Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to encourage older people to attend primary care services to receive vaccinations.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Throughout the COVID-19 response, general practices (GPs) have been encouraged to continue to deliver as much routine and preventative work as can be provided safely, including vaccinations and screening appointments, as well as supporting their more high-risk patients with ongoing care needs. GPs re-opened fully from 1 July to patients who should now be able to access services by phone, online or in person.
GPs are expected to actively offer patients aged 70 years and over the shingles vaccine. There is also a catch-up programme available for individuals aged 78 or 79 years and the programme has been extended to include individuals who may have turned 80 years during lockdown. Where feasible and where vaccine stock is available, GPs were also advised to seek to identify and offer Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (PPV23) to those eligible.
Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of older people who have missed a routine vaccination as a result of shielding during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Shingles and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) are the main two routine vaccinations that are likely to have been missed by older people as a result of shielding during COVID-19. General practices are responsible for identifying those patients who have missed vaccination appointments and are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement to ensure that any individual who has missed a routine appointment is caught up as quickly as possible, whilst maintaining effective protection for those who continue to be at higher risk of COVID-19.
Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to publish guidance on allowing partners to attend antenatal appointments and scans during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The National Health Service is making arrangements to ensure that women are supported and cared for safely through pregnancy, birth and the period afterwards during this pandemic.
Decisions on partners attending scans and appointments is subject to local discretion by trusts and other NHS bodies. Local maternity teams will be able to advise women on their policy on partners attending antenatal appointments including scans.
Guidance produced by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is clear that women should be encouraged to have one birth partner, who has no symptoms of COVID-19, present with them during any type of labour and birth, unless the birth occurs under general anaesthetic.
Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 provide for (a) family members and (b) friends to provide free childcare in their homes for parents who have to work.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Where parents or someone with parental responsibility do not live in the same household, children under 18 can be moved between their parents’ homes to continue existing arrangements for access and contact.
From 13 June, a lone parent you can form a support bubble with another household which would allow arrangements to provide informal (i.e. unpaid) childcare. This household can be family members or friends. The Government will continue to work with the childcare sector to ensure that sufficient, safe, appropriate and affordable childcare is available for those returning to work, and for all families who need it in the longer term.