Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what implementation plans they are creating following NHS England's pledge to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.
Answered by Lord Markham
NHS England has developed an implementation plan to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 and will work collaboratively with key partners including National Health Service regions, charities and third sector stakeholders, as well as learning from the approaches being taken across the devolved nations.
NHS England’s plan covers activity for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical screening pathways. To support increased access and uptake of the HPV vaccination to school aged children, NHS England continues to work with all key stakeholders at regional level to strengthen local initiatives and encourage innovative models to approach the robust delivery of school aged vaccinations.
An in-service evaluation is being commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Care Research to determine whether HPV self-sampling could be used to improve the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. Screening activity includes a review of the screening information materials, development of IT systems to give insights into behaviours, and a review of the colposcopy services.
Further work is planned to include a general practice opt-in option for trans men and non-binary people, pilot text reminders for all eligible patients, expanding access to a range of locations, and targeted upskilling of workforce.
Health is a devolved matter in Scotland and Wales and a transferred matter in Northern Ireland. While Department officials work closely with their counterparts in the devolved administrations, any decision on commitments on cervical cancer in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are the responsibility of the respective governments in each country.
Mentions:
1: Andrea Leadsom (Con - South Northamptonshire) Pharmacies can provide a number of different services, including vaccinations, blood pressure checks - Speech Link
2: Richard Fuller (Con - North East Bedfordshire) It states:“We have discounted benefits to patient health and the NHS at 1.5% per annum and all other - Speech Link
3: Andrea Leadsom (Con - South Northamptonshire) He is absolutely right to highlight that we all want to see greater capacity and more depth in these - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Harper, Emma (SNP - South Scotland) I thank all of Scotland’s GPs for the invaluable work that they do to support the health and wellbeing - Speech Link
2: Mountain, Edward (Con - Highlands and Islands) We have seen NHS boards removing vaccinations from local GP surgeries, which GPs across the Highlands - Speech Link
3: Ewing, Fergus (SNP - Inverness and Nairn) We have been besieged by letters locally, and they all make the same point. - Speech Link
4: Ross, Douglas (Con - Highlands and Islands) They are not looking for all-singing, all-dancing general practices to be reopened. - Speech Link
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Yellow Cards for covid-19 vaccinations were (a) identified by the MHRA as being of special interest and (b) followed up by the MHRA in (i) 2021, (ii) 2022 and (iii) 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Adverse events of special interest (AESI) are medical events or conditions that have been identified as possible vaccine safety concerns, based mainly on previous experience with other vaccines and immune-mediated events which theoretically may occur, as vaccines stimulate an immune response. AESIs for COVID-19 vaccines were subject to enhanced surveillance by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and many other regulators from the start of the United Kingdom’s immunisation programme.
Specifically in relation to AESIs, the MHRA has received 22880 UK spontaneous suspected adverse reaction (ADR) reports across all COVID-19 vaccines. Over 157 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been given in the UK. It is important to note that Yellow Card reports are not proof of a side effect occurring, and the incidence of a reaction occurring cannot be determined by these reports. The MHRA considers that the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines continue to outweigh the risks for the majority of people.
The MHRA acknowledges receipt of every Yellow Card report received, and a team of safety experts follow up for additional information as necessary, including consideration of reports with a fatal outcome, based on the completeness, severity, and clinical details provided in the report. Responses to follow-up requests for ADR reports are recorded and stored with the original report on our ADR database. The information is then passed downstream for use in signal detection and the identification of safety concerns.
The data is available for its core purpose of assessment and signal detection, however, the systems were not designed to quantify follow-up metrics requested in this parliamentary question. As such it is not possible to automatically generate metrics on the proportion of follow-up requests sent. The MHRA has provided information on follow up rates under Freedom of Information, within the 20 day statutory timeframes based on manual review of reports, and is committed to publishing high level data on its website.
Mentions:
1: Lord Markham (Con - Life peer) We all agree with the approach. So noble Lords understand, there is a two-step process. - Speech Link
2: Lord Markham (Con - Life peer) That is important because once we have done it for pharmacies, we can do it for all other groups. - Speech Link
3: Baroness Browning (Con - Life peer) I am not for one minute suggesting that all psychologists should be allowed to prescribe, because they - Speech Link
4: Lord Markham (Con - Life peer) It has been proven just how well pharmacies managed to supplement MMR vaccinations in the Covid and flu - Speech Link
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 increase the uptake of routine childhood immunisations.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Department works alongside the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England on a range of initiatives to support increased uptake of the routine childhood programmes, including improved data collection to identify and address underserved populations, communication campaigns aimed at parents and guardians and improving children’s access to vaccination services through diverse delivery methods, making getting vaccinated easier for all.
NHS England has also rolled out additional programmes to improve immunisation coverage for children and catch those up who missed their initial offer, including NHS London’s measles, mumps and rubella campaign and a multi-phase polio campaign. Both campaigns also provide opportunities to catch up children for other important childhood vaccines, too.
It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations to which they are entitled, for themselves, their families, and wider society. Anyone unsure about their child’s eligibility or vaccination status should contact their general practitioner for advice.
Mentions:
1: None It did not feel tokenistic at all. - Speech Link
2: None to Inverness for their vaccinations instead of staying in their local area.Also, for patients who have - Speech Link
3: None Certainly, the loss of vaccinations has not worked well in Highland in remote areas. - Speech Link
4: None At the moment, it is all done socially. - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Ross, Douglas (Con - Highlands and Islands) We all have admiration for those who stepped in to help, but it should never have got to that stage. - Speech Link
2: Doris, Bob (SNP - Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) It is worrying that the uptake of infant vaccinations appears to have fallen in recent times, with babies - Speech Link
3: Swinney, John (SNP - Perthshire North) Health Scotland, which was published on 26 March, indicates an increase in uptake in relation to some vaccinations - Speech Link
4: Swinney, John (SNP - Perthshire North) I am all for helpfully bringing data to the Parliament to inform parliamentary proceedings—it is part - Speech Link
5: MacGregor, Fulton (SNP - Coatbridge and Chryston) We all know how important exercise can be for mental health, so the Scottish Government’s recent investment - Speech Link
Found: eligibility and on whether payment should be made in all cases where there is no other reasonable
Mentions:
1: Lord Markham (Con - Life peer) This applies to the take-up of a whole range of vaccinations—MMR is another example, as is polio. - Speech Link
2: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Con - Life peer) The latest was the shingles general immunisation programme, which was introduced for all over-70s in - Speech Link
3: Lord Markham (Con - Life peer) I echo what has been said about the relentless campaign for it all by the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie - Speech Link