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Written Question
Health Services
Tuesday 19th April 2022

Asked by: Ruth Edwards (Conservative - Rushcliffe)

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 maximise NHS capacity.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Department continues to focus on recovery of services, as we have throughout the pandemic. The NHS and the Department have sought to maximise availability of capacity by all practical means, including virtual wards, the use of independent sector capacity, a focus on maximising safe discharge, coupled with investment in up to 160 community diagnostic centres, innovation in surgical hubs, and through growing our NHS workforce.


Written Question
Hospitals: Nottinghamshire
Friday 11th February 2022

Asked by: Ruth Edwards (Conservative - Rushcliffe)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the national discharge taskforce has made on improving the rate of discharge of medically fit patients from hospitals in Nottinghamshire.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We have provided £3.3 billion via the National Health Service (NHS) to facilitate timely hospital discharges over the pandemic, including £478 million this winter. The NHS is working with local authorities and partners to ensure that medically fit patients can be discharged as soon as possible.

The national discharge taskforce has facilitated a national conversation about how to drive progress and support regional and local system arrangements, including in Nottinghamshire, to bring a renewed focus to reducing discharge delays in a sustainable way.


Written Question
Fampridine
Thursday 28th October 2021

Asked by: Ruth Edwards (Conservative - Rushcliffe)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment has made of the potential merits of using fampridine for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Department has made no assessment. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether medicines represent a clinical and cost-effective use of resources.

NICE was unable to recommend fampridine as an effective use of resources in its clinical guideline on managing multiple sclerosis. However, NICE is now updating this guideline, which will include reviewing the recommendation on fampridine. NICE expects to publish its draft guidance on the management of multiple sclerosis for consultation in December this year, with final guidance expected on 1 June 2022.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Monday 19th July 2021

Asked by: Ruth Edwards (Conservative - Rushcliffe)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of advising that immunocompromised people receive a third dose of a covid-19 vaccine instead of the proposed booster vaccines planned for autumn 2021.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

Any third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine would be administered as part of a booster vaccination programme. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published interim advice on a potential COVID-19 booster vaccination programme on 30 June which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jcvi-interim-advice-on-a-potential-coronavirus-covid-19-booster-vaccine-programme-for-winter-2021-to-2022/jcvi-interim-advice-potential-covid-19-booster-vaccine-programme-winter-2021-to-2022

The JCVI advises a two staged approach, with individuals in stage one offered a booster and flu vaccine, as soon as possible from September. and Individuals in stage two should be offered a booster vaccine as soon as practicable after stage one, with equal emphasis on deployment of the flu vaccine where eligible. Adults aged 16 years old and over who are immunosuppressed would be offered a booster vaccine dose in stage one. Final decisions on the timing, scope and cohort eligibility of any COVID-19 vaccine booster programme and the vaccines that will be deployed, will be confirmed once the JCVI has provided their final advice.