Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many occupational therapists are (1) employed by the NHS, (2) self-employed, (3) working for private sector employers, and (4) working for public sector employers.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
To practice in the United Kingdom, occupational therapists must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). As of 20 September 2018, there were 39,197 occupational therapists registered with HCPC.
NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers.
NHS Digital monthly workforce statistics shows that as at 31 August 2018, the latest data available, there are 14,989 full time equivalent (FTE) clinically qualified staff with a care setting of occupational therapy employed by the National Health Service in England.
Since September 2015, NHS Digital has been collecting Independent Healthcare Provider Workforce Statistics. These statistics are collected biannually and published as experimental statistics. There are 744 FTE clinically qualified staff with a care setting of occupational therapy that are employed by those Independent Healthcare Providers in England who respond to the survey, as at 31 March 2018 which is the latest data available.
We do not hold data on occupational therapists who are self-employed or those working for public sector employers other than the NHS.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many qualified occupational therapists there are in the UK.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
To practice in the United Kingdom, occupational therapists must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). As of 20 September 2018, there were 39,197 occupational therapists registered with HCPC.
NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers.
NHS Digital monthly workforce statistics shows that as at 31 August 2018, the latest data available, there are 14,989 full time equivalent (FTE) clinically qualified staff with a care setting of occupational therapy employed by the National Health Service in England.
Since September 2015, NHS Digital has been collecting Independent Healthcare Provider Workforce Statistics. These statistics are collected biannually and published as experimental statistics. There are 744 FTE clinically qualified staff with a care setting of occupational therapy that are employed by those Independent Healthcare Providers in England who respond to the survey, as at 31 March 2018 which is the latest data available.
We do not hold data on occupational therapists who are self-employed or those working for public sector employers other than the NHS.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing a helpline for any patients who have been prescribed opioids to seek advice.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Government has no plans to introduce a requirement for general practitioners (GPs) to carry out an annual health check on all patients who have been prescribed opioids for chronic pain or to introduce a helpline. People who have any concerns or questions about a prescribed opioid drug they are taking should seek help from a health professional in the first instance (such as a GP or pharmacist). Help and advice is also available from, for example, the 111 helpline or the online NHS Choices service.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to require GPs to carry out an annual check on all patients who have been prescribed opioids for chronic pain.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Government has no plans to introduce a requirement for general practitioners (GPs) to carry out an annual health check on all patients who have been prescribed opioids for chronic pain or to introduce a helpline. People who have any concerns or questions about a prescribed opioid drug they are taking should seek help from a health professional in the first instance (such as a GP or pharmacist). Help and advice is also available from, for example, the 111 helpline or the online NHS Choices service.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to provide and support community helpline services for patients who are addicted to prescription opioids and who are seeking help.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Government takes seriously the issue of addiction to prescription medicines. People who feel that they might be dependent on either prescribed or over the counter medicines should seek help from a health professional in the first instance, such as a general practitioner (GP) or pharmacist. Help and advice is also available from, for example, the 111 helpline or the online NHS Choices service.
It is the responsibility of local authorities to commission services to meet assessed local need, including addiction to medicines, and there may be a range of services which can help. Specialist advice for GPs and support for patients with complex and severe problems is available from substance misuse services, which are available in each local authority across the country.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what NHS and voluntary services are currently available to help patients who are addicted to prescription opioids.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Government takes seriously the issue of addiction to prescription medicines. People who feel that they might be dependent on either prescribed or over the counter medicines should seek help from a health professional in the first instance, such as a general practitioner (GP) or pharmacist. Help and advice is also available from, for example, the 111 helpline or the online NHS Choices service.
It is the responsibility of local authorities to commission services to meet assessed local need, including addiction to medicines, and there may be a range of services which can help. Specialist advice for GPs and support for patients with complex and severe problems is available from substance misuse services, which are available in each local authority across the country.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the economic cost of the loss of productivity resulting from muscolo-skeletal problems and chronic pain.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Government is committed to helping people with musculoskeletal (MSK) and other long-term health conditions to get into, stay in, or return to work. Good work is generally for people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing, and work participation has benefits for the wider economy. It is estimated that the total cost of ill-health that prevents working age people from working, is around £100 billion per year.
That is why we published Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability in November 2017. The publication sets out our plans over the next ten years focussing, in particular, on the next two to three years and on three key settings – the welfare system, the workplace and health services. A copy is attached.
Support for people with MSK conditions is one theme of the publication, as MSK conditions are among the most common health conditions affecting people’s work participation. In relation to MSK services, we are continuing to invest in research to build our understanding of existing provision across the health and employment support systems.
The Government will continue to work with other key stakeholders, disabled people and other experts as we develop our plans.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to extend the authority of GPs to refer patients on the Fit for Work scheme to other healthcare professionals such as nurses and physiotherapists.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
There are no plans to extend the authority to refer patients to the Fit for Work service to other healthcare professionals, since employees can no longer be referred to the assessment service in England and Wales, and no further referrals will be taken to the assessment service in Scotland from 1 March 2018.
We recently published Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability, in which we outlined our intention to work closely with partners and stakeholders to find robust and lasting solutions to the issues associated with work-related illness and sickness absence, in particular through reform of occupational health. A copy of Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability is attached. We have commissioned further research to better understand the current market supply and delivery structures of occupational health provision and its operation. We will shortly appoint an expert working group to champion, shape and drive the work and to inform proposals by 2019/2020.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of opioids dispensed for pain relief contain a warning on the package that the medication may cause dependence or addiction.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Department does not collect this information centrally. Guidance from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency states that all opioid medicines should contain a warning statement in the patient information leaflet that if taking the medication for long periods there is risk of developing an addiction or dependence. A copy of Additional warning statements for inclusion on the label and/or in the leaflet of certain medicines is attached.
It is the responsibility of the dispensing pharmacist to determine whether a specific warning should be placed on the packaging of medication.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether GPs are being advised to carry out regular medication reviews for patients who are prescribed painkillers for chronic pain, in particular patients who are prescribed opioids; and if not, why not.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Information on the number of people in England currently addicted to prescription opioids is not collected centrally. The Government is concerned about the impact of long term use of prescription drugs. The Department has commissioned Public Health England (PHE) to undertake an evidence review to better understand the scope of the problem of prescribed drug dependence.
The review will bring together the best available evidence on prevalence and prescribing; the nature and likely causes of dependence or discontinuation syndrome among some people who continue to take these medicines; and effective prevention and treatment responses for each condition for which they are prescribed. There are no plans to extend the remit of the PHE evidence review to over the counter painkillers.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published the guideline Controlled drugs: safe use and management in April 2016 which covers systems and processes for using and managing controlled drugs safely in all NHS settings except care homes. The guideline includes recommendations to improve working practices to comply with legislation and aims to reduce the risks associated with controlled drugs, including dependency, overdose and diversion. The NICE guideline provides authoritative guidance that reflects the latest available evidence and will allow healthcare professionals, including general practitioners, to make informed decisions about the prescription and optimal use of medicines which have the potential to cause dependency. A copy of the NICE guideline is attached.
The recently-updated national clinical guidelines for drug misuse and dependence have specific guidance about pharmacological management of dependence on benzodiazepines and z-drugs, including prescribing regimens, detoxification, adjunctive therapies and monitoring. A copy of these guidelines, Drugs misuse and dependence: UK guidelines on clinical management is attached.