements, although this may not include all spend by the NHS.
Regarding an assessment of the potential risk to vulnerable people of the accidental ingestion of hearing aid batteries, all users of hearing aids should be provided with the manufacturer’s user guide and appropriate guidance on hearing aid and batteries management. Guidance on hearing aid and battery management based on the national safety alert is available at the following link:
There is a known risk to paediatric and vulnerable patients of accidentally ingesting hearing aid batteries, but in the case of paediatric patients, there has to be a tamperproof battery door on the device to meet the product specification. These devices are physically evaluated by a team of audiologists, ahead of being available through the framework agreement. There are also adult devices that have this same provision, so again this mitigates the risk.
Any button and coin batteries can pose a severe health risk, particularly to children, if inserted, swallowed, or ingested. All consumer products must be safe before they can be placed on the market, and the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) published guidance for businesses on the steps to take to mitigate potential battery-related risks in products that incorporate or are powered by button and coin batteries. The guidance for businesses on the use of button and coin batteries, published by the OPSS, is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-button-and-coin-batteries
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the work of Air Ambulance charities.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and the National Health Service continue to support the work of air ambulance charities, including through the NHS ambulance trusts’ provision of key clinical staff and medical equipment, which supports the operation of air ambulances.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide capital funding to Air Ambulance charities.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and the National Health Service continue to support the work of air ambulance charities, including through the NHS ambulance trusts’ provision of key clinical staff and medical equipment, which supports the operation of air ambulances.