Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any of the UK delegates to (1) the 74th meeting of the World Health Assembly, and (2) the 149th session of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization, were qualified nurses; and if so, whether these delegates attended specifically to represent the nursing profession.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
No members of the United Kingdom delegation were qualified nurses.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to enable universities to use their residential accommodation as so-called “quarantine hotels” for international students arriving in UK from countries for which a period of quarantine is required during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department is currently exploring the options for international students arriving in the United Kingdom from ‘red list’ countries. However, we have no current plans to enable universities to use their residential accommodation as managed quarantine facilities for international students.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what inspections they are undertaking on the (1) quality, and (2) standards, of accommodation and services provided in hotels contracted to provide quarantine facilities for passengers arriving from countries on the red list during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what steps they are taking to supervise such hotels to ensure (a) that vulnerable people are protected, and (b) that the regulations on isolation are properly followed in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department has contracted to provide 24 hours a day, seven days a week liaison officer cover in all managed quarantine hotels. We receive daily reports from the embedded liaison officers for each hotel providing assurance of the facilities provided and ensure any areas of concern are addressed. We also engage with hotels and service providers on a regular basis to monitor the quality and effectiveness of services provided.
We have allocated resources to ensure that vulnerable people in quarantine hotels are signposted to the appropriate support and follow safeguarding procedures where appropriate. All hotels have a 24 hours a day, seven days a week security presence and access to an onsite medic. All hotels and security providers assigned to the quarantine service follow our standard operating procedures to ensure that guests remain in a COVID-19 secure environment for the entirety of their stay.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the research by Mark Ashworth et al 'Spatio-temporal associations of air pollutant concentrations, GP respiratory consultations and respiratory inhaler prescriptions: a 5-year study of primary care in the borough of Lambeth, South London', published in Environmental Health on 7 May.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Epidemiological studies have shown that long-term exposure to air pollution (over years or lifetimes) reduces life expectancy, mainly due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and lung cancer. Short-term exposure (over hours or days) to elevated levels of air pollution can also cause a range of health impacts, including effects on lung function, exacerbation of asthma, increases in respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions and mortality.
The Ashworth et al (2021) study adds to the existing evidence base that exposure to air pollution can cause adverse respiratory effects, concluding that short- and long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide, PM10 and PM2.5 particles are associated with an increase in the daily number of General Practitioner respiratory consultations and inhaler prescriptions.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the payment rate per COVID-19 vaccination administered by (1) a GP in a GP surgery, (2) a qualified pharmacist in a setting outside a GP surgery, and (3) other trained personnel in a mass vaccination location; what is the cost breakdown for each payment; and what is the reason for adopting a differential payment structure.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Payments for both general practitioner-led services and community pharmacy contractors are set at £12.58 per dose administered, regardless of the role of the staff member that is delivering the vaccine. This is set out in the respective enhanced service specifications for both models of vaccine delivery. This rate has been set at a level of 25% more than the current £10.06 received for an influenza vaccination. This is in recognition of the need for extra training, post-vaccine observation, and other associated costs with delivering COVID-19 vaccines beyond the supply of vaccines, consumables, and requisite equipment which is supplied at no cost to contractors.
Supplementary payments are also made available on an ad-hoc basis at the discretion of NHS England where contractors are required to deliver vaccines in a different way or to a specific timescale, such as in care homes, to reflect the additional costs of doing so. National Health Service trusts operating the hospital hub or vaccination centre delivery model are not paid on a per item basis. The additional costs of delivering vaccinations are reclaimable from NHS England by trusts. This approach reflects and is consistent with existing differences in the contractual relationships between NHS England and NHS trusts and foundation trusts and with primary care contractors.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with pharmaceutical company representatives about the risk of shortages of drugs and vaccines arising from the delay in establishing the new import procedures which will apply from 1 January 2021.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government, in consultation with the devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies and with partners across the health and social care sector, has made detailed plans to help ensure continued supply of medicines and medical products, including vaccines, to the whole of the United Kingdom from 1 January 2021.
The Department wrote to industry partners and the wider health and social care sector on 3 August this year and on 17 November setting out the Department’s plans and preparations to help ensure the continuity of supply of medical goods to the whole of the UK at the end of the transition period. This includes putting in place a £77 million freight contract, to help ensure the smooth flow of Category 1 goods, such as vaccines.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to include airline pilots and cabin crew in the priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who provide advice to Government on which vaccine(s) the United Kingdom should use, and which groups to prioritise. Whilst there is a desire for the whole UK population to be vaccinated, there may need to be an element of prioritisation - based on availability, evidence on safety and efficacy in different population groups and constraints in supply.
The committee – in their interim advice - have advised that for Phase 1, the vaccine first be given to care home residents and staff, followed by people over 80 and health and social workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors in the initial phase. We will consider the Committee’s advice carefully as further data emerges in preparation for Phase 2 including for critical workers in other essential sectors. Our vaccination programmes are led by the latest scientific evidence and we expect the Committee’s advice to develop as more evidence is gathered.