Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any concerns about risk to personal safety and security have been identified by the expert safeguarding group reviewing the implementation of NHS App.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government wants people to be able to have access to their own records if they choose to do so. There is widespread international consensus about the benefits to patients and the effectiveness of the health system in providing digital on-demand access to personal health information.
For most, online record access is beneficial, but for a minority, having access could cause harm or distress. NHS England is taking an active approach to ensuring safe and secure patient record access, seeking to identify and provide additional protections to vulnerable people if they request access to their medical records online.
NHS England has engaged extensively with at-risk groups, professional bodies, patient groups, charities and safeguarding leads to support general practice and patients in preparing for this change safely and effectively. Communication packs have been provided to over 50 charities that support at-risk individuals. NHS Digital has published guidance in an online-only format for organisations, Supporting victims and survivors of domestic or sexual abuse, to support people when accessing their personal health information online.
Before viewing their record in the NHS App, users are advised what to do if they are being pressured to share their information. Patients can prevent access by disabling their National Health Service login with a simple online process or can ask their general practitioner (GP) for the details of specific consultations or treatment decisions to be redacted. When an individual first requests access, they cannot see information already recorded; they will only be able to access information recorded from that point onwards.
The expert safeguarding group has identified theoretical risks, which have fed into NHS England’s patient and GP communications packs and advice, messaging on the NHS App and NHS.uk and improvements made by GP IT system suppliers.
More than 23 million patients have viewed their records over nine million times, with no significant incidents relating to personal safety or security reported. Lower-level incidents, such as people finding out their diagnosis before being told by a clinician, have been reported, and some issues have been investigated and classed as low-risk and/or resolved.
NHS England continues to monitor this and would take action if an issue was identified or raised.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report in the Lancet First, do no harm: time for a systems approach to address the problem of health-care-derived pharmaceutical pollution, published in December 2022; and what steps, if any, they plan to take regarding its recommendations.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra and its agencies, including the Environment Agency, have not yet considered the report in full detail but will do so in due course. We will consider the recommendations in conjunction with officials in the Department for Health and Social Care. Defra has already noted that some of the suggested interventions in the Lancet paper may be relevant to veterinary medicines. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate within Defra is actively considering issues around pharmaceuticals in the environment, and conducts environmental risk assessments for all new veterinary medicines.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 of the First Do No Harm report for pain and trauma management for women having hysteroscopy diagnosis tests.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific assessment has been made. The First Do No Harm report does not refer to pain and trauma management for women having hysteroscopy diagnosis tests. The Government responded to the First Do No Harm report in July 2021 and published an update report in December 2022.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to undertake a retrospective audit of mesh as called for in Baronness Cumberlege's First Do No Harm, The report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We accepted the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review’s recommendation to undertake a selective retrospective audit of a defined cohort of women who have undergone mesh procedures. NHS Digital has undertaken an audit of all pelvic floor surgery completed between 2006 and 2011 to generate a historical baseline of outcomes by procedure type and to support further research and analysis. This audit was conducted using initial procedures and re-operations/ follow up procedures recorded within Hospital Episode Statistics data. While the audit has been completed and is undergoing peer review, which may necessitate further enhancements, prior to publication in 2023.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
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 of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review entitled First Do No Harm, published on 8 July 2020, if he will make an estimate of the number of people with stress urinary incontinence who have been treated with mesh (a) slings and (b) tapes in (i) July 2018 to July 2019, (ii) July 2019 to July 2020, (iii) July 2020 to July 2021 and (iv) July 2021 to 11 July 2022.
Answered by Caroline Johnson
There are no plans to make a specific estimate. Routine summary information relating to procedures for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence is regularly published as part of NHS Digital’s Hospital Episode Statistics data. However, since 2021/22 NHS Digital and NHS England have confirmed with individual trusts that specific treatments are as described for the activity recorded and it has been identified that some trusts have mis-coded procedures in the data used to produce these statistics.
In line with recommendations from the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, NHS Digital has created a pelvic floor registry for mesh and non-mesh procedures. This will allow an accurate assessment of the number of people undergoing mesh sling and tape procedures in the future.
Since July 2018 there has been a restriction in practice and period of high vigilance for the use of surgical mesh and tape to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. This restriction was reviewed and extended in March 2019 and remains in place. Clinicians can still carry out these procedures with the informed consent of the patient if a multidisciplinary team agrees there is clinical urgency to carry out the procedure and there is no suitable alternative.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
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 of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review entitled First Do No Harm, published on 8 July 2020, how many people with stress urinary incontinence have been treated with mesh (a) slings and (b) tapes at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust between (i) 1 July 2018 and 1 July 2019, (ii) 2 July 2019 to 1 July 2020, (iii) 2 July 2020 to 1 July 2021 and (iv) 2 July 2021 to 11 July 2022.
Answered by James Morris
We are unable to provide the information requested on the number of patients with stress urinary incontinence treated with slings at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust from 2 July 2019 to 1 July 2020. This is due to the small number of patients involved which could lead to the identification of individuals. However, no patients were treated with slings between 1 July 2018 and 1 July 2019 or between 2 July 2020 and 11 July 2022.
No patients with stress urinary incontinence were treated with mesh tape at the Trust between 1 July 2018 and 11 July 2022.
Asked by: Baroness Mobarik (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will negotiate with the government of France for centres in that country where asylum seekers can apply for asylum to the UK, rather than crossing the Channel to apply.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK maintains regular contact with the Government of France on our joint cooperation to tackle illegal migration at the shared border at Ministerial and official level. The UK has committed several funding packages to supporting this work, including a bilateral arrangement which was reached between the UK and France on 20 July 2021.
The UK has a proud record of providing protection for people who need it, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. However, there is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.
France is a safe country, and, like the UK, it has an asylum system which provides protection to those who need it. People in France who need protection, can and should claim asylum there rather than refuse the chance to do so and travel illegally and dangerously to the UK instead.
It is for this reason that the UK Government will not negotiate to have centres in France where asylum seekers can apply for asylum to the UK. All asylum claims that are lodged from within the UK and admitted to the UK asylum system, are given full and careful consideration so that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin.
Asked by: Baroness Mobarik (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the government of France regarding an agreement to stop asylum seekers undertaking unsafe Channel crossings.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK maintains regular contact with the Government of France on our joint cooperation to tackle illegal migration at the shared border at Ministerial and official level. The UK has committed several funding packages to supporting this work, including a bilateral arrangement which was reached between the UK and France on 20 July 2021.
The UK has a proud record of providing protection for people who need it, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. However, there is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.
France is a safe country, and, like the UK, it has an asylum system which provides protection to those who need it. People in France who need protection, can and should claim asylum there rather than refuse the chance to do so and travel illegally and dangerously to the UK instead.
It is for this reason that the UK Government will not negotiate to have centres in France where asylum seekers can apply for asylum to the UK. All asylum claims that are lodged from within the UK and admitted to the UK asylum system, are given full and careful consideration so that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the progress made on implementing recommendations in the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review report entitled First Do No Harm; and what assessment he has made of the impact of those recommendations that have been implemented as of 14 July 2022.
Answered by James Morris
We committed to publishing an implementation update on the accepted recommendations. We will publish this update as soon as possible.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to publish a written update relating to the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review’s report entitled First Do No Harm (a) in general and (b) before the House rises on 21 July 2022.
Answered by James Morris
We committed to publishing an implementation update on the accepted recommendations, which will be available as soon as possible.