Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to (a) change the rules on support bubbles and (b) permit individuals to visit both elderly parents in the same household to assist with their caring needs.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Government regularly reviews its rules on social contact, assessing all restrictions to ensure that they continue to be necessary and proportionate. These decisions are based upon the best evidence available regarding their impact and effectiveness.
A support bubble is a close support network between a household of any size and a single occupancy adult and provide support for those that might be most isolated during the pandemic. Local restrictions provide an exemption to rules on household mixing for those providing care or assistance to a vulnerable person.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many maternal deaths have occurred among women who have taken home abortion pills since 1 April 2020.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is aware of reports of two women who died after seeking abortion treatment earlier this year. Both sought care before the temporary approval came into force on 30 March and physically attended an abortion clinic. Both deaths have been appropriately investigated and in one case investigations are continuing. For the other case, the coroner concluded that there was “no indication either from the physical examination or toxicological evaluation to suggest the pregnancy or attempted abortion contributed directly or indirectly to the death.”
We continue to closely monitor the impact of the temporary approval for women’s homes to be classed as a place where both sets of medication for early medical abortion can be taken up to 10 weeks gestation.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include consultation on reducing the general time limit for surgical abortions in his Department's upcoming consultation on at-home use for both stages of early medical abortion.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has committed to undertake a public consultation on whether to make permanent the COVID-19 measure allowing for home use of both pills for early medical abortion up to 10 weeks gestation for all eligible women. Further details on the consultation will be available in due course.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many medical abortions have taken place at home since the introduction of temporary provisions permitting the application of both sets of abortion pills at home.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
From April to June 2020, there were 23,061 medical abortions where both medications (Antiprogesterone and prostaglandin) were taken at home.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
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 update guidance on allowing patients to be accompanied at (a) pregnancy scans and (b) other hospital appointments during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The National Health Service is making arrangements to ensure that women are supported and cared for safely through pregnancy, birth and the period afterwards during this pandemic.
Decisions on partners attending scans and appointments is subject to local discretion by trusts and other NHS bodies. Local maternity teams will be able to advise women on their policy on partners attending antenatal appointments including scans.
Guidance produced by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is clear that women should be encouraged to have one birth partner, who has no symptoms of COVID-19, present with them during any type of labour and birth, unless the birth occurs under general anaesthetic.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons it is the Government's policy that people travelling to the UK from (a) France and (b) Ireland do not need to quarantine after their arrival in the UK during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
From 8 June, all passengers arriving in the United Kingdom without having travelled through another part of the Common Travel Area must provide their contact details, and will be required to self-isolate for 14 days, apart from those who belong to an exempted group. This includes those travelling from France. Those travelling from Ireland, which is part of the Area, and who have remained within the Area for 14 days or more, are exempt from the new temporary measures. This allows us to maintain the unique arrangements of the Common Travel Area, and we are in close contact with the Irish Government as we each work to tackle COVID-19.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to allow pharmacy workers to be exempt from having to isolate as a result of the track and trace app.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Anyone who has had close recent contact with someone who has COVID-19 must self-isolate if the NHS Test and Trace service asks them to do so. There are no exemptions. If there is more than one case of COVID-19 associated with a workplace, employers should contact their local health protection team who will undertake a risk assessment, provide public health advice and, where necessary, establish a multi-agency incident management team to manage the outbreak.