Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they recognise the need for a (1) nationally recognised, and (2) mandatory, care qualification; and what steps they have taken, if any, towards establishing this.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
There are a number of nationally recognised qualifications available for those working in the adult social care sector. We are also investing in the social care workforce to support those working in care to access training and qualifications and increase their skills.
In addition, the Care Certificate provides nationally recognised training standards for non-registered roles. The standards equip workers with the fundamental skills they need to provide quality care and care workers complete the Care Certificate as part of their induction training. We have also committed to the creation of a delivery standard recognised across the sector. This will improve the portability of the Care Certificate, to avoid care workers repeating training when moving roles. We are exploring options to establish a requirement for all care workers to have reached this baseline standard.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what training is available to care inspectors in relation to diet and its impact on overall wellbeing.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
As the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors, inspects and regulates services to ensure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety. The CQC’s inspectors consider Regulation 14 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, to assess whether people who use services have adequate nutrition and hydration to sustain life and good health.
The CQC can prosecute for a breach of this regulation or a breach of part of the regulation if a failure to meet the regulation results in avoidable harm to a person using the service or a person using the service is exposed to significant risk of harm.
While the CQC’s inspectors are not required to undertake specific mandatory training in relation to diet and Regulation 14, the CQC refers its inspectors to both learning resources produced by Skills for Care and internal resources on nutrition and hydration.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the standard training given to chefs in care settings.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, if any, of the number of people receiving social care who follow a non-meat diet; and what steps they are taking to ensure that such people are given meat-free meals.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
No estimate has been made of the number of people receiving social care who follow a non-meat diet. Local authorities should facilitate the personalisation of care and support services in line with their duties under the Care Act 2014. This includes encouraging services to enable people to make meaningful choices and to take control over the way their care is planned and delivered, based on their individual needs and what matters most to them. This may include dietary requirements and preferences where appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - 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 women's prisons have (1) paediatric, and (2) neonatal, emergency equipment; and how they intend to ensure that all healthcare staff are trained in paediatric and neonatal resuscitation.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
NHS England and NHS Improvement is responsible for commissioning virtually all healthcare services in prisons in England, including clinical services for pregnant women.
Basic resuscitation equipment only is provided in prisons. NHS England and NHS Improvement has consulted experts in the field of neonatal resuscitation, following which a decision was taken not to provide neonatal resuscitation equipment in prisons due to the highly specialised nature of neonatal resuscitation, which requires specialist training, equipment and immediate access to highly qualified and skilled staff. Should these staff not be available there is a risk that the equipment could be used by untrained staff which risks harming the baby.
All healthcare staff should receive relevant first aid training, including basic adult life support and what to do in emergency situations where specialist neonatal resuscitation is required. This normally includes seeking a rapid response from the local ambulance service who can guide staff through cardiopulmonary resuscitation/rescue breaths and keeping the baby warm until the local ambulance service are in attendance.
While the training of staff employed by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service working in prisons is a matter for that organisation, as the commissioner for NHS services in prisons, NHS England and NHS Improvement seeks evidence that commissioned healthcare providers field competent and appropriately-trained staff to fulfil specific requirements in their contractual obligations.