Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that all workers in community retirement settings are provided with adequate personal protection equipment and have access to COVID-19 testing.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We have made arrangements to help ensure that settings providing adult social care services can access personal protection equipment (PPE) where they have a clinical need, in line with published guidance. This includes community retirement settings that have care provision.
We have released millions of items of PPE to wholesalers for onward sale to the adult social care sector for providers to access if they cannot obtain PPE through their business as usual routes. We have also released of millions of items of PPE to Local Resilience Forums to help them respond to urgent local spikes in need across the adult social care sector and some other front-line services, where they are unable to access PPE through their business as usual and designated wholesaler routes. We have also mobilised a National Supply Disruption Response system to respond to emergency PPE requests, including for the adult social care sector if they cannot obtain PPE through other routes.
On access to COVID-19 testing, staff that are experiencing symptoms can be referred for testing by their employer, use the self-referral portal to order a home test kit or visit a regional testing site.
Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Care Quality Commission personnel have been dispatched to the front line during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is committed to supporting its colleagues who wish to undertake a different role to support the national effort in combatting COVID-19. As of 30 April 2020, the CQC has 101 colleagues with a formal external loan agreement. It has released 18 colleagues to the Department, 16 to NHS Improvement, one to Public Health England and one to Public Health Wales. It has released an additional 65 colleagues under local agreements to organisations including National Health Service trusts, general practitioner practices and pharmacies. In the majority of cases they are undertaking a frontline role. The CQC paused its routine inspection programme on 16 March 2020. This has freed up around 2,300 specialist advisors, who are not the CQC’s employees but can be called upon to support their inspection programme alongside clinical duties, to focus on frontline work.
Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards the introduction of a statutory appeals process for adult social care as provided for by section 72 of the Care Act 2014; and whether such a process will be in place by April 2020.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Putting social care on a sustainable footing, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, is one of the biggest challenges we face as a society. The Government will bring forward a plan for social care this year. There are complex questions to address, which is why we will seek to build cross-party consensus. We will consider all options available to ensure that every person is treated with dignity and offered the security they deserve, and that nobody needing care is forced to sell their home to pay for it.
Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance and advice they provide for informal carers of patients with nutritional problems and eating difficulties.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Government remains committed to support informal carers to provide care for those they care for.
While the Department does not provide specific guidance and advice for carers of those they care for with nutritional problems and eating difficulties, the Care Act 2014 requires that where an adult or carer appears to have care and support needs the local authority must carry out a care assessment. It must then decide if the person has eligible needs by considering the outcomes the person wants to achieve, what needs they have, and how these impact on their wellbeing.
Where a person is assessed as having eligible care and support needs, these must be met by their local authority. For those who do not meet the eligibility criteria, local authorities should signpost people to relevant services. This includes guidance and advice for informal carers of patients with nutritional problems.
One of the eligibility determinations in the Care Act 2014 for care and support is managing and maintaining nutrition. In addition, there are other sources of information carers can access, such as advice from healthcare professionals. The nutrition company Nutricia also produces information for carers to help provide better support for them around nutritional problems and eating difficulties. The leaflets are available free online as downloads from Carers UK.
Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of estimates made by the Joint Committee on Immunisation and Vaccination of the number of cases of invasive pneumococcal disease that may result from a reduction in the number of doses in the infant pneumococcal vaccination programme.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Public Health England has undertaken modelling on the impact of a reduced dose pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) schedule in the United Kingdom. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) reviewed the modelling in October 2017 and after considering all relevant evidence advised a revised schedule for PCV13 vaccine, with vaccination offered at three months and 12 months.
The JCVI is currently undertaking a consultation on their advice, therefore the estimates requested are not yet finalised. The modelling will be submitted for publication in a peer reviewed journal in spring 2018.
Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to conduct a public consultation on changing the pneumococcal vaccination programme, following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to move to a "1 + 1" schedule for pneumococcal vaccine use in children.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provides independent expert advice on the United Kingdom immunisation programme. It bases its recommendations on a comprehensive review of a wide range of scientific and other evidence, including from the published literature, and commissioned studies such as independent analyses of vaccine effectiveness and cost effectiveness. It can consult with stakeholders on its advice when it deems this necessary.
At its meeting in October 2017, the JCVI advised a change to the UK’s childhood pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) schedule. It recommended that infants should receive a single dose in infancy followed by a booster at one year of age (a “1+1” schedule). This advice was based on high vaccine uptake and effectiveness of the current PCV programme in the UK which has reduced vaccine-preventable pneumococcal disease.
