Asked by: Rachel Maclean (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timeframe is for the introduction of Wi-Fi hotspots in operating theatres in England and Wales to enable smart-technologies.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Timescales for provision of corporate WiFi that would enable use of smart technology is determined locally by each trust.
Asked by: Rachel Maclean (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the amount of HRT that was (a) prescribed and (b) dispensed in England and Wales in 2017-18.
Answered by Steve Brine
NHS Digital does not hold the data in the format requested. Data is not collected centrally on prescriptions written but not dispensed. Therefore no such estimate has been made. NHS Digital holds data on prescription items of female sex hormones and their modulators written in the United Kingdom and dispensed in the community in England for the period requested, via an FP10 prescription form, which is available in the following table.
Financial Year | British National Formulary (BNF) Code | BNF sub-paragraph name | Number of Items |
2017/18 | BNF 6.4.1.1 | Oestrogens and Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) | 2,591,408 |
2017/18 | BNF 6.4.1.2 | Progestogens and Progesterone Receptor Modulators | 683,594 |
Source: Prescription Cost Analysis, NHS Digital
Notes:
Asked by: Rachel Maclean (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects a decision will be made on the commissioning of a prostate surgery robotic unit at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.
Answered by Steve Brine
There are some significant changes in the new service specification for Specialised Kidney, Bladder and Prostate cancer services for adults which was published on 25 February 2019. The publication can be found at the following link:
These changes are based on the latest clinical evidence to ensure NHS England deliver the best outcomes to our patients. NHS England is required to review the provision of specialised kidney, bladder and prostate cancer services for adults across the West Midlands to ensure compliance. This review will include the provision of robotic prostatectomy as it is part of the kidney, bladder and prostate cancer service.
This will mean that, in conjunction with the West Midland Cancer Alliance, specialised commissioners will undertake a programme of work to develop a new commissioning framework for these services over the next 12 months that ensures compliance with the new service specification. Following this, NHS England will be able to work with trusts and local populations to implement the new model across the West Midlands.
No decision about robotic services in Worcester will be made until this review is complete to ensure that robotic surgery is commissioned appropriately.
Asked by: Rachel Maclean (Conservative - Redditch)
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 improve the training GPs receive on the treatment of menopausal symptoms and the prescription of hormone replacement therapy.
Answered by Steve Brine
General practitioners are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), to ensure that they can continue to provide high quality care to all patients. NICE published a guideline on the diagnosis and management of menopause in November 2015 that includes recommendations on the prescribing of hormone replacement therapy.
All United Kingdom-registered doctors are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC) ‘Good Medical Practice’. In 2012 the GMC introduced revalidation which supports doctors in regularly reflecting on how they can develop or improve their practice, gives patients confidence doctors are up to date with their practice and promotes improved quality of care by driving improvements in clinical governance.
The training curricula for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the relevant medical Royal College and has to meet the standards set by the GMC. While curricula do not necessarily highlight specific conditions for doctors to be aware of, they instead emphasise the skills and approaches that a doctor must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.
Asked by: Rachel Maclean (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people aged over 65 have adequate transport to and from routine hospital appointments.
Answered by Steve Brine
Non-emergency patient transport services (PTS) are available for patients that meet certain criteria, including but not limited to those who are aged over 65 and satisfy one or more of the criteria outlined in the document Eligibility Criteria for Patient Transport Services.
A patient’s eligibility for PTS should be determined either by a healthcare professional or by non-clinically qualified staff who are both clinically supervised and/or working within locally agreed protocols or guidelines, and employed by the National Health Service or working under contract for the NHS.