Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to encourage NHS England to add the maternal six week postnatal check to the GP contract so that all new mothers get a full appointment to discuss their mental and physical health.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The potential for a six-week post-natal maternal health check for all mothers is the subject of further work by NHS England and NHS Improvement.
Decisions on changes to the GP contract for 2020/2021 will be made following negotiations between NHS England and the British Medical Association which are due to conclude at the end of 2019.
Support from health visitors and other professionals at the universal 6-8 week review is an important time for assessing the health and wellbeing of new parents, particularly in look for signs of postnatal depression.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Sexual Harassment of UK Doctors: Report 2019 published by Medscape on 1 October 2019, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard junior doctors and medical students against sexual harassment at work.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Employers are responsible for protecting their staff from sexual harassment by members of the public or other staff members. For doctors in training and medical students, this will include senior clinicians, educational supervisors and managers of training programmes. They are responsible for ensuring that their organisations provide supportive working environments that prioritise patient safety, educational outcomes and staff wellbeing.
Sexual harassment, a form of unlawful discrimination, should not be tolerated under any circumstances so staff who believe they have been subjected to it should report the incident(s). Employers should ensure they fully support these staff and work with them to ensure appropriate legal action is taken against perpetrators.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to expand the safeguarding system used to investigate the deaths of vulnerable adults to include everyone who has died while street homeless.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The cross-Government Rough Sleeping Strategy, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in August 2018, sets out the commitments to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and end it by 2027.
The Department of Health and Social Care has committed itself to work with Safeguarding Adult Boards to ensure that Safeguarding Adult Reviews are conducted when an adult who sleeps rough dies or is seriously harmed as a result of abuse or neglect, whether known or suspected, and there is concern that partner agencies could have worked more effectively to protect them. The Care Act Statutory Support Guidance sets out the criteria for carrying out a Safeguarding Adult Review, regardless of whether the adult is homeless or not.
The Department has no imminent plans to extend the safeguarding system to investigate the death of every vulnerable adult who is homeless and dies, but will continue to work with other Government departments to deliver the Rough Sleeping Strategy.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that all adult social care workers caring for dementia patients are trained to level Tier 2 of the Dementia Training Standards Framework.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The national dementia strategy for England, the Challenge on Dementia 2020, set the expectation that all relevant health and care staff would have the appropriate dementia training, with the requisite training needs at different “tiers” set out in the ‘Dementia Training Standards Framework’.
Good progress has been made to date in training the social care workforce. It is estimated that around half of social care workers considered to need tier 2 dementia training have undertaken training to a level equivalent to it. The Department is currently exploring value for money options for further increasing take up of tier 2 training to everyone who needs it.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Healthy Starts Voucher Scheme to include the purchase of fortified plant milks.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has no current plans to make changes to the milk which can be purchased with Healthy Start vouchers, but we are prepared to consider the merits of allowing the purchase of certain plant-based drinks.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that patient safety will be protected in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Department is working with its partners across Government, the National Health Service, arm’s length bodies, local authorities, industry and the wider health and care system to ensure that all relevant parties are prepared for exiting the European Union.
The quality and safety of patient care is paramount in our preparedness plans.
The work being undertaken includes securing continued supplies of medicines, medical devices and clinical products, and ensuring that the NHS continues to have sufficient staff to maintain quality of care and the safety of patients.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has sought assurances from the NHS on the preparedness of NHS organisations in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Department is working with its partners across Government, arm’s-length bodies, local authorities, industry and the wider health and care system to ensure that all relevant parties are prepared for exiting the European Union. The quality and safety of patient care is paramount in our preparedness plans.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure EU nationals are aware of the evidence they need to provide to access healthcare in the UK in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Department is working closely with other Government departments and the National Health Service to ensure that European Union citizens are aware of the requirements to access healthcare in the event of the United Kingdom leaving the EU without a deal. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office have a large-scale public information campaign setting out what business and the public need to know as we prepare to leave the EU. Further guidance and information will be published in due course.
We have published the following guidance on GOV.UK which is available at the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/healthcare-for-eu-and-efta-citizens-visiting-the-uk
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/healthcare-for-eu-and-efta-nationals-living-in-the-uk
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 ensure doctors will not be asked to determine patients’ eligibility for healthcare in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Doctors will not be required to determine patients’ entitlement for free National Health Service care in any European Union exit scenario. A clinician’s role is to provide the relevant healthcare for patients and make decisions on their treatment based on their clinical needs. Clinicians will at times be required to make a decision on whether treatment is immediately necessary, urgent or can safely wait until the individual leaves the UK for those patients identified as not eligible for NHS-funded care, as this will determine when payment has to be taken.
The Department is working closely with other Government departments and the NHS to ensure that NHS staff receive appropriate information in relation to any changes to policy or procedure as a result of leaving the EU in a timely and appropriate manner.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with health care regulators on ensuring doctors working in the UK are fit to practise in the event that the UK withdraws from the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive 2005/36/EC after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Legislation introduced by the Government will provide for the continued recognition of European Economic Area and Swiss healthcare professional qualifications in the event that the United Kingdom leaves the European Union without a deal. The General Medical Council, which regulates doctors across the UK, will continue to protect, promote and maintain the patient safety by controlling entry to the register, and by taking action against medical practitioners that do not meet the standards required to practise in the UK.