Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 10 of Parkinson's UK's publication entitled Nowhere near enough, published in April 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department’s policies of the finding on the proportion of PIP claims made by people with Parkinson's that were initially assessed incorrectly compared with the general PIP claimant population.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We are working hard to make the right decision, first time, every time. We continue to review our processes and decision-making and work closely with the assessment providers who carry out the assessments and provide feedback to ensure that they provide decision-makers with the highest quality reports.
Condition Insight Reports are also available to PIP assessors to gain a better understanding of a condition and its impact, including Parkinson’s disease. This insight report highlights the importance of exploration of the fluctuation of the condition and was completed in collaboration with relevant charities.
The Mandatory Reconsideration process is a key element of the department’s decision-making process for all benefits and offers claimants an early opportunity to challenge decisions and get them changed quickly. It offers the department an equally timely remedy for correcting decisions and means that fewer decisions progress to appeal, which is stressful and time consuming for claimants and costly for government. It is worth highlighting that in many cases, decisions can be changed as a result of new evidence or information being made available.
We published Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper on 15 March 2023. Changes set out in the White Paper include those aiming to improve our assessment of fluctuating conditions, such as the way we use medical evidence, and developing the capability of our assessors. We will also explore options for introducing a new way of gathering evidence of fluctuation in a person’s condition before their assessment. The department continues to closely monitor all aspects of the assessment process, including how we assess fluctuating conditions.
Correspondence Nov. 20 2023
Committee: Social Justice and Social Security CommitteeFound: Manganese causes a condition called Parkinsonism, an industrial form of Parkinson's disease.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by Parkinson's UK entitled Every minute counts, published in September 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the proportion of patients with Parkinson's admitted to hospital who always receive their medication on time.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Within secondary care, hospital providers are responsible for ensuring that patients within hospital settings, including those with Parkinson’s disease, receive the appropriate medication on time.
NHS England has published a RightCare toolkit which aims to address challenges in providing services for those with progressive neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. The toolkit provides advice on medicine optimisation, highlighting the importance of timely administration of specific drugs, such as Levodopa, in acute and community health settings.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
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 implications for his policies of the finding on page 4 of the report entitled Every minute counts, published by Parkinson's UK in September 2023, that 42% of patients with Parkinson's who are admitted to hospital get their medication on time every time.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Within secondary care, hospital providers are responsible for ensuring that patients within hospital settings, including those with Parkinson’s disease, receive the appropriate medication on time.
NHS England has published a RightCare toolkit which aims to address challenges in providing services for those with progressive neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. The toolkit provides advice on medicine optimisation, highlighting the importance of timely administration of specific drugs, such as Levodopa, in acute and community health settings.
Formal Minutes Nov. 06 2023
Committee: Public Accounts CommitteeFound: Counselling and Psychotherapy [PMS0016] Sam Freeman Carney (Health Policy and Improvement Lea d at Parkinson's
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Work Capability Assessment: activities and descriptors, published on 5 September 2023, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of people who will no longer be deemed as having Limited Capacity for Work Related Activity under the planned reforms to the Work Capability Assessment who have a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The department has developed estimates of the number of claimants impacted across the range of options being considered in the Work Capability Assessment activities and descriptors consultation. The consultation runs until the 30th October, and we will continue to refine these estimates as responses are considered following the end of the consultation period.
Estimates are not based on specific conditions because the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) considers the impact that a person’s disability or health condition has on their ability to work, not the condition itself.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Work Capability Assessment: activities and descriptors, published on 5 September 2023, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the consultation on the (a) financial and (b) mental wellbeing of people with Parkinson's disease.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The department has developed estimates of the number of claimants impacted across the range of options being considered in the Work Capability Assessment activities and descriptors consultation. The consultation runs until the 30th October, and we will continue to refine these estimates as responses are considered following the end of the consultation period.
Estimates are not based on specific conditions because the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) considers the impact that a person’s disability or health condition has on their ability to work, not the condition itself.
Oct. 23 2023
Source Page: Low-level pollution - health impacts: evidence reviewFound: air pollution and dementia incidence, air pollution has been evidenced to exacerbate symptoms of Parkinson's
Oct. 23 2023
Source Page: Air pollution - health impacts: summary research findingsFound: pollution, particularly PM 2.5, to an increased risk of dementia and potentially the exacerbation of Parkinson's
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that NHS hospital staff responsible for (a) administering and (b) prescribing medications are provided with training on (i) Parkinson's disease medication and (b) medication for other time-critical conditions.
Answered by Will Quince
Individual employers are responsible for ensuring their staff are trained and competent to carry out their role. NHS England has published a RightCare toolkit which aims to address challenges in providing services for those with progressive neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. The toolkit provides advice on medicine optimisation, highlighting the importance of timely administration of specific drugs, such as Levodopa, in acute and community health settings.
The healthcare regulators set standards of competency for prescribing practice. The standards set out the knowledge, understanding and skills required for safe and effective prescribing practice.