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
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
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
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.