Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 length of time that patients transported to the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust by ambulance (a) have to wait for an ambulance to arrive and (b) remain waiting in an ambulance before being admitted into A&E.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No specific assessment has been made as this information is not collected centrally.
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust is improving ambulance handover times through monitoring ambulance arrivals and waiting times. Dedicated areas for patients awaiting a trolley have been established to allow ambulance crews to respond to calls. The Trust has monthly meetings with London Ambulance Service and South East Coast Ambulance Service to review handover times and a standard operating procedure to support ambulance handovers to the urgent treatment centre and same day emergency care service for appropriate patients has been established.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 the covid-19 pandemic on patients with liver disease and the recent ONS data showing a 20 per cent increase in alcohol-related liver disease deaths in 2020.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Rates of admission to hospital where the primary diagnosis was liver disease decreased in 2020-21 compared with 2019-20. Rates of admission to hospital for alcoholic liver disease increased over the same period.
The government published a report in July 2021 on the changes of alcohol consumption and harm during the COVID-19 pandemic. Deaths from alcoholic liver disease in 2020 accounted for 80.3% of total alcohol specific deaths. In 2020, there were 5,608 deaths from alcoholic liver disease, a 20.8% increase from the 4,643 deaths in 2019. The increase has been linked with to increased alcohol consumption among heavy drinkers.
The report is available at the following link:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-consumption-and-harm-during-the-covid-19-pandemic
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 liver disease patients as the NHS recovers from the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Liver disease is a priority in the NHS Long Term Plan. £2.3 billion of capital funding has been allocated in the Spending Review 2021 for investment in diagnostic services, to support transformation of those services, with the increased capacity being used to diagnose liver disease. Regions will work with Integrated Care Systems, diagnostic networks, and primary care services to determine the location and configuration of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDC) services, based on the needs of the local population. National guidance on speciality pathways suitable for CDC sites, with liver disease as an area of focus, is being developed with support from the national clinical advisors. NHS England has prioritised the World Health Organisation (WHO) goal to eliminate Hepatitis C, a significant cause of end-stage liver disease, as a public health issue in advance of the WHO 2030 target.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to make further use of the community pharmacy network during the roll out of the covid-19 vaccination booster.
Answered by Maggie Throup
NHS England and NHS Improvement is currently running a further expression of interest exercise for community pharmacy, in areas where there are gaps in the provision of booster vaccination. All community pharmacy sites are supported to extend their opening hours and ensure they can deliver at their maximum capacity. Community pharmacy vaccination sites have also been supported through a wide range of other measures including increased fees for the service and flexible opening hours to allow the sites to focus on the vaccination service.
No assessment has yet been made on the potential role that the community pharmacy sector could play in helping to deliver COVID-19 vaccinations, in the event that regular boosters are required. At present, the need for and frequency of any potential recurrent boosters’ programme is not known. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will maintain close review of available data related to durability of protection against severe COVID-19 in all age groups and will develop further advice in due course.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 potential role that the community pharmacy sector could play in helping to deliver covid-19 vaccinations in the event that regular boosters are required.
Answered by Maggie Throup
NHS England and NHS Improvement is currently running a further expression of interest exercise for community pharmacy, in areas where there are gaps in the provision of booster vaccination. All community pharmacy sites are supported to extend their opening hours and ensure they can deliver at their maximum capacity. Community pharmacy vaccination sites have also been supported through a wide range of other measures including increased fees for the service and flexible opening hours to allow the sites to focus on the vaccination service.
No assessment has yet been made on the potential role that the community pharmacy sector could play in helping to deliver COVID-19 vaccinations, in the event that regular boosters are required. At present, the need for and frequency of any potential recurrent boosters’ programme is not known. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will maintain close review of available data related to durability of protection against severe COVID-19 in all age groups and will develop further advice in due course.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 potential increased pressures that community pharmacies will experience as primary care providers focus on the covid-19 vaccination booster programme.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The impact has been discussed with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee. As a result, it has been agreed that all community pharmacies will benefit from contractual easements, to reduce pressure and to increase capacity. The deadline for meeting the requirements of the Pharmacy Quality Scheme will be extended and the requirements to complete the Community Pharmacy Patient Questionnaire for 2021/2022 and both a national and local multidisciplinary clinical audits have been waived.
Community pharmacy led vaccination sites will be able to amend their opening hours to focus on the vaccination service. To support patients during these closures, vaccination sites will be able to deliver urgent medication to patients who need their medicines while the pharmacy is closed. Also, as with other vaccination sites, community pharmacy vaccination sites are eligible for increased fees for any booster they administer before the end of January.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when all remaining eligible care home residents will have been invited to receive their covid-19 booster vaccine.
Answered by Maggie Throup
All care home residents are eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccination at three months since their second dose was administered. Booster doses have been delivered at over 99% of older adult care homes in England. Roving vaccination teams will continue to visit care homes to deliver additional doses required. Where there are care homes currently experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, booked visits by vaccination teams will take place when it is safe for all to do so.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 increase take-up of the covid-19 booster vaccine amongst care home residents.
Answered by Maggie Throup
All care home residents are eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccination at three months since their second dose was administered. Booster doses have been delivered at over 99% of older adult care homes in England. Roving vaccination teams will continue to visit care homes to deliver additional doses required. Where there are care homes currently experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, booked visits by vaccination teams will take place when it is safe for all to do so.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2021 to Question 62570, on Kidney Diseases: Dialysis Machines, whether his Department plans to set a deadline for each of the renal clinical networks to implement a workforce plan to ensure the delivery of the dialysis programme as set out in the GiRFT report.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) speciality report on renal medicine, published September 2021, recommended that all renal centres provide a minimum of 20% of patients with dialysis services at home within 12 months.
NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Renal Services Transformation Plan (RSTP) has established 11 regional clinical networks to meet this recommendation. Of 51 renal centres, 16 units have met or exceeded this minimum level, with several centres achieving more than 30% of patients receiving dialysis at home. NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked renal networks to ensure units continue to develop home therapies and increase levels of dialysis at home. Providers, integrated care systems and regional commissioners will monitor progress via the UK Renal Registry and NHS England Renal datasets.
The GIRFT report set a deadline for all centres to establish the required staffing model by September 2022. NHS England and NHS Improvement are encouraging clinicians and centres to consider the GIRFT recommendations in their work and the individual sites will evaluate how best to implement them.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2021 to Question 62570, on Kidney Diseases: Dialysis Machines, when his Department expects all renal centres to meet the recommendation outlined in the GiRFT report to achieve a 20 per cent minimum home dialysis rate; and what steps his Department plans to take to encourage those centres that have achieved a 20 per cent minimum home dialysis rate to increase that rate.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) speciality report on renal medicine, published September 2021, recommended that all renal centres provide a minimum of 20% of patients with dialysis services at home within 12 months.
NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Renal Services Transformation Plan (RSTP) has established 11 regional clinical networks to meet this recommendation. Of 51 renal centres, 16 units have met or exceeded this minimum level, with several centres achieving more than 30% of patients receiving dialysis at home. NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked renal networks to ensure units continue to develop home therapies and increase levels of dialysis at home. Providers, integrated care systems and regional commissioners will monitor progress via the UK Renal Registry and NHS England Renal datasets.
The GIRFT report set a deadline for all centres to establish the required staffing model by September 2022. NHS England and NHS Improvement are encouraging clinicians and centres to consider the GIRFT recommendations in their work and the individual sites will evaluate how best to implement them.