The JCVI conducted a short focused consultation in January on its proposed advice about the PCV schedule. This concluded on 2 February. It is understood that some stakeholders have requested an extension to this consultation. The JCVI considered this request at its meeting on 7 February and their decision on this will be made public shortly. It is the JCVI rather than the Government that is best placed to carry out consultation about scheduling within the vaccine programme and who to target the consultation at.
Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that people delivering homecare are at Tier 2 within the Care Certificate, equivalent to their NHS counterparts.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Challenge on Dementia 2020, published in February 2015, made clear that, by 2020, we expect social care providers to provide appropriate training on dementia to all relevant staff. A copy of the Challenge on Dementia 2020 is attached.
The Department estimates that more than 100,000 social care workers have already received dementia awareness training. Newly appointed health care assistants and social care support workers, including those providing care and support to people with dementia and their carers, should undergo training as part of the national implementation of the Care Certificate.
Standard 9 of the Care Certificate concerns awareness of mental health, dementia and learning disabilities. In meeting the standard, each worker must show that he or she understands the needs and experiences of people with mental health conditions, dementia or learning disabilities, the importance of promoting their health and wellbeing, the adjustments which may be necessary in delivering their care, and the importance of early detection. They must also prove that they understand the legal context, including mental capacity considerations.
This standard is based in tier 1 of the Dementia Core Skills Education and Training Framework, which focuses on awareness. This tier of knowledge is applicable across the spectrum of health and adult social care services and so is at an appropriate level to inform the Care Certificate’s content.
Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent assessment they have made of the level of dementia training provided to homecare workers delivering care to people with dementia.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Challenge on Dementia 2020, published in February 2015, made clear that, by 2020, we expect social care providers to provide appropriate training on dementia to all relevant staff. A copy of the Challenge on Dementia 2020 is attached.
The Department estimates that more than 100,000 social care workers have already received dementia awareness training. Newly appointed health care assistants and social care support workers, including those providing care and support to people with dementia and their carers, should undergo training as part of the national implementation of the Care Certificate.
Standard 9 of the Care Certificate concerns awareness of mental health, dementia and learning disabilities. In meeting the standard, each worker must show that he or she understands the needs and experiences of people with mental health conditions, dementia or learning disabilities, the importance of promoting their health and wellbeing, the adjustments which may be necessary in delivering their care, and the importance of early detection. They must also prove that they understand the legal context, including mental capacity considerations.
This standard is based in tier 1 of the Dementia Core Skills Education and Training Framework, which focuses on awareness. This tier of knowledge is applicable across the spectrum of health and adult social care services and so is at an appropriate level to inform the Care Certificate’s content.
Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all homecare workers receive training relating specifically to dementia.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Challenge on Dementia 2020, published in February 2015, made clear that, by 2020, we expect social care providers to provide appropriate training on dementia to all relevant staff. A copy of the Challenge on Dementia 2020 is attached.
The Department estimates that more than 100,000 social care workers have already received dementia awareness training. Newly appointed health care assistants and social care support workers, including those providing care and support to people with dementia and their carers, should undergo training as part of the national implementation of the Care Certificate.
Standard 9 of the Care Certificate concerns awareness of mental health, dementia and learning disabilities. In meeting the standard, each worker must show that he or she understands the needs and experiences of people with mental health conditions, dementia or learning disabilities, the importance of promoting their health and wellbeing, the adjustments which may be necessary in delivering their care, and the importance of early detection. They must also prove that they understand the legal context, including mental capacity considerations.
This standard is based in tier 1 of the Dementia Core Skills Education and Training Framework, which focuses on awareness. This tier of knowledge is applicable across the spectrum of health and adult social care services and so is at an appropriate level to inform the Care Certificate’s content.
Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 26 April (HL7576), why the current section 7a public health functions agreement does not include performance indicators for the provision of pneumococcal vaccination to severely immunocompromised children aged at least five years and adults, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in July 2013.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The performance indicators included in the 2016-17 S7A public health functions agreement do not reflect every activity which is carried out under the agreement.
As I stated in my answer of 26 April, the provision of pneumococcal vaccination to severely immunocompromised children aged at least five years and adults, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in July 2013, is reflected in the relevant service specification for the existing pneumococcal immunisation programme and within the document Immunisation against Infectious Diseases (‘the Green Book’). The Green Book is published on the GOV.UK website in an online only format.
A copy of the service specification on the pneumococcal immunisation programme is attached.