Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England's guidance entitled Annual assessment of integrated care boards 2022-23: supporting guidance, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring (a) ICBs and (b) NHS England to consult (i) patient support groups and (ii) other stakeholders before publishing their annual report.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England conducted its first annual performance assessment of the integrated care boards (ICBs) for the 2022/23 financial year, from July 2022 to March 2023, and published supporting guidance for the ICBs. The guidance is available at the following link:
As set out in the National Health Service Act 2006 and amended by the Health and Care Act 2022, while conducting the assessments, NHS England must consult with Health and Wellbeing Boards as to how effectively the ICB has contributed to the ambitions set out in the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The guidance also indicates NHS England and ICBs should gather feedback from a range of relevant stakeholders, which may include:
- NHS trusts and foundation trusts;
- primary care providers;
- clinical networks and alliances;
- local Healthwatch; and
- voluntary and community sector organisations.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring NHS England to provide a point of contact to receive public feedback about integrated care boards as part of the annual performance assessment process.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England conducted its first annual performance assessment of the integrated care boards (ICBs) for the 2022/23 financial year, from July 2022 to March 2023, and published supporting guidance for the ICBs. The guidance is available at the following link:
As set out in the National Health Service Act 2006 and amended by the Health and Care Act 2022, while conducting the assessments, NHS England must consult with Health and Wellbeing Boards as to how effectively the ICB has contributed to the ambitions set out in the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The guidance also indicates NHS England and ICBs should gather feedback from a range of relevant stakeholders, which may include:
- NHS trusts and foundation trusts;
- primary care providers;
- clinical networks and alliances;
- local Healthwatch; and
- voluntary and community sector organisations.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is to respond to the Patient Safety Commissioner's report entitled Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations and will respond substantively in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
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 capacity of the endoscopy workforce to support patients with Crohn’s and colitis.
Answered by Will Quince
The NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan sets out the steps needed to meet the future needs of the country, including growing the workforce by: doubling the number of medical school training places, increasing GP training places by 50% and increasing adult nursing training places by 92%. NHSE are putting plans in place to train 50% more clinical endoscopists in 2023-24. This is 75 endoscopists, up from the 50 originally planned. This will ensure there are more doctors and nurse to perform procedures such as endoscopies.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to ensure the age at which women cease to be eligible for IVF on the NHS and the number of cycles before they reach that age does not vary between Integrated Care Boards.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards and are based on the clinical needs of their local population. We expect these organisations to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, ensuring equal access to fertility treatment across England.
The Women’s Health Strategy was published on 20 July 2022 and contained a number of important changes and future ambitions to improve the variations in access to National Health Service-funded fertility services.
In addition, NICE is currently reviewing its fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to NHS-funded treatment and preservation are still appropriate. We expect that this review will be published in 2024.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring (a) Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Integrated Care Board and (b) other integrated care boards to provide fees to care homes which are (i) in line with and (ii) above inflation.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a duty to manage their local care markets. The Care Act guidance states that they should assure themselves and have evidence that fee levels are appropriate. The Government is making available up to £7.5 billion over two years to support adult social care and discharge. The historic boost will put adult social care system on a stronger financial footing.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
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 implications for his policies of the findings of the European Parliament's Panel for the Future of Science and Technology report on the health impact of 5G.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) are aware of the European Parliament’s report. The UKHSA and COMARE will review emerging evidence and provide advice to inform the Government’s policy making.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
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 adverse reactions to covid-19 vaccinations are appropriately (a) reported and (b) monitored.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) continually monitors the safety of vaccines used in the United Kingdom vaccination programme. This is based on a range of sources, including spontaneous adverse drug reaction data from the UK’s Yellow Card scheme and other global regulators, with data on vaccine exposure from public health partners and information from epidemiological studies. The MHRA’s scientists review information on a daily basis for safety issues or unexpected rare events. This enables rapid detection of any new risks, weighed against the expected benefits. The weekly Yellow Card report summarises information on COVID-19 vaccines received via the scheme and includes the findings of safety investigations carried out by the MHRA.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
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 a possible link between covid-19 vaccination and myocarditis in males under 40.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has reviewed United Kingdom and international reports of suspected myocarditis and pericarditis following vaccination against COVID-19. There has been higher reporting of these suspected events with mRNA vaccines Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna and occurring more frequently in males. In the UK the evidence shows that for the Pfizer vaccine, there is similar frequency of reporting after the first and second dose, with suspected events typically occurring within a short time after vaccination.
These reports have also been analysed by the Government’s independent advisory body, the Commission for Human Medicines and its COVID-19 Vaccines Benefit Risk Expert Working Group. Following their advice, the product information for the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines was updated to include these reports and advise healthcare professionals and patients to be aware of symptoms of myocarditis and pericarditis.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
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 raise public awareness of the Coronavirus Yellow Card Reporting Scheme.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency routinely promotes the Yellow Card Scheme through social media and has encouraged reporting of the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines through a targeted communication campaign. This includes Google AdWords, website advertising banners and partner support through dedicated areas on websites directing users to the Scheme. Healthcare professionals also are encouraged to report any suspected adverse drug reactions experienced by patients.