Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to ensure dedicated miscarriage facilities are available within maternity ward settings to support miscarriage trauma and grief.
Answered by James Morris
NHS England’s guidance on the configuration of the estate in maternity services states that a woman who has lost her baby should not be accommodated on a ward or bedroom where there are new mothers. The guidance, Children, young people and maternity services. Health Building Note 09-02: Maternity care facilities’ is available at the follow:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/HBN_09-02_Final.pdf
We have funded SANDS to work with other baby loss charities and the Royal Colleges to produce and support a National Bereavement Care Pathway (NBCP) to reduce the variation in the quality of bereavement care provided by the National Health Service. The NBCP standards ensure that families can access dedicated miscarriage facilities. As of 1 April 2022, 78% of NHS trusts in England have committed to adopting the nine NBCP standards.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS statistics that one in six children aged between six and 16 have a probably mental health disorder, whether the Government plans to provide additional support for youth mental health services.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We have committed to invest an additional £2.3 billion a year to expand mental health services in England by 2023/24. This will enable a further 345,000 children and young people to access National Health Service-funded mental health support.
In 2021/22, we made £500 million available to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. This included £79 million to ensure that approximately 22,500 more children and young people could access community mental health services and a further 2,000 to access eating disorder services. We have also accelerated the coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges to 20% to 25% of the country, which will increase to over 500 teams, covering approximately 35% of pupils by 2023/24. We have also launched a public call for evidence to support the development of a new cross-Government ten-year plan for mental health which is open until 7 July 2022.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has taken steps to amend mental health services provision for children in response to increased demand for those services as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We have committed to invest an additional £2.3 billion a year to expand mental health services in England by 2023/24. This will enable a further 345,000 children and young people to access National Health Service-funded mental health support.
In 2021/22, we made £500 million available to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. This included £79 million to ensure that approximately 22,500 more children and young people could access community mental health services and a further 2,000 to access eating disorder services. We have also accelerated the coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges to 20% to 25% of the country, which will increase to over 500 teams, covering approximately 35% of pupils by 2023/24. We have also launched a public call for evidence to support the development of a new cross-Government ten-year plan for mental health which is open until 7 July 2022.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
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 adequacy of post-diagnosis support services for children with autistic spectrum disorder.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
No recent assessment has been made. However, in 2021/22 NHS England and NHS Improvement provided £7 million to local areas to test and implement timely autism diagnosis and post-diagnosis pathways for children and young people. NHS England and NHS Improvement are also developing a national framework for autism diagnostic pathways for children and young people. The ‘SEND review: right support, right place, right time’ green paper is consulting on improvements in health, care and educational support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, including those who are autistic.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
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 reduce waiting times for disabled children to receive community equipment assessments.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government will require workplaces to conduct risk assessments for the potential effect of working arrangements on people who are immunosuppressed.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We have made no such assessment. The Government continues to provide guidance for employers, including in the health and social care sector, to take reasonable steps to manage the risks of COVID-19 and protect staff. ‘Reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, in the workplace’, published on 1 April 2022, is available at the following link:
For workers who are at greater risk of serious illness from COVID-19, such as those with a weakened immune system, employers may wish to consider their specific needs, including any entitlement to a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010.
The Health and Safety Executive no longer requires every business to consider COVID-19 in its risk assessment or have specific measures in place. However, employers may still choose to continue to include COVID-19 in risk assessments. Employers should also continue to comply with the requirements for cleaning, ventilation and welfare facilities in the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 or the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 to control occupational health and safety risks. Employers have a duty to consult with employees or their representatives on health and safety matters.