To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Medical Equipment
Monday 11th March 2024

Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waste of NHS equipment that can be safely reused.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department published the inaugural Medical Technology Strategy in February 2023, which included a focus on improving resource efficiency. The Department is working with industry, the health and care sector, and academic partners to develop medical technology systems that support reuse, remanufacture, and materials recovery, by default. Within the medical technology sector, the Department is exploring options for reuse, remanufacture, and materials recovery in medical devices through its Design for Life programme. This includes developing regulatory, commercial, infrastructure and policy environments that support these aims.

The NHS clinical waste strategy, published on 7 March 2023, sets out NHS England’s ambition to transform the management of clinical waste by eliminating unnecessary waste, finding innovative ways to reuse, and ensuring waste is processed in the most cost effective, efficient, and sustainable way.

NHS England has developed a waste planning tool consistent with this clinical waste strategy for all National Health Service providers, which includes improved segregation, waste minimisation, and increased reuse programmes. This will lead to reductions in the road miles that waste travels, increases in the use of re-usable sharps bins, and plans made towards the achievement of Net Zero Carbon from waste management.


Written Question
Hypnosis and Psychiatry: Registration and Regulation
Monday 11th March 2024

Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that any person operating as a (a) hypnotherapist and (b) psychotherapist is (i) registered and (ii) regulated.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Hypnotherapists and psychotherapists are not statutorily regulated. The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care operates a voluntary registry programme, and provides a proportionate means of assurance for unregulated professions which sit between employer controls and statutory regulation, by setting standards for organisations holding voluntary registration for unregulated health and social care occupations.

There are currently two accredited registers related to hypnotherapy, and 12 accredited registers related to psychotherapy. The Government regularly reviews which professions are subject to statutory regulation, and in 2022 published the consultation, Healthcare regulation: deciding when statutory regulation is appropriate. This consultation sought views on the criteria used to decide when regulation is necessary, and whether there are any unregulated professions that should be brought into statutory regulation. The Government will publish its response to the consultation in due course.


Written Question
Long Covid
Monday 11th March 2024

Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support people who have long covid.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

NHS England has invested £314 million to expand National Health Service long COVID treatment and rehabilitation services, establishing 100 long COVID services for adults, and 13 specialist paediatric hubs for children and young people. These assess people with long COVID and direct them into appropriate care pathways, which provide appropriate support and treatment. Commissioning of post-COVID-19 services will transition from the long COVID national programme to integrated care boards by the end of March 2024. Funding for long COVID services in 2024/25 is expected to be allocated based on the current, 2023/24 distribution.

The Government has invested over £50 million into long COVID research. The projects aim to improve our understanding of the diagnosis and underlying mechanisms of the disease and the effectiveness of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, and to evaluate clinical care.


Written Question
Caesarean Sections
Thursday 8th February 2024

Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of hospital births in 2023 were via caesarean sections.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The information is not available in the format requested, as data is only available from January 2023 to November 2023. Provisional data from NHS England indicates that there were 509,647 birth episodes in total during this period, of which there was a valid delivery method recorded for 402,571 episodes. 158,562, or 39%, of these births were recorded by delivery method of caesarean.


Written Question
Pests
Wednesday 7th February 2024

Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent the spread of bedbugs.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The Department does not have responsibility for reducing the spread of bedbugs. Bedbugs are not an invasive species and are not known to spread diseases, although any individuals who think they have bedbugs should contact their local council or pest control service. Some further information on bedbugs is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bedbugs/


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Friday 20th October 2023

Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)

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 potential merits of prioritising the covid-19 vaccine booster programme for people diagnosed with long-covid.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an independent group of experts who advise the Government health departments in the four nations of the United Kingdom on immunisations and the prevention of infectious disease. On 8 August 2023, the Government accepted advice from the JCVI on who should be offered COVID-19 vaccination in autumn 2023.

The primary aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of severe illness, namely hospitalisations and deaths, arising from COVID-19. The JCVI advice is to focus the offer of vaccination on those at greatest risk of serious disease or at high risk of transmitting the disease to vulnerable individuals. For this autumn the eligible groups for vaccination are residents and staff in a care home for older adults, all adults aged 65 years old and over, persons aged 6 months to 64 years old in a clinical risk group, frontline health and social care workers, persons aged 12 to 64 years old who are household contacts and persons aged 16 to 64 years old who are carers.

