Written Evidence Mar. 06 2024
Committee: Public Accounts CommitteeFound: GEX0004 - Government resilience: extreme weather St John Ambulance Written Evidence
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of integrating mental health data with the mapping of predictions of extreme weather events.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department has made no such assessment. It is important that the right support is in place, including for those affected by extreme weather events. NHS England has clinical guidelines on dealing with major incidents, including on providing psychosocial support for both patients and staff.
Talking therapies are available remotely so people can access help safely from home and the National Health Service is working to ensure the option of face-to-face support is provided to people with serious mental health illnesses across all ages where it is clinically safe to do so.
The UK Health Security Agency has published an Adverse Weather and Health Plan to provide information to assist health professionals and public agencies to understand and mitigate the mental health risks posed by adverse weather conditions. It is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-weather-and-health-plan
Mentions:
1: McNair, Marie (SNP - Clydebank and Milngavie) She has advised me that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has said that, if she makes that decision, she - Speech Link
2: Minto, Jenni (SNP - Argyll and Bute) It is for NHS boards to implement the guidelines, and I hope that they take a person-centred approach - Speech Link
3: Mochan, Carol (Lab - South Scotland) the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact that any mass delay of NHS - Speech Link
4: Gray, Neil (SNP - Airdrie and Shotts) We want to invest in NHS capital projects. - Speech Link
Report Apr. 19 2024
Committee: Public Accounts CommitteeFound: Twenty-Seventh Report - Government resilience: extreme weather HC 454 Report
Jan. 31 2024
Source Page: Public Consultation: Scottish National Adaptation Plan (2024 – 2029)Found: Extreme weather events, and the cascading impacts of climate change, are putting more pressure than ever
Mentions:
1: Wishart, Beatrice (LD - Shetland Islands) Last December, Shetland had a severe weather event that caused power cuts for up to six days for some - Speech Link
2: Constance, Angela (SNP - Almond Valley) Beatrice Wishart raises good points about the interaction between severe weather, communications and - Speech Link
3: Hepburn, Jamie (SNP - Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) When it comes to NHS performance, I remind Alexander Stewart that we have the best-performing accident - Speech Link
4: Matheson, Michael (SNP - Falkirk West) the Government’s commitment to and investment in local health services, the resource budget of just NHS - Speech Link
5: Halcro Johnston, Jamie (Con - Highlands and Islands) vulnerable communities have lost out.At a meeting of Sir Lewis Ritchie’s steering group in June this year, NHS - Speech Link
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
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 (a) promote better awareness within the NHS of the symptoms of Lyme disease and (b) speed up (i) testing and (ii) analysis of test results for Lyme disease.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS) are specifically aimed at general practices (GPs), and cover the availability of testing services. The entomology group in the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also has a tick awareness scheme, which sends out information on avoiding tick bites in a spring campaign, and supports local authorities in areas with a high prevalence of Lyme disease. Further information on Lyme disease, access to testing, and the NICE’s CKS’ is available respectively at the links below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lyme-disease-guidance-data-and-analysis
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng95
https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/lyme-disease/management/management/
All confirmatory testing in England is performed by the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL). Delays may occur in the referring laboratory when submitting the sample, during testing at the RIPL, or when accessing the results, which are sent back electronically, before being passed onto GPs. Only the RIPL is within the UKHSA’s control, and the RIPL is planning to introduce new technology to speed up tests for neuroborreliosis.
National data analysis is released through the Fingertips system, which is regularly updated. The annual number of cases of Lyme disease varies from year to year, depending on weather conditions in the Lyme season, the effects of weather and human activities on animals that harbor the disease, and the tick population. Further information on the Fingertips system is available at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/health-protection/data
Nov. 28 2023
Source Page: Cold-Health Alerts issued by UKHSA and the Met OfficeFound: Under the new CHA system introduced by UKHSA and the Met Office, an amber alert means that cold weather
Mentions:
1: Matheson, Michael (SNP - Falkirk West) during the winter months for particular reasons, such as the increase in respiratory conditions and weather - Speech Link
2: Grahame, Christine (SNP - Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) I note that the cabinet secretary’s statement referred to an increase in weather-related injuries from - Speech Link
3: Matheson, Michael (SNP - Falkirk West) I recognise that, historically, there have been challenges during winter months when the weather has - Speech Link
4: Tweed, Evelyn (SNP - Stirling) areas face additional challenges in winter, such as longer journeys and greater disruption due to poor weather - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Rennie, Willie (LD - North East Fife) happening again.I am told by experts that part of the solution is to help farmers to cope with extreme weather - Speech Link
2: Hamilton, Rachael (Con - Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) As Willie Rennie said, in the past few years, parts of Scotland have been devastated by extreme weather - Speech Link
3: McMillan, Stuart (SNP - Greenock and Inverclyde) dentist despite the fact that they are registered as NHS patients. - Speech Link
4: Ewing, Annabelle (SNP - Cowdenbeath) That concludes NHS recovery, health and social care portfolio question time. - Speech Link