Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has taken recent steps to help increase the supply of free lateral flow tests to people who are at risk of becoming seriously ill if they contract covid-19.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
This year, the National Health Service will offer free COVID-19 lateral flow tests and treatments to an additional 1.4 million people at the highest risk of severe illness, on top of the 3.9 million people already eligible for free COVID-19 lateral flow tests and treatments.
Those who are at highest risk of becoming seriously ill, who are eligible for COVID-19 treatments, can continue to access free COVID-19 lateral flow tests from their local pharmacy. This cohort of people are encouraged to test regularly, to gain timely access to treatments. A full list of those who are eligible, as well as information on how to access the tests, is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/covid-19/treatments-for-covid-19/
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many adult mental health patients have been held in inappropriate out of area placements since March 2021.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many child mental health patients have been held in inappropriate out of area placements since March 2021.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the cost of moving children's cancer services for South London and the South East of England to the Evelina.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is leading the reconfiguration of children’s cancer services for South London and South East England. At a meeting on 14 March 2024, NHS England confirmed their decision that the Principal Treatment Centre should be located at Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
NHS England’s financial impact assessment for the reconfiguration confirmed that the future Principal Treatment Centre would use a £20 million national capital contribution from NHS England, plus a contribution from their local health commissioners of between approximately £11 million to £14 million. The Evelina London option would also use £10 million of grant funding from the trust charity.
NHS England has made clear that as the future provider develops its outline business case and full business case, it will need to continue to demonstrate affordability with mitigations in place for associated risks. These business cases will require NHS England and the Department’s Joint Investment sub-Committee’s approval, before contractor procurement and construction, ahead of the Principal Treatment Centre becoming operational in October 2026.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost was of the consultation on moving children's cancer services for South London and the South East of England.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the cost of the consultation run by NHS England on the reconfiguration of children’s cancer services in South London and the South East.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of widening the availability of the shingles vaccination to those aged between 66 and 69 years old.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The potential merit of offering the Shingrix shingles vaccine to adults aged 65 years old from 1 September 2023 is to achieve population benefit from a vaccine which is predicted to provide longer lasting protection, meaning individuals can be vaccinated sooner and benefit for longer, compared to the previous shingles programme using the Zostavax vaccine.
This reduction in the age of eligibility is part of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice, that the roll-out of the 10-year expansion of the shingles programme should be done with a phased approach, to avoid undue additional pressure on National Health Service delivery services. The Shingrix two dose vaccine will be offered to those aged between 65 and 70 years old, until everyone aged 65 to 70 years old has been offered the vaccine, and then to those aged between 60 and 65 years old, until everyone aged 60 to 65 years old has been offered the vaccine. The vaccine would then be offered routinely from 60 years of age. Those over the age of 70 years old remain eligible until they turn 80 years old. Those aged 50 years old and over, who are at higher risk of serious complications as a result of having a severely weakened immune system, are also eligible.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the document entitled the National Partnership Agreement for Health and Social Care for England: improving the quality of services for people in prison and those subject to statutory supervision by the probation service in the community 2022-2025, if she will make a comparative assessment with Cabinet colleagues of standards of healthcare received by (a) prisoners at HMP Wandsworth and (b) the general population.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are no plans to make such an assessment. As set out in the National Partnership Agreement for Health and Social Care for England, healthcare services in all prisons in England, including HMP Wandsworth, are commissioned by NHS England to national specifications, to make sure that prisoners receive the same standards of healthcare as the general population.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many referrals for secondary healthcare treatment for prisoners at HMP Wandsworth were made in each year since 2010.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England has advised that it is unable to provide information prior to 1 September 2019, due to a new contract commencing with a new healthcare provider. The total number of prisoners at HMP Wandsworth referred to secondary healthcare treatment between 1 September 2019 and 11 March 2024, is 661. The number of these referrals which were missed is not held.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many referrals for secondary healthcare treatment for prisoners at HMP Wandsworth were missed in each year since 2010.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England has advised that it is unable to provide information prior to 1 September 2019, due to a new contract commencing with a new healthcare provider. The total number of prisoners at HMP Wandsworth referred to secondary healthcare treatment between 1 September 2019 and 11 March 2024, is 661. The number of these referrals which were missed is not held.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what was the cost of the provision of healthcare at HMP Wandsworth in the last 12 months.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The total cost of the contract that NHS England has commissioned for healthcare services at HMP Wandsworth, provided by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, is £14,008,787.