The clinical risk groups for COVID-19 vaccination are defined in the UK Health Security Agency’s ‘Green Book’ on vaccines and immunisation Chapter 14a tables 3 and 4. Post-COVID Syndrome (long COVID) is not currently identified by the JCVI as one of these conditions. The JCVI considered post-COVID syndromes when developing advice for autumn 2023 and concluded that there is not currently sufficient evidence to support making individuals experiencing post-COVID syndrome an eligible group for vaccination.

To support individuals with long COVID, NHS England has set out a long COVID action plan, including establishing a nationwide network of specialist clinics. Anyone who is concerned about ongoing symptoms following COVID-19 can find information and advice on the ‘NHS Your COVID Recovery’ website. The JCVI will continue to review evidence and will provide further advice regarding future vaccination programmes in due course.


Written Question
Bupropion and Lisdexamfetamine
Thursday 21st September 2023

Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)

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 adequacy of the supply of (a) Lisdexamfetamine and (b) Bupropion Hydrochloride.

Answered by Will Quince

The Department is aware of intermittent supply disruptions affecting Elvanse (lisdexamfetamine) capsules. We continue to work with the respective manufacturer to ensure continuous supply is resumed quickly. However, we can confirm that Elvanse 20mg, 40mg and 60mg capsules are currently in stock and pharmacies should be able to obtain stock via normal wholesaler routes.

We are also aware of a shortage with Bupropion. The resupply date of this product is still to be confirmed. We have issued comprehensive management guidance to healthcare professionals on this shortage in December 2022. Guidance advises on the management of patients who require this medication for both licensed and off-label indications. Clinicians can advise patients on suitable alternative products, and other management options that can be considered. This includes unlicensed bupropion 150mg modified release tablets which have been sourced.


Written Question
Strokes: Mechanical Thrombectomy
Thursday 14th September 2023

Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to increase access to thrombectomy treatment for stroke patients.

Answered by Will Quince

Thrombectomy is available in 24 centres in England. The National Health Service is committed to bringing about a tenfold increase in the delivery of mechanical thrombectomy from 1% to 10%. Progress has been made, with latest data showing that 3.3% of patients are receiving a thrombectomy following a stroke.


NHS England are taking steps to increase access to thrombectomy treatment for stroke patients by expanding access, with six centres currently offering 24/7 services, eight services currently providing extended hours and the remainder offering in-hours or a limited service. All thrombectomy providers and integrated stroke delivery networks are actively working to provide access to 24/7 services across England.

In addition, NHS England have worked with the General Medical Council in approving the thrombectomy curriculum and credentials to support non-interventional neuroradiologists to conduct thrombectomy and increase the number of thrombectomies that can be delivered.


Written Question
Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia: Health Services
Monday 11th September 2023

Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)

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 children with primary ciliary dyskinesia receive similar care to those with cystic fibrosis.

Answered by Will Quince

The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases such as primary ciliary dyskinesia.

In 2021, the Government published the UK Rare Diseases Framework, providing a national vision for how to improve the lives of those living with rare diseases. The framework lists four priorities collaboratively developed with the rare disease community: helping patients get a final diagnosis faster; increasing awareness of rare diseases among healthcare professionals; better coordination of care; and improving access to specialist care, treatments and drugs.

The framework committed to nation-specific action plans and England published its second Rare Diseases Action Plan in February this year. The framework and action plans are not disease specific, but aim to improve the lives of all people living with rare diseases.


Written Question
Hospitals: Correspondence
Wednesday 19th July 2023

Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to stop hospitals sending results letters with advertisements for private healthcare included.

Answered by Will Quince

The Department has issued guidance to National Health Service trusts on the promotion of private healthcare to NHS patients, including sending results letters with advertisements for private healthcare included. NHS Identity guidance states that “when NHS Trusts offer private healthcare services, they should market and promote their private healthcare services completely separately. They should not market or promote these services within their NHS communications to patients and the public.”