Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had discussions with the (a) General Medical Council and (b) Health and Care Professions Council on signing the Hillsborough Charter.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There have been no discussions between the department’s ministers and the General Medical Council or the Health and Care Professions Council on signing the Hillsborough Charter. As set out on 6 December 2023, in the Government's response to Bishop James Jones' independent report, many organisations, in addition to His Majesty’s Government, have already signed the Hillsborough Charter, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council, College of Policing, Crown Prosecution Service, Fire Service, and Kensington and Chelsea Council. This Government will encourage and work with other public bodies to adopt the Charter and commit to learn the lessons of the Hillsborough families disaster, to ensure that the failings we saw in the aftermath of the disaster are never repeated.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether organisations within the NHS are required to sign the Hillsborough Charter.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no requirement for organisations within the National Health Service to sign the Hillsborough Charter but, in line with the Government’s response to Bishop James Jones’ review of the Hillsborough families’ experiences, we will encourage the NHS to adopt the Charter and commit to learn the lessons of the Hillsborough disaster.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many licence applications for (a) plant-based and (b) alcohol-free medicines the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency received in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of applications for plant-based and alcohol-free medicines that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has received in the last five years:
Year | Plant-based medicines | Alcohol-free medicines |
2019 | 21 | 850 |
2020 | 3 | 1209 |
2021 | 1 | 1242 |
2022 | 1 | 1065 |
2023 | 4 | 1084 |
Source: Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
Notes:
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of the number of NHS staff who have (a) no savings, (b) savings of less than £100 and (c) savings equivalent to less than (i) one and (ii) three month's salary.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has no plans to make a specific estimate.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how long on average the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency takes to respond to written correspondence from Hon and Rt Hon Members.
Answered by Will Quince
Over the last six months, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency takes (MHRA) Customer Experience Centre have handled on average 5,500 enquiries per month. The MHRA received 56 enquiries from Honourable and Right Honourable Members between 1 December 2022 and 31 May 2023. Of these, seven were responded to within the 18 working day target, 17 were responded to outside of the 18 working day target, and 32 await a response. The average response time across the 56 enquiries is 46.5 days. All 56 enquiries have been acknowledged.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what avenues for new capital funding are available for the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
We are investing over £9 billion in the National Health Service this year to deliver significant new capacity, including through additional beds, community diagnostic centres, surgical hubs, discharge facilities, hospital upgrades and new hospitals.
As the vast majority of funding has already been allocated to individual schemes within these programmes, any new schemes will be considered through a new rolling capital investment programme, that will allow for the construction of more hospitals in the long term.
In the meantime, NHS Trusts should continue to engage with their Integrated Care System to help consider whether there is scope to prioritise schemes within local investment plans.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on arranging capital funding for intensive care bed expansion at Northwick Park Hospital; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS England are currently allocated an additional £250 million to support trusts to increase capacity and improve flow across urgent and emergency care. Northwick Park made a bid as part of the Urgent Emergency Care (UEC) capital fund for a modular unit to reduce pressure on urgent and emergency care services. The programme allocations will be announced in due course.
Investments outside the UEC capital fund would need to be prioritised through the operational capital of integrated care systems.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated for research into treatment of neuroblastoma in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
A table is attached showing the research funding into treatment of neuroblastoma.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is also supporting delivery in the health and care system of neuroblastoma research, funded by research funding partners in the charity and public sectors. For example, over the last 10 years, the NIHR Clinical Research Network has supported approximately 27 neuroblastoma related studies.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including neuroblastoma. As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area, is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
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 the Home Secretary on speeding up the processing of Health and Care Worker visas for those people roles in the NHS; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has had no recent discussions with the Home Secretary on speeding up the processing of Health and Care Worker visas for those people in roles in the National Health Service.
Health and social care workers who apply for the Health and Care Worker visa benefit from a shorter service standard of 15 working days for a decision on their visa.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the efficacy of NHS guidelines on managing ovarian cysts during pregnancy; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists currently publish guidelines for the management of ovarian cysts in both pre- and post-menopausal women. The presence of an ovarian cyst can come to light during pregnancy either because of symptoms or as an incidental finding during routine ultrasonography.
Ovarian cysts are common in pregnancy and are usually small and of no clinical significance. While the guidelines do not specifically include pregnant women, care in pregnancy is largely the same as outside pregnancy in that it is individualised depending on clinical presentation and whether ultrasound scans identify concerning features requiring further investigation or intervention. Where appropriate, surgical intervention occurs after delivery of the baby, although can occur during pregnancy when urgent. Optimal care is provided by multidisciplinary teams involving gynaecology, radiology, obstetric and midwifery input.