Death

(asked on 27th June 2023) - View Source

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 reduce excess deaths.


Answered by
Neil O'Brien Portrait
Neil O'Brien
This question was answered on 30th June 2023

We are taking a number of steps to help reduce excess deaths, including those which involve COVID-19. Vaccines remain the first line of defence. Antivirals and other treatments provide a necessary additional defence by protecting patients who become infected with COVID-19, particularly those for whom the vaccine may be less effective such as the immunosuppressed. We are preparing for variants of COVID-19 and seasonal flu infections with an integrated COVID-19 booster and flu vaccination programme, minimising hospital admissions from both viruses.

The NHS has published a delivery plan setting out a clear vision for how the NHS will recover and expand elective services over the next three years. The plan commits the NHS to deliver 9 million additional treatments and diagnostic procedures over the next three years and around 30 per cent more elective activity than it was doing before the pandemic by 2024-25.

We are making progress in restoring NHS Health Check delivery, a core part of our cardiovascular disease prevention pathway. Delivery is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by June 2023 and we are creating a national digital NHS Health Check so we can go even further.

On 24 January 2023, the Government announced that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy. The strategy will tackle conditions that contribute most to morbidity and mortality across the population in England including, cancers, cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal conditions.

Reticulating Splines