Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what legal recourse is available to medicated patients in mental health facilities who believe that they may have been administered with excessive medication.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients have the right, set out in the NHS Constitution, to make a complaint about any aspect of National Health Service care, treatment or services and to have that complaint properly investigated.
The NHS complaints procedure, including the process for investigating and responding to a complaint, is set out in secondary legislation, primarily the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009.
Anyone wishing to make a complaint can do so either to the service provider or to the commissioner. If they are not happy with the outcome of their complaint, they have the right to ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to investigate.
Care and Treatment Reviews (CTRs), and Care, Education and Treatment Reviews (CETRs) for the under 18s, are undertaken for anyone with learning disabilities, autism or both who may be at risk of admission to, or who is already in, a specialist learning disability or mental health hospital.
The purpose of the CTR, or CETR, is to ensure that an individual’s care and treatment is still meeting their needs and both CTRs and CETRs will assess whether medication is being used appropriately and that steps are being taken to minimise the use of any psychotropic medication. The review team, which is led by the responsible commissioner with support from independent expert advisers who bring additional challenge to the process, will make recommendations to improve the individual’s care with follow-up checks to ensure that this is happening.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there are safeguards in place to ensure that the medication that autistic patients receive at mental health facilities is (a) not excessive and (b) in line with NHS STOMP-STAMP guidance.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients have the right, set out in the NHS Constitution, to make a complaint about any aspect of National Health Service care, treatment or services and to have that complaint properly investigated.
The NHS complaints procedure, including the process for investigating and responding to a complaint, is set out in secondary legislation, primarily the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009.
Anyone wishing to make a complaint can do so either to the service provider or to the commissioner. If they are not happy with the outcome of their complaint, they have the right to ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to investigate.
Care and Treatment Reviews (CTRs), and Care, Education and Treatment Reviews (CETRs) for the under 18s, are undertaken for anyone with learning disabilities, autism or both who may be at risk of admission to, or who is already in, a specialist learning disability or mental health hospital.
The purpose of the CTR, or CETR, is to ensure that an individual’s care and treatment is still meeting their needs and both CTRs and CETRs will assess whether medication is being used appropriately and that steps are being taken to minimise the use of any psychotropic medication. The review team, which is led by the responsible commissioner with support from independent expert advisers who bring additional challenge to the process, will make recommendations to improve the individual’s care with follow-up checks to ensure that this is happening.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer in advance of the spending review on increasing funding for social care services.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has regular discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a variety of issues.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
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 effect of the use of online booking services for GP appointments on the ability of over 75 year olds to access GP care.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Department prepared an equality impact assessment when introducing online booking services for general practitioner (GP) appointments. In addition, local NHS England, or the clinical commissioning group, where the responsibility is delegated to them, carry out their own assessments to take account of their GP practice populations’ needs.
Online services are not a replacement for face to face or telephone interactions, but another complementary way to access services. NHS England’s initial findings show that older people are more frequent users of online services and over 75s regularly register to use the service. In addition, carers of those who are much older are able to access appointment and order prescriptions on their behalf (with appropriate authorisation and safeguards).
The use of online services frees up staff to spend more time with those who do not wish to use online services and prefer to continue using the phone or come to the practice in person to make appointments.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what disciplinary actions may be taken against medical professionals who raise concerns on standards.
Answered by Philip Dunne
No disciplinary action should be taken against medical professionals for raising concerns about standards. In doing so, individuals are protected under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what reforms to whistleblowing procedures in the NHS have been made since the Freedom to speak up report was published in February 2015.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Following the publication of the Freedom to speak up report the Department has introduced a number of changes to help create a culture in the National Health Service where staff feel able to raise concerns and that those concerns are acted on without reprisal.
These changes include the introduction of a National Guardian for whistleblowing based in the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The National Guardian leads and supports a network of individuals within NHS trusts appointed as 'local freedom to speak up guardians'. The National Guardian will offer advice, share good practice, report on national or common themes, and identify any barriers that are preventing the NHS from having a truly safe and open culture.
Local Guardians are being appointed across the NHS to act in a genuinely independent capacity and are the first point of call for individuals who do not feel that their concerns are being dealt with appropriately through the usual systems. They will provide advice and support to staff about raising and handling concerns, and also to the trust’s Chief Executive and Board.
