Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
What progress the Government has made on implementing the recent life sciences strategy.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
In December 2017, Government and the life sciences sector agreed a landmark sector deal that follows on from, and starts to implement, the sector-led Life Sciences Industrial Strategy.
An Implementation Board for this will convene in the coming weeks to discuss implementation of the Deal and wider Strategy, with working sub-groups to lead on specific aspects of the Deal.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospitals in England are equipped to deliver thrombectomy to stroke patients.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Information is not collected centrally on the number of hospitals in England which are currently equipped to deliver thrombectomy for stroke.
In February this year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published interventional procedure guidance on mechanical clot retrieval (thrombectomy) for treating acute ischaemic stroke. The guidance sets out that current evidence on the safety and efficacy of this procedure is adequate to support its use, provided that standard arrangements are in place for clinical governance, consent and audit. This guidance does not oblige commissioners to commission thrombectomy nor hospitals to provide it. The guidance is available at:
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ipg548
NHS England is now undertaking work to inform a decision on whether this is a procedure that should be made more widely available.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness and adequacy of mental health support available to stroke survivors.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Access to stroke specific psychological support is vital to diagnosing and managing many of the unseen effects of stroke. The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme has recently conducted an audit of the provision of services to people with stroke once they have left hospital. The audit found that around 42% of Early Supported Discharge teams and 44% of longer term community rehabilitation teams had some access to psychologists. There are also physiotherapists, nurses and occupational therapists on these teams who often address psychological issues.
We know that there are improvements to be made in providing psychological support for stroke survivors. Clinical commissioning groups are encouraged to consider how the needs of these patients might be met when commissioning services.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on implementing the plan for community pharmacists to access Summary Care Records; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Freeman
NHS England is now working with stakeholders to develop guidance and the arrangements for deployment so that all community pharmacists in England have access to the Summary Care Record. As this continues to be rolled out, it will enable more pharmacies to provide increased clinical services, helping to reduce the burden on other health and social care providers.