Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to increase the number of specialist practitioners researching and treating Tourette’s Syndrome and other neurological disorders.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Patients with Tourette’s syndrome can require support from a range of professionals, including clinical psychologists and neurologists. Health Education England is increasing the number of trained clinical psychologists through a 60% expansion in the clinical psychology training intake in the last two years. The number of postgraduate neurology training posts in England will also be increased by 10 from August 2022.
While there are no specific plans to increase the number of specialist practitioners researching Tourette’s syndrome, the National Institute for Health and Care Research and UK Research and Innovation welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including Tourette’s syndrome. All applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition. We continue to engage with stakeholders regarding Tourette’s syndrome and I recently met with the charity Tourette’s Action.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to improve the quality of training on Tourette’s syndrome and other neurological disorders for service providers in England.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Individual National Health Service employers are responsible for ensuring that staff are trained, competent and have the necessary skills to safely and effectively treat patients in their care, including those with Tourette’s syndrome and other neurological disorders. Health Education England’s e-learning for healthcare also offers sessions including content on Tourette’s syndrome.
Patients with Tourette’s syndrome are usually referred to specialist neurology services. A new curriculum for dual training in neurology and internal medicine produced by the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board is being implemented in August 2022 to manage the growing number of people with neurological diseases who can be treated and require long-term management and those who present acutely to neurology, stroke and general medical services.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to increase funding into the causes of and treatments for Tourette’s syndrome and other neurological disorders.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) the Department has funded or supported studies into the causes and treatments for Tourette’s syndrome. This includes a study on deep brain stimulation in people with Tourette’s syndrome and a digital behavioural intervention for tics in children and adolescents. In 2020/21, the NIHR’s expenditure on mental health research was £109 million. While it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions, the NIHR’s funding is available through open competition and researchers are encouraged to submit applications in this area.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness and role of the NICE guidance for Tourette’s Syndrome and other neurological disorders.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No specific assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidelines on a range of neurological disorders, including epilepsy, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. It has also published a guideline and quality standard for the recognition and referral of suspected neurological conditions. NICE guidelines represent best practice which healthcare professionals are expected to take fully into account in the treatment of individual patients.
NICE has not published a guideline on Tourette’s Syndrome. Decisions on the topics where NICE will develop guidelines are based on factors such as the evidence base and clinical need. A topic selection oversight group at NICE considers topics for guideline development on this basis. Clinical guideline topics prioritised through this process are formally referred to NICE by NHS England and NHS Improvement.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether care homes are legally able to deny visits from family or friends if there are positive cases of covid-19 in that care home.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Most care homes are privately run and free to make their own decisions about access to their properties. Before making these decisions, providers should consider the rights and views of their residents and the contractual relationship.
Care homes and other providers of social care have legal duties to protect their staff and residents from infection and to provide quality care. Under powers granted by the Coronavirus Act 2020, access to premises can be restricted in certain circumstances if required to prevent the spread of the virus. When there are positive COVID-19 cases within a care home, the guidance states that every resident should be allowed an essential care giver to visit inside the care home. Window or pod visits can continue with other visitors.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether private healthcare staff who are unvaccinated against covid-19 will be permitted to carry out NHS treatment.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The vaccination requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) (No.2) Regulations 2021 apply to both public and private providers of Care Quality Commission regulated services.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether private healthcare facilities will be able to hire staff from the NHS who have not been vaccinated against covid-19 and who have subsequently lost their jobs as a result.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The vaccination requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) (No.2) Regulations 2021 apply to both public and private providers of Care Quality Commission regulated services.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department collects on the number of NHS Trusts that are having to cancel priority two elective procedures because of capacity limitations.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department does not collect this data. While the collection of data on cancelled elective operations has been paused due to the pandemic, it is set to resume for Quarter 3 2021/22. However, this will not include data on operations by priority groups.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department’s elective recovery plan will include details on how (a) hospital bed and (b) surgical capacity should be prioritised to ensure the continuation of trauma and orthopaedic operations throughout the 2021 winter period.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department’s elective recovery plan will set out the long-term ambitions for recovery. Prioritisation of services will continue on the basis of clinical need and then by the length of time patients have been waiting. Plans for bed and surgical capacity, including the continuation of trauma and orthopaedic operations, will be considered as part of winter planning.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for adults waiting for an NHS referral for ADHD treatment.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Clinical commissioning groups and National Health Service trusts should have due regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline ‘Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management’. This guideline aims to improve the diagnosis of ADH and the quality of care and support that adults receive, including access to medication. The guideline does not recommend a maximum waiting time for adults to receive ADHD treatment.