The Department is also strengthening protection for whistle-blowers in legislation:
- Putting in place regulations which prohibit discrimination against whistle-blowers (or applicants believed by the prospective employer to have been whistle-blowers) when they apply for jobs with prescribed NHS employers by summer 2017, subject to the parliamentary timetable.
- Imposing a duty on prescribed persons (such as the CQC and the professional regulatory bodies) to report annually on whistleblowing disclosures made to them.
- The Government has extended the definition of ‘worker’ within the whistleblowing statutory framework in the Employment Rights Act 1996 to include student nurses and student midwives, meaning those people are now afforded protection under the Public Interest Disclosure Act; our intention is to extend the definition further to include other healthcare students in 2017.
The Department has introduced a statutory duty of candour which applies to organisations that are registered with the CQC. It is designed to foster an open culture throughout the organisation, and providers are accountable to the CQC for meeting the duty of candour. Providers of care are expected to implement the new duty of candour through staff across their organisations - including educating, training and, if needs be, disciplining their staff appropriately.
Also a new Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) will become fully established by April 2017 and will investigate some of the most serious patient safety incidents each year to generate lessons that will make NHS treatment and care safer. HSIB will implement the principle of ‘safe space’; evidence submitted to safety investigations will be given entirely in confidence, such that staff will be able to speak up where things have gone wrong.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to establish ways to encourage blood donations from people with rare blood types.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has a number of initiatives to engage with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) donors who have rare blood types including working with a number of local charities; partnering with MOBO for the #Represent campaign and launching a BAME toolkit, which can be used by Members of Parliament to increase blood and organ donors in their constituencies.
NHSBT maintains a regular supply to hospitals of all blood groups and types, including for patients with complex needs and those that require frequent blood transfusions such as sickle cell disease sufferers.
Some rare blood types are only found within BAME communities. Although 14% of the population of England are black or South Asian less than 3% of people who have given blood in the last year are from these communities.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the difference between the blood donations by people with rare blood types and the demand for such donations.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has a number of initiatives to engage with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) donors who have rare blood types including working with a number of local charities; partnering with MOBO for the #Represent campaign and launching a BAME toolkit, which can be used by Members of Parliament to increase blood and organ donors in their constituencies.
NHSBT maintains a regular supply to hospitals of all blood groups and types, including for patients with complex needs and those that require frequent blood transfusions such as sickle cell disease sufferers.
Some rare blood types are only found within BAME communities. Although 14% of the population of England are black or South Asian less than 3% of people who have given blood in the last year are from these communities.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much time has been allocated for the public consultation on the sustainability and transformation plans for Birmingham and Solihull and the Black Country and West Birmingham; and if he will ensure that the feedback from this public consultation will be published.
Answered by David Mowat
NHS England, with other national health and care bodies, released guidance to the local areas developing Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) entitled ‘Engaging local people’ in September 2016 which can be found on their website. Local proposals for health and care transformation are not expected to have gone through formal local National Health Service or other organisations’ board approval and/or formal public engagement or consultation at this early stage. We expect that areas will publish a version of their STPs between late October and the end of the year. We would also expect that most areas will undertake public engagement during this period, building on the engagement they have already done to shape thinking. Every area will be working to a different timeframe, based on its own circumstances and how well-progressed its plan is.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of research into sickle cell disease in meeting the needs of people with that disease.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Department has made no specific assessment of this.
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is investing £15.1 million in four Blood and Transplant Research Units (BTRUs) that support the future needs of donors, patients and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). Each BTRU is a partnership between a university and NHSBT. One BTRU is based at the University of Bristol and is carrying out research to aid the development of new blood products for treatment of patients with rare blood types and those needing regular transfusions including patients with sickle cell disease (SCD).
The NIHR has also recently funded a £0.3 million study on improvement of pain and quality of life in patients with SCD with nocturnal oxygen therapy or auto-adjusting continuous positive airways pressure. A current £0.5 million NIHR study is examining young adult patients’ experiences of transitions from paediatric to adult services for SCD, and the NIHR is currently seeking to commission research on whether haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in adults with severe SCD is cost effective and improves quality of life.
The Department’s NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including SCD. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.