Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of waiting times for a bed in hospital A&E wards on essential medical care for patients.
Answered by Edward Argar
Hospital capacity data as of 22 February 2022 is not yet available. As of 13 February 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement advise that in England, there were 5,705 National Health Service hospital beds available each day on average, with overall occupancy of 93.7%. Data on hospitals exceeding full capacity is not collected centrally. Hospitals regularly plan for activity surges and can flexibly increase the number of beds available to meet demand.
No estimate has been made on the average waiting time for a bed in hospital accident and emergency (A&E) wards or of the impact of essential medical care. NHS England and NHS Improvement monitors A&E waiting times and the impact on patients. Patients requiring admission to hospital will have essential medical treatment commenced during their A&E care.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
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 the average waiting time for a bed in hospital A&E wards.
Answered by Edward Argar
Hospital capacity data as of 22 February 2022 is not yet available. As of 13 February 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement advise that in England, there were 5,705 National Health Service hospital beds available each day on average, with overall occupancy of 93.7%. Data on hospitals exceeding full capacity is not collected centrally. Hospitals regularly plan for activity surges and can flexibly increase the number of beds available to meet demand.
No estimate has been made on the average waiting time for a bed in hospital accident and emergency (A&E) wards or of the impact of essential medical care. NHS England and NHS Improvement monitors A&E waiting times and the impact on patients. Patients requiring admission to hospital will have essential medical treatment commenced during their A&E care.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of (a) hospital capacity limits as of 22 February 2022 and (b) how often hospitals exceed full capacity.
Answered by Edward Argar
Hospital capacity data as of 22 February 2022 is not yet available. As of 13 February 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement advise that in England, there were 5,705 National Health Service hospital beds available each day on average, with overall occupancy of 93.7%. Data on hospitals exceeding full capacity is not collected centrally. Hospitals regularly plan for activity surges and can flexibly increase the number of beds available to meet demand.
No estimate has been made on the average waiting time for a bed in hospital accident and emergency (A&E) wards or of the impact of essential medical care. NHS England and NHS Improvement monitors A&E waiting times and the impact on patients. Patients requiring admission to hospital will have essential medical treatment commenced during their A&E care.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of nurses in NHS hospitals in England are registered nurses.
Answered by Edward Argar
To work as a nurse in a National Health Service hospital in England, professionals must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the two-monthly report on the status of the provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020 published on 21 July 2021, what alternative measures the Department considered other than those contained under the Coronavirus Act 2020 to ensure that everyone was protected throughout the duration of the pandemic.
Answered by Maggie Throup
To develop the package of measures included in the Coronavirus Act 2020, the Government built on a draft emergency bill, originally developed for dealing with an influenza pandemic, in partnership with the devolved administrations. We are unable to provide information on alternative measures considered in preparation for the bill as this relates to the formulation and development of Government policy.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with stakeholders on the potential merits of enshrining the title of Nurse in law as a protected title, requiring an individual to be registered as a Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, to legally use that title.
Answered by Edward Argar
The protection of a professional title is a key aspect of public protection. Protecting a title provides assurance to the public that someone using that title is competent and safe to practise. Although ‘registered nurse’ is a protected title, ‘nurse’ is not a protected title.
The Department has begun discussions with the professional regulators, including the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the Office of the Chief Nursing Officer for England, and the Royal College of Nursing to explore the issue of protected titles as part of the ongoing Government review of professional regulation. We will consider the protection of title offences relating to registered nurses, midwives and nursing associates when bringing forward reform of the NMC’s legal framework.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the two-monthly report on the status of the provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020, published on 21 July 2021, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of maintaining emergency powers under the Coronavirus Act 2020.
Answered by Jo Churchill
A thorough six-month review of the remaining temporary provisions in the Coronavirus Act 2020 is taking place in September. All provisions that are not essential for managing the pandemic will be recommended for expiry.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is lawful for bodies to be released from a mortuary without their identity being checked by either party.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Department has not had specific discussions. The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) is responsible, under the Human Tissue Act 2004, for licensing mortuaries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which undertake post-mortem examinations. The Human Tissue Act requires the HTA to prepare Codes of Practice on the standards expected by mortuaries in relation to carrying out activities in the making of post-mortems. In preparing their Codes of Practice the HTA consulted with the Department and appropriate stakeholders on the required standards.
The HTA’s licensing standards require licensed mortuaries to record all body release details in a mortuary register, including the date and name of the person who released the body and to whom it was released. It also expects that the identity of a body is specifically checked upon release from a licensed mortuary using three identifiers which are attached directly to the deceased, usually on a wristband and also securely attached to the outside of the body bag.
The HTA’s inspectors test that establishments meet these standards through regular traceability audits. Each licensed establishment must have a Designated Individual who has a legal duty to ensure that suitable practices are carried out by suitably trained people. This ensures that practices for identifying and documenting the deceased upon their release are robust.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders to prevent mortuaries from releasing bodies without any documentation being completed or signed for.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Department has not had specific discussions. The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) is responsible, under the Human Tissue Act 2004, for licensing mortuaries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which undertake post-mortem examinations. The Human Tissue Act requires the HTA to prepare Codes of Practice on the standards expected by mortuaries in relation to carrying out activities in the making of post-mortems. In preparing their Codes of Practice the HTA consulted with the Department and appropriate stakeholders on the required standards.
The HTA’s licensing standards require licensed mortuaries to record all body release details in a mortuary register, including the date and name of the person who released the body and to whom it was released. It also expects that the identity of a body is specifically checked upon release from a licensed mortuary using three identifiers which are attached directly to the deceased, usually on a wristband and also securely attached to the outside of the body bag.
The HTA’s inspectors test that establishments meet these standards through regular traceability audits. Each licensed establishment must have a Designated Individual who has a legal duty to ensure that suitable practices are carried out by suitably trained people. This ensures that practices for identifying and documenting the deceased upon their release are robust.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is lawful for police officers to use bodies in a mortuary for training purposes without the consent of their family.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) is responsible for licensing mortuaries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which undertake post-mortem examinations. The Human Tissue Act 2004 and the HTA's Codes of Practice require that consent must be in place to store and use bodies of the deceased.
Access to a mortuary by external visitors is covered by the HTA’s licensing standards. These require establishments to have in place documented policies for viewing of bodies by family members and others, such as the police. Establishments are required to have controlled access to body storage areas; arrangements to protect against unauthorised access; and to ensure oversight of visitors and contractors. Most post-mortem examinations are conducted under the authority of a coroner. The access to and use of bodies under the authority of HM Coroner by the police, are at the coroner’s discretion.