Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when all mothers' health records will be digitalised and shared between all healthcare professionals to improve communications between health workers and mothers.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Currently all maternity services have the ability to create digital records, and the sharing of those records across all providers involved in the care of the individual is done by a platform called Connecting Care Records. Integrated care boards (ICBs) should share historical care records between National Health Service trusts and other providers of care within their system, such as general practices and local authorities.
By March 2025, many more Connecting Care Records platforms will be providing access to data held in other ICB shared systems, allowing authorised health and care professionals to have safe, secure access to patient data, where and when its needed, regardless of where the person resides or where the care is provided.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what implications the statement by Bakr Ahmed Bakr Qanita that Hamas is using the management building, the specialist building and the maternity ward at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza will have for their policies in the region.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Hamas and other terrorist organisations are putting Palestinian civilians at grave risk by embedding themselves in the civilian population and civilian infrastructure. The UK is aware of reports of Hamas and other terrorist organisations using healthcare facilities and other infrastructure, such as schools, as bases and command nodes.
This does not absolve parties from their responsibility to ensure that their actions are compliant with International Humanitarian Law, and minimise harm to civilians. The UK is particularly clear that civilian buildings must not be targeted, and extra care must be taken in relation to hospitals and other medical facilities.
Written Evidence May. 22 2024
Inquiry: Food, Diet and ObesityFound: NHS Maternity Services Monthly Statistics, England, June 2022 – Babies.
Written Evidence May. 22 2024
Inquiry: Food, Diet and ObesityFound: In 2019, Public Health England published an analysis of the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS) on
May. 22 2024
Source Page: Immigration Rules archive: 11 April 2024 to 15 May 2024Found: In respect of statutory or contractual maternity, paternity or adoption pay all of the following, and
Oral Evidence May. 22 2024
Committee: Work and Pensions Committee (Department: Department for Work and Pensions)Found: said is where there is a short-term issue—or others with a diagnosis like cancer, for example, or maternity
Mentions:
1: Helen Whately (Con - Faversham and Mid Kent) For example, it has attended maternity and midwifery forum events and placed advertisements in You and - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Elliot Colburn (Con - Carshalton and Wallington) in St Helier Hospital and in building a second hospital in my constituency, protecting A&E and maternity - Speech Link
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 increase the vaccination rates for whooping cough.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The whooping cough, also known as pertussis, vaccine is offered antenatally. As part of best practice, NHS England vaccinates pregnant women opportunistically during maternity appointments. Information materials are available across antenatal and primary care settings to increase vaccination rates for pertussis during pregnancy. NHS England will also implement the National Health Service vaccination strategy, building on the success of the COVID-19 vaccine programme, to find innovative ways to reach people.
A recent national marketing campaign reminded parents to check their children’s vaccination status, and stressed the importance of getting vaccinated for pregnant women, infants, and children. A second phase of the campaign is due to begin around mid-summer 2024. Whooping cough and maternal vaccine uptake awareness will be raised with clinicians and key royal colleges through targeted clinical and epidemiological updates, and supportive communications. There will also be engagement with local communities to highlight the importance of vaccination, and how to access the vaccine.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Hologic Global Women’s Health Index which indicated that British women are sadder and more stressed than their European counterparts, what steps they are taking to improve women's health and wellbeing.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Women’s Health Strategy sets out the Government’s plans for boosting the health and wellbeing of women and girls, and for improving how the health and care system engages and listens to all women.
Achievements since the launch of the strategy include: appointing the first Women’s Health Ambassador for England; investing £25 million of funding into the expansion of women’s health hubs to improve women’s access to services and to create efficiencies for the National Health Service; reducing the cost of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) through the launch of the HRT prescription pre-payment certificate; and creating a women’s health area on the NHS website, to bring together women’s health content and create a first port of call for women seeking information.
We are focused on delivering our priorities for 2024, which include improving care for menstrual problems, including endometriosis, and maternity care, expanding women’s health hubs, tackling disparities and supporting the most vulnerable groups, and boosting research. Recent progress includes launching baby loss certificates to support patients who have experienced a loss of pregnancy before 24 weeks, continuing to roll out women’s health hubs across the country, and running a national media campaign on periods and menopause to encourage women to contact their general practice, if symptoms are affecting their life.