Asked by: Lord Bishop of London (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to collect, and (2) to report, data on the number of people affected by long-COVID alongside the data on hospitalisations and death.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We are developing our understanding of ‘long’ COVID-19, including collecting the numbers of people affected and methods of reporting. Currently, the Office for National Statistics collects and publishes data on prevalence of ongoing symptoms following COVID-19 infection in the United Kingdom. From September 2021 activity data on referral, assessments and waiting times for post-COVID-19 assessment clinics and the patient journey, including the use of Your COVID Recovery, will be published on a monthly basis.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of London (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to publish a report on the work to reduce health inequalities around maternal mortality rates, in particular the higher rate of death in childbirth for Black women, led by Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE; and what action will be taken as a result of this report.
Answered by Lord Bethell
NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with a range of national partners, led by the Chief Midwifery Officer for England and the National Specialty Advisor for Obstetrics, to develop an equity strategy which will focus on women and their babies from black, Asian and mixed ethnic groups and those living in the most deprived areas.
The National Perinatal Equity Strategy is in its final stages of development and will be published in the coming months. Following the publication, the Local Maternity Systems will be asked to submit an equity analysis covering health outcomes, community assets and staff experience and a co-production plan by 30 September 2021. Local Maternity Systems will then co-produce equity action plans by 31 December 2021.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of London (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the breakdown by (1) protected characteristic, and (2) socio-economic background, of the patients who choose to opt out of surgery following the waiting list validation process.
Answered by Lord Bethell
No formal assessment has been made. Data on protected characteristics and socio-economic background is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of London (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to reverse the real terms cuts to public health grants for local authorities, and (2) to maintain the amount allocated for public health grants as a percentage of the total budget of NHS England.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The public health grant to local authorities in England was £3.279 billion in 2020/21, a £295.1 million real-terms increase. The public health allocations to local authorities in England for 2021-2 were published on 16 March, and the total public health grant to local authorities will be £3.324 billion, a rise of £332.4 million in cash terms. The grant will be ring fenced for use on public health functions and includes £23.4 million for routine commissioning of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
Asked by: Lord Bishop of London (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recommendations have been made by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency regarding the prominence of warnings concerning mental health risks associated with the use of Montelukast in children; and what is the timescale for implementation of any such recommendations.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Warnings on mental health risks associated with the use of montelukast in children are included in the product information and in prescribing and other resources available to health professionals and patients. The warnings were strengthened in 2019 and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency issued an alert in its Drug Safety Update bulletin for prescribers. However, in response to concerns raised and in line with independent expert advice, more prominent warnings will be included in product information and patient alert cards and safety leaflets will be provided to patients. These materials are currently being developed and are expected to be introduced later this year.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of London (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Patient Initiated Follow Up does not create barriers for deprived and excluded patients to access NHS care.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The decision to place a patient on a Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU) pathway will be taken jointly by the patient and a clinician when the clinician identifies a patient who would benefit from accessing care in this way. The decision will always be based on a patient’s individual needs and circumstances, ensuring it is in the patient’s best interests.
The Outpatient Transformation Programme provides ongoing advice and support to systems and providers implementing PIFU. This includes continuous improvement and identifying any risks, such as those relating to health inequalities and exclusion and working to provide resolution/guidance on how to address them. As part of this national support offer, resources have been made available that encourage systems and providers to develop and regularly review their Equality Health Impact Assessments in relation to PIFU.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of London (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of visiting restrictions at care homes on the wellbeing of residents; and what plans they have to review their policy on visiting arrangement at care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government is aware that limiting visits in care homes has been difficult for many families and residents who want to see their loved ones. Our priority is to prevent infections in care homes.
We recognise how important it is to allow care home residents to safely meet their loved ones, especially for those at the end of their lives. We appreciate the particular challenges visiting restrictions pose for people with dementia, people with learning disabilities and autistic adults, amongst others, as well as for their loved ones.
Care homes can now develop visiting policies based on a local dynamic risk assessment. This approach is based on the circumstances and needs of the individual care setting, including both residents and staff, and the external COVID-19 environment.
In the event of an outbreak in a care home and/or evidence of community hotspots or outbreaks, care homes may rapidly impose visiting restrictions to protect vulnerable individuals.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of London (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that churches and voluntary organisations are integrated into the social prescribing component of the NHS Long Term Plan.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with local areas to support implementation of social prescribing. As local social prescribing schemes develop, we would expect to see social prescribing link workers establishing important relationships with local health and care professionals and a wide range of community groups and services such as voluntary organisations and churches to maximise the impact of social prescribing.
Further information is outlined in the Social prescribing and community-based support: Summary guide published by NHS England and Improvement in January 2019. A copy is attached.