Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure that housebound patients receive a (a) covid-19 booster and (b) influenza vaccination; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Housebound individuals were prioritised from the very start of the current COVID-19 booster campaign, alongside care home residents and staff, with home visits for autumn boosters starting from 5 September. Opportunities to co-administer COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines have been offered where feasible, but not to unduly delay the administration of either jab.
Local arrangements are in operation to vaccinate those who are housebound, with general practitioners, community pharmacies and National Health Service community teams visiting those who are housebound and are eligible for their COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines.
Nationally, to ensure eligible housebound individuals have access to a home visit for vaccinations, NHS regions and integrated care systems (ICS) together with primary care networks and Community Pharmacy-led and local vaccination services are working jointly to monitor progress and identify whether further interventions are required to help support and increase uptake.
A standard operating procedure (SOP) has been provided to Regions, ICSs and local health teams to support their efforts in providing COVID-19 vaccinations to housebound people, including capacity planning. This SOP can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2021/06/C1432-Standard-Operating-Procedure-Roving-and-mobile-models-v2.pdf
We continue to focus on offering housebound individuals their seasonal vaccinations and increasing uptake of both COVID and flu vaccinations for all eligible groups this winter.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
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 housebound patients receive a (a) Covid-19 booster and (b) influenza vaccination; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Housebound individuals were prioritised from the very start of the current COVID-19 booster campaign, alongside care home residents and staff, with home visits for autumn boosters starting from 5 September. Opportunities to co-administer COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines have been offered where feasible, but not to unduly delay the administration of either jab.
Local arrangements are in operation to vaccinate those who are housebound, with general practitioners, community pharmacies and National Health Service community teams visiting those who are housebound and are eligible for their COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines.
Nationally, to ensure eligible housebound individuals have access to a home visit for vaccinations, NHS regions and integrated care systems (ICS) together with primary care networks and Community Pharmacy-led and local vaccination services are working jointly to monitor progress and identify whether further interventions are required to help support and increase uptake.
A standard operating procedure (SOP) has been provided to Regions, ICSs and local health teams to support their efforts in providing COVID-19 vaccinations to housebound people, including capacity planning. This SOP can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2021/06/C1432-Standard-Operating-Procedure-Roving-and-mobile-models-v2.pdf
We continue to focus on offering housebound individuals their seasonal vaccinations and increasing uptake of both COVID and flu vaccinations for all eligible groups this winter.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November to Question 88799 on Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme: Coronavirus, for how many of the 755 claims which had been awaiting the provision of medical records for at least one month at 8 November 2022 records had not been provided by 9 January 2023; and how many subject access requests to healthcare providers in respect of such records have been made.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Of the 755 claims which were awaiting the provision of medical records for at least one month as of 8 November, 377 were awaiting the provision of medical records by 9 January 2023. NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) are working with all affected claimants to receive consent to allow Subject Access Requests (SARs) to be made. 5 SARs have been made so far, following receipt of consent, from the 377 claims awaiting medical records.
Since the end of November 2022, to expedite this process, consent to request SARs has been included in the initial Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme claims process from all new claimants. Going forward, if healthcare providers do not engage with NHSBSA within 28 days of issuing a request for medical records, NHSBSA will automatically submit an SAR on a claimant’s behalf.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the medical efficacy and value to users of commercial Strep A tests, and (2) any extra costs that might result for the NHS as a result of such tests.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
Rapid tests for Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) are not currently recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for individuals aged five years old and over presenting with a sore throat. However, in response to the ongoing national increased incidence of Strep A infection, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) are concurrently reviewing the literature on clinical scoring tools and rapid tests for Strep A infection in people presenting with a sore throat.
UKHSA have commissioned a desktop to bedside review of existing antigen-based lateral flow devices for Strep A infection, adopting a tried and tested process that was developed for coronavirus testing device approvals. This process will identify the tests that are most likely to perform well in the diagnosis of sore throats caused by Strep A in community settings.
