Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest 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 the number of NHS patients harmed by cobalt poisoning from modular neck hip replacements in each of the last three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is aware of concerns regarding modular neck hips and the risk of cobalt poisoning. We are investigating the issue with our stakeholders including the British Orthopaedic Association, British Hip Society, and the National Joint Registry to support.
The term modular neck covers a broad range of designs, and adverse incident reports of this sort typically include descriptions of symptoms rather than a definitive diagnosis of cobalt poisoning. In addition, it is not possible to uniquely identify cobalt poisoning from hip replacements in the ICD-10 coding scheme currently used in Hospital Episode Statistics.
The UK Medical Devices Regulations provide clear requirements for manufacturers to undertake post-market surveillance activities to ensure safety action is taken, when appropriate. The MHRA is working towards implementing a future regime for medical devices regulation. This will put in place strengthened legal requirements for how manufacturers monitor and report on their devices once they are being used in the real world.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what grounds a hospital can change its records regarding a patient's next of kin (a) after the patient has been admitted and (b) without the consent of the (i) patient and (ii) patient's next of kin as designated at the time of admission; and what processes are in place for (A) recording and (B) changing hospital records on a patient's next of kin.
Answered by Will Quince
National Health Service trusts may ask a patient to nominate their next of kin on admission to hospital. A hospital will not ordinarily change a patient’s next of kin unless the patient has requested this. In the event a patient does not have a next of kin, health professionals may use their discretion to liaise with family and friends to appoint one.
If it is an emergency and it is unclear who the patient’s next of kin is, and the patient is unable to communicate their choice, the hospital will normally seek advice from the person they believe is closest to the patient and allocate one. Where the next of kin has been changed, both the general practice and hospital records would be duly updated.
NHS England provides further information on amending patient and service user records, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to hold back the proposed sale by the NHS of the site and buildings of the Fenwick Hospital, Lyndhurst until (a) documentation is produced specifying (i) who owns the title and (ii) what the terms were under which the original gift of ownership to the Lyndhurst community came under control of the NHS in 1948 and (b) sufficient time has been given to the League of Friends of the Fenwick Hospital further to develop plans for its future and assemble financial support to implement them.
Answered by Will Quince
The future use of Fenwick Community Hospital is subject to the plans set out by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board and NHS England and is not a matter for the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board and NHS England have offered a meeting to League of Friends and Julian Lewis MP, in order that all information relating to the legal title of the Fenwick Hospital, Lyndhurst can be shared and discussed. Following this meeting, date to be confirmed, a decision relating to the auction sale of the site and its timing can be made.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many inpatient beds there were in NHS community hospitals in England in (a) 1997, (b) 2010 and (c) 2022; and if he will make an assessment of trends in inpatient capacity in those hospitals between those dates.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
NHS England holds data on the number of community rehab beds in England collected monthly through the NHS Capacity Tracker, but this data is not available in 1997 and 2010. Monthly data collection on community rehab beds started in 2020, from which point capacity has increased. The Capacity Tracker shows there were 7,062 community rehab beds in August 2020, rising to 7,629 in January 2022 and 7,999 in January 2023.
A community hospital is a service which offers integrated health and social care services in the community. Therefore ‘community hospital’ functions are carried out in a range of places including intermediate care and rehab settings and District General hospitals, not just in buildings called community hospitals. NHS England therefore define beds on function rather than on place or building.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential role of inpatient beds in community hospitals as step-down beds to release capacity in general hospitals; and how many inpatient beds there are in community hospitals in England.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In line with the ‘Home First’ approach, patients for whom care and assessment can safely be continued in a non-acute setting should be discharged to their own home or a community setting. We are providing an additional £200 million of funding specifically for short term care. This will accelerate discharge and free up hospital beds for those who need them.
Information on the number of inpatient beds in community hospitals is not available in the format requested.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will list the (a) NHS hospitals which contain dedicated centres for the removal of failed vaginal mesh and (b) dates on which those centres became operational.
Answered by Caroline Johnson - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The following National Health Service hospitals provide specialised services for patients with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse:
- Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust;
- Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust;
- Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust;
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
- University College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust;
- University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust; and
- North Bristol NHS Foundation Trust.
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust and North Bristol NHS Foundation Trust commenced delivery of services for the removal of failed vaginal mesh in November 2021 and April 2022 respectively. The remaining hospitals commenced delivery of services for the removal of failed vaginal mesh in April 2021.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to substantively respond to Questions (a) 124936 on Surgical Mesh Implants: South East, due for Answer on 23 February, (b) 127247 on Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Independent Review, due for answer on 25 February and (c) 131025 on Members: Correspondence, seeking a response to a letter dated 6 December 2021 from the Rt hon. Member for New Forest East about a vulnerable constituent and due for answer on 3 March; for what reason none of the substantive answers have yet been forthcoming; and what steps he plans take to ensure that Questions receive a substantive answer on the date they are due.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answers to Questions 124936, 127247 and 131025.
We take parliamentary scrutiny incredibly seriously and it is fundamentally important that hon. Members are provided with accurate and timely information to enable them to hold the Government to account. We are working rapidly to provide all Members with accurate answers to their questions, while supporting the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take in response to the letter to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State from Marie Lyon, Association for Children Damaged By HPT, Kath Sansom, Sling The Mesh, Emma Murphy and Janet Williams, In-Fact, on behalf of people damaged by vaginal mesh, sodium valproate and Primodos on the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review 2020 led by Baroness Cumberlege.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Department’s central correspondence team have no record of receiving this letter. We would be happy to respond formally if the letter could be re-sent to the Department.
The Government’s response to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review accepted the majority of the nine strategic recommendations and 50 actions for improvement. The recommendations and actions for improvement included vaginal mesh and sodium valproate. We aim to publish an update on implementation of the accepted recommendations in the summer.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when a reply will be given to the right Hon. member for New Forest East to his letter of 6 December 2021 about a constituent who is unable to wear masks and has been required to work from home by Solent NHS Trust, despite being triple-vaccinated for covid-19 and working in a non-customer facing role at a desk two metres apart from any other in their normal workplace.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We replied to the Rt hon. Member on 15 March 2022.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress has been made in establishing the South East Regional specialist centre for the treatment of women damaged by mesh implants; and whether checks will be carried out to ensure that such women, when seeking remedial treatment from that specialist centre, are not placed in the hands of surgeons who were responsible for (a) implanting the mesh originally, (b) denying that anything had gone wrong with the implants and (c) claiming that women reporting extreme physical pain from the implants were imagining it.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The specialist centre for the South East region based at Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is now accepting referrals and offering treatment to patients who have been adversely affected by mesh implants. The surgery to remove mesh implanted for stress urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse is a relatively new surgical discipline. Expertise is therefore concentrated in a limited number of specialist centres, such as the South East centre, led by a core multi-disciplinary team including consultant specialists in urogynaecology, urology and colorectal surgery. Patients also have access to a team including pelvic floor specialist physiotherapy, psychology, psychosexual counselling, occupational therapy, specialist imaging and pain management services.
Patients can discuss their choice of surgeon with the multi-disciplinary team if they have concerns regarding a specific clinician and can also discuss a referral to a surgeon in another specialist mesh centre.