Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what scientific advice he has received on the risk of transmission of covid-19 in public gatherings.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our approach has been, and will continue to be, guided by the evidence and latest advice from medical experts, including the Chief Medical Officer.
It is absolutely critical in managing the spread of this virus that we take the right decisions at the right time based on the latest and best evidence.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies meets regularly to discuss relevant issues, including scientific evidence related to public gatherings.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to protect NHS staff from infection from covid-19.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
‘COVID-19: Guidance for infection prevention and control in healthcare settings’ has been published and can be found at the following link:
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to enforce the NICE guidelines on offering epidurals to women in labour.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All expectant mothers should be able to make an informed choice about pain relief any time before and during labour, knowing that their choice would be fully respected if it is safe to do so.
The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Nadine Dorries MP) is writing to all Heads and Directors of Midwifery and Medical Directors at NHS trusts to remind them of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance regarding pain relief during childbirth to ensure it is being followed.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the decision by the Professional Standards Authority to renew the Society of Homeopaths’ accreditation.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not maintain a position on any complementary or alternative medicine treatments. It is the responsibility of local National Health Service organisations to make decisions on the commissioning and funding of any healthcare treatments for NHS patients, taking into account issues around safety and clinical and cost-effectiveness. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence does not currently recommend that homeopathy should be used in the treatment of any health condition.
The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) is an independent organisation who has responsibility for the accredited registers scheme. The PSA is clear that accreditation is not an endorsement of a particular treatment or therapy or its efficacy but ensures that practitioners are part of a body that works to good practice and is committed to protecting the public.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many open serious case reviews there are into perinatal deaths in England.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
A Serious Case Review is the terminology previously used to describe the local agency joint response review into safeguarding concerns (e.g. concerns about neglect, abuse) where the child has died or been seriously harmed. These are now referred to as Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews.
Information on the number of open cases of Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews is not held centrally.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make it its policy to raise public awareness of the links between asthma and cleaning products.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Long Term Plan identifies respiratory disease as a clinical priority and highlights key areas for action. This includes enabling more people to self-manage their condition through introducing standardised education programmes for asthma. To deliver this, a national respiratory programme has been established. The programme has expert representation from across the National Health Service and is working in collaboration with representatives from public health.
The NHS A-Z lists common triggers for asthma and points to specific advice on this issue on the Asthma UK website at the following links:
https://www.asthma.org.uk/advice/triggers/indoor-environment/
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to (a) undertake research on and (b) raise awareness of staff in NHS Trusts of kangaroo care for premature babies.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Department currently has no plans to fund research on kangaroo care for premature babies. The National Institute for Health Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health. Applications for funding are subject to peer review and judged in open competition.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his Department's policy to undertake further research on the side effects of cannabidiol products.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including on cannabidiol products; it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. The NIHR has identified research on cannabis-based medicinal products as a priority and has issued two calls for research proposals on this area.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to encourage research into the effect of IVF treatments on the perinatal health of babies conceived through IVF.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), which has a broad portfolio of research into reproductive health, including assisted conception.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health. However it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications for funding are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will launch an inquiry into deaths relating to vaping.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are no current plans to conduct an inquiry. Cases have been reported in the United States of America of acute lung injury suspected to be associated with e-cigarette use or vaping, although Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently recognised that either tetrahydrocannabinol or Vitamin E Acetate as the likely cause of the USA outbreak. Although to date reports in the United Kingdom do not reflect the trends in volume and pattern of the respiratory events seen in the USA, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is conducting surveillance to ensure they can identify potential cases.
UK regulated e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking although not completely risk free. Five fatalities have been reported to the MHRA in the UK that may have been associated with e-cigarette use. Importantly there is no evidence that all the deaths were caused by e-cigarette use. This needs to be put into context of over 3 million e-cigarette users in the UK, and that smoking kills over 78,000 people each year alone in England.
The MHRA continues to assess all reports received in association with nicotine-containing e-cigarettes and take appropriate action to protect public health.