Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will report on (1) the membership, (2) the workings, and (3) the decisions, of the Ministerial Oversight Group tasked with overseeing the use of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) orders; and what assessment they have made of the circumstances in which these orders are now being issued.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Ministerial Oversight Group was created in response to a key recommendation of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) review of how Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions were made during the early phases of the pandemic. Further details of the Group’s membership, workings and key decisions will be published in due course.
The Department does not record or assess the circumstances of DNACPRs orders in place. However, the Ministerial Oversight Group will be responsible for the delivery and required changes of the CQC’s recommendations, to ensure adherence to guidance across the system about how DNACPRs are used.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many patients who were subject to Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR) orders and died in NHS hospitals in England between 1 April 2020 and 31 March, had the option "unknown" marked next to the "name of the relevant other" on the DNAR form.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The information requested is not held centrally.
Due to the concerns raised at the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic around the application of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions, the Department asked the Care Quality Commission to review how these decisions were made. Their report was published in March. The Department has established a Ministerial Oversight Group that will be responsible for the delivery and required changes of the recommendations of this report, to ensure adherence to guidance across the system on how DNACPRs are used.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many patients who died in NHS hospitals in England between 1 April 2020 and 31 March and whose death certificate gave COVID-19 as the cause of death were subject to Do Not Attempt Resuscitation orders.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The information requested is not held centrally.
Due to the concerns raised at the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic around the application of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions, the Department asked the Care Quality Commission to review how these decisions were made. Their report was published in March. The Department has established a Ministerial Oversight Group that will be responsible for the delivery and required changes of the recommendations of this report, to ensure adherence to guidance across the system on how DNACPRs are used.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many patients who died in NHS hospitals in England between 1 April 2020 and 31 March were subject to Do Not Attempt Resuscitation orders.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The information requested is not held centrally.
Due to the concerns raised at the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic around the application of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions, the Department asked the Care Quality Commission to review how these decisions were made. Their report was published in March. The Department has established a Ministerial Oversight Group that will be responsible for the delivery and required changes of the recommendations of this report, to ensure adherence to guidance across the system on how DNACPRs are used.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to increase the opportunity for pregnant women to have two doses of vaccinations by the time their pregnancy is full term by ensuring that that the NHS vaccination booking system allows them to book a second dose of vaccine eight weeks after their first, and (2) to ensure that any NHS-supported applications used to enable such bookings reflect that opportunity.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Appointments for a second dose of the vaccine have been brought forward from 12 to eight weeks for those in priority cohorts one to nine who are yet to receive their second dose. This is in line with advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which the Government has accepted.
Pregnant women in priority cohorts one to nine due to age or clinical risk factor can book their second dose eight weeks after their first. Pregnant women in priority cohorts 10 to 12 can book their second dose 12 weeks after their first in line with their overall age cohort.
The National Booking Service operates according to the JCVI’s guidance on first and second doses. Local booking systems used by Primary Care Networks and general practitioner-led services have also been advised to operate according to this advice.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 27 April (HL15033), when they expect the assessment of National Health Service waiting times in England to be completed; and whether the assessment will be published promptly following its completion.
Answered by Lord Bethell
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 29 March (HL13356), what are the other two stages of the three-stage assessment process to attain full UKAS accreditation.
Answered by Lord Bethell
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of when NHS England's waiting times will return to those recorded in February 2020 (1) for all operations and procedures, and (2) for patients waiting for more than a year for non-urgent operations and procedures.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department is currently making an assessment of National Health Service waiting times in England, including the capacity to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) accuracy, and (2) usefulness, of lateral flow tests, following reports that the rate of false positives returned by these tests has increased as the prevalence of COVID-19 has fallen.
Answered by Lord Bethell
New analysis of community testing data shows lateral flow device (LFD) tests to have a specificity of at least 99.9%. For every 1,000 LFD tests carried out, there is less than one false positive result. Rapid testing using LFDs detects cases quickly in under 30 minutes, meaning positive cases can isolate immediately, breaking chains of transmission.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Minister of State for Care on 24 March (HCWS877), what functions are covered by the term "speciality and associate specialist doctors"; which of these functions had vacancies to improve the (1) recruitment, and (2) percentage of doctors in these posts; what are the "contractual changes" that will deliver improvements to NHS services; and what is the expected percentage increase of the cost of the Speciality and Associate Doctors' Contract Agreement from its implementation to the end of its first full year in operation.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The term ‘specialty and associate specialist’ refers to doctors employed on a number of different medical contracts. They generally require at least four years full time post-graduate training at least two of which must be in a specialty training programme. This group of staff are employed across all specialties and routinely carry out a range of medical functions appropriate to their level of expertise.
We do not collect data on vacancies for doctors by grade. The pay and contract reform agreement delivers a number of changes which will contribute to the improvement of NHS services - for example, reducing the hours paid at enhanced rates will improve flexible service provision and introducing a new senior grade will enable employers to achieve the best skill mix for multi-disciplinary teams. The total cost of the agreement will depend on the number of doctors opting to transfer to the new contracts. In the first year of operation we expect an average cost of 3% per full time equivalent for those who transfer to the new terms and conditions.