Asked by: Julie Hilling (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the five neuroscience tertiary centres in the north west of England have committed to funding a neuromuscular clinical network for the region.
Answered by Norman Lamb
NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised services, including neuromuscular services.
NHS England advises that National Health Service providers have not confirmed funding for a neuromuscular clinical network in the North West.
Asked by: Julie Hilling (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS England has taken to meet the Neurosciences: Specialised Neurology (Adult) service specification in Lancashire and Southern Cumbria for providing neuromuscular care co-ordinator support to adults and outreach clinics in that region.
Answered by Norman Lamb
NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised services, including neuromuscular services.
The NHS England North West Specialised Commissioning Team has, as part of a national exercise, assessed all providers of specialised services against standards for service specification. The only provider in the Lancashire and South Cumbria area is the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. NHS England advises that the Trust has indicated it is compliant with the Neurosciences: Specialised Neurology (Adult) service specification.
Asked by: Julie Hilling (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2015 to the hon. Member for Pudsey to Question 222863, by what date he plans for the negotiations about the supply of meningococcal B vaccine to be concluded.
Answered by Jane Ellison
We are continuing to meet with the manufacturer working to reach a positive conclusion to the negotiations for supply of the meningococcal B vaccine, Bexsero® at a cost-effective price, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. We aim to conclude these negotiations as soon as possible.
Asked by: Julie Hilling (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on developing a neuromuscular managed clinical network for the North West region.
Answered by Norman Lamb
NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised services, including neuromuscular services.
Officials from NHS England’s North West Specialised Commissioning Team have recently met the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign to talk through the logistics of establishing an Operational Delivery Network for Neuromuscular Conditions in the North West. Operational Delivery Networks are one of two types of network replacing Managed Clinical Networks (the other being Strategic Clinical Networks) and are owned and led by providers, with commissioner support.
Asked by: Julie Hilling (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase neuromuscular care advisor support for adults in North Lancashire and South Cumbria living with neuromuscular conditions.
Answered by Norman Lamb
NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised services, including neuromuscular services.
NHS England published Neurosciences: Specialised Neurology (Adult) in July 2013. This service specification describes the service commissioned by NHS England for patients with a neuromuscular disorder. Care is provided via a managed clinical pathway that supports multidisciplinary and cross organisational working. The multi-disciplinary team includes neuromuscular care coordinators.
The service specification has been implemented from 1 October 2013. NHS England is working with providers to ensure they comply with the service description and standards.
Asked by: Julie Hilling (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many full time equivalent staff in the NHS in England were employed as (a) diagnostic radiographers, (b) clinical radiologists, (c) ultrasonographers, (d) medical endoscopists, (e) nurse endoscopists, (f) radiotherapy physics staff, (g) nuclear medicine technologists, (h) therapeutic radiographers and (i) clinical oncologists in each of the last five years; and how many of each group were at consultant level.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Health and Social Care Information Centre publish an annual workforce census, which shows staff working in the National Health Service in England. The latest information from the census was published in March 2014 and shows the position at 30 September 2013, the next annual census will be published in March 2015. The available information is in the attached tables. Data for ultrasonographers, medical endoscopists or nurse endoscopists is not available as these staff cannot be separately identified.
Data on consultants is only applicable for the medical staff – clinical radiologists and oncologists.
Asked by: Julie Hilling (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consideration his Department has given to introducing child protection checks for parents commissioning surrogacy from abroad before being permitted to do so.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Department is aware that surrogacy is an evolving area in terms of court judgments, societal attitudes and demands and policy approach, and is giving consideration to a range of surrogacy-related issues. The feasibility of safeguarding checks is being considered as part of on-going discussions within a cross-Departmental working group on international surrogacy.
Asked by: Julie Hilling (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to promote the use of blood bikes for the transportation of blood to hospital trusts.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Whilst recognising the work of blood bikes, the Department is not actively promoting their use as it is a matter for individual trusts to decide whether they wish to use such services.
Asked by: Julie Hilling (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will provide figures showing how much money has been saved by the NHS by the use of blood bikes for the transportation of blood (a) nationally and (b) in the North West region in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Julie Hilling (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to introduce clinical guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and management of obstructive sleep apnoea; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jane Ellison
NHS England is committed to working with partners across the health system to reduce mortality and improve outcomes for people with respiratory disease.
NHS England is now responsible for commissioning National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines relating to National Health Service services and is responsible for liaising with NICE about the prioritisation of NHS quality standards in development. We understand that NICE has not been asked to develop a clinical guideline specifically on obstructive sleep apnoea.
NICE has been commissioned to develop a quality standard on sleep disordered breathing and will in due course consider which conditions will be covered under the scope of the quality standard and the need for associated clinical guidance. Local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for assessing the needs of their local populations and for commissioning services to meet those needs. For patients with obstructive sleep apnoea, NHS England expects CCGs to take into account the NICE guidelines when deciding what services should be made available.
NHS England currently has no plans to continue the work of the obstructive sleep apnoea working group. However, the National Clinical Director for Respiratory Disease, Professor Mike Morgan, will continue to consider whether any additional specific initiatives or commissioning protocols are needed to promote best practice and treatment for people with obstructive sleep apnoea and to provide advice on this.