No specific assessment of the extra costs to the National Health Service associated with commercial tests have been made.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2022 to Question 97699 on Coronavirus: Immunosuppression, what the clinical guidance is to enable clinicians determine what constitutes exceptional circumstances in order for the antiviral Sotrovimab to be prescribed for immunosuppressed individuals.
Answered by Will Quince
Recent guidance from the World Health Organization indicates that Sotrovimab does not neutralise the currently circulating COVID-19 variants and subvariants. NHS England has reviewed the clinical access policy for this drug which may still be considered as a treatment option where other available antiviral treatments are unsuitable.
Sotrovimab will now be prescribed by exception only where its use is supported following a multi-disciplinary team assessment. The revised clinical policy is available at the following link:
https://www.cas.mhra.gov.uk/ViewandAcknowledgment/ViewAlert.aspx?AlertID=103218
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many NHS staff to date have died as a result of contracting COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Office for National Statistics’ data shows that from 9 March 2020 to 31 March 2022, there were 796 registered deaths involving COVID-19 among healthcare workers in England aged 20 to 64 years old, using their last known occupation. The definition of healthcare workers includes those employed in the National Health Service and healthcare sector workers.
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, whether he plans to take steps to extend the NHS and Social Care Life Assurance Scheme 2020 to include support for (a) NHS and (b) social care staff who have (i) a long-term disability due to a covid-19 infection and (ii) Long Covid.
Answered by Will Quince
The NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme provided financial security to the families of frontline National Health Service and social care staff who died from COVID-19 contracted in the course of performing their duties. While the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme closed to new claims on 31 March 2022, it will remain open until 31 March 2023 to allow for outstanding claims which occurred whilst the Scheme was open. Financial and welfare support is available to support those affected by chronic healthcare conditions and who are unable to work.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to resume publication of the paused (a) Critical Care Bed Capacity and Urgent Operations Cancelled and (b) Delayed Transfers of Care data set.
Answered by Will Quince
Information on critical care bed numbers and occupancy has been published by NHS England from Thursday 24 November as part of a weekly summary of the Urgent and Emergency Care Daily Situation Reports.
The Critical Care Bed Capacity and Urgent Operations Cancelled data collection was paused, along with other official statistics, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the need to release capacity across the National Health Service to support the response. NHS England will keep the paused collections under review to establish at which point further collections should be reinstated and update published information when the status of any of the collections change.
The quarterly Cancelled Elective Operations official statistics publication has resumed, and data for Q2 2022-23 last published on 10th November.
Data on hospital discharges is now collected through the acute daily discharge sitrep and is published monthly. These reports can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will seek the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on coronavirus immunisation treatment using prophylactic antibodies.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an independent expert advisory committee which provides advice to Government on immunisation. The JCVI’s remit is focused on vaccination, rather than antibody treatments and prophylaxis, therefore there are no plans to commission such advice.
The multi-agency RAPID C-19 was established in 2020 to ensure treatments for COVID-19 are made safely available for National Health Service patients as soon as possible. RAPID C-19 has the relevant expertise in the range of therapeutic options available for COVID-19 treatment and prevention. It also draws on relevant expertise, including an NHS expert working group and the Prophylaxis Oversight Group.
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the position that coronavirus vaccines and immunizations, including prophylactic antibodies, should be assessed through the JCVI.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
No such assessment has been made. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an independent expert advisory committee which advises United Kingdom health departments on immunisation. The JCVI’s remit is focused on vaccination rather than antibody treatments and prophylaxis.
The multi-agency RAPID C-19 was established in 2020 to ensure that treatments for COVID-19 are made available safely to National Health Service patients as soon as possible. RAPID C-19 has the relevant expertise in the therapeutic options available and consults experts in an NHS expert working group and the Prophylaxis Oversight Group. The Chief Medical Officer for England has agreed that Evusheld should be referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for further evaluation, which is underway