Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 21 April 2023 to Question 180599 on Orthopaedics: Out of Area Treatment, what plans her Department has to support patients who are ineligible for (a) NHS non-emergency transport and (b) the NHS Travel Costs scheme.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) and non-emergency patient transport services (NEPTS) are kept under review by the National Health Service to ensure simplified and streamlined access. The NHS continues to run these schemes in place to support eligible patients with their travel costs.
The most recent NEPTS review from August 2021 is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/urgent-emergency-care/improving-ambulance-services/nepts-review/
The most recent eligibility criteria from 31 May 2022 are available at the following link:
The NEPTS Review also identified the important role the HTCS has in supporting patients on low incomes to access NHS treatment. More information on the HTCS is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/healthcare-travel-costs-scheme-htcs/
The Department has no plans in place at present to look at further schemes.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 26 January 2023 to Question 128715 on Health: Disadvantages, what plans she has to expand the Major Conditions Strategy to address ethnic and gender disparities.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the policy development process, the Major Conditions Strategy will consider the full range of health disparities that may be experienced by different groups, including ethnic and gender disparities.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will publish a national vaccination strategy.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Development of a vaccine strategy remains under review given the evolving understanding from the COVID-19 vaccination programme, the existing seasonal flu and the 12 national immunisation programmes.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) availability and (b) supply levels of covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The United Kingdom has sufficient supply of vaccines to meet the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice for the current 2023 autumn booster campaign and for anticipated campaigns in 2024. All vaccines used in the UK to date are effective at protecting against severe disease from current COVID-19 variants.
There is regular contact between the UK Health Security Agency and vaccine manufacturers to ensure the future supply of vaccines to the UK. Advice on eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines and the choice of vaccine products for future campaigns is provided by the JCVI.
All those eligible for a COVID-19 booster as part of the current vaccination campaign and who are yet to come forward are strongly encouraged to do so.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to improve access to mental health services for people aged between 18 and 25 years old in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The NHS Long Term Plan commits to investing £2.3 billion extra funding a year in expanding and transforming mental health services by March 2024, enabling an extra two million people, including people aged between 18 and 25 years old in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency, to be treated by mental health services within the National Health Service.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities work with local partners to understand local needs for mental health services. We expect all ICBs to meet the Mental Health Investment Standard, increasing investment in mental health services in line with their overall increase in allocation for the year.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is his Department's policy that people with cystic fibrosis will have access to (a) Orkambi, (b) Symkevi and (c) Kaftrio through the NHS.
Answered by Will Quince
Orkambi, Symkevi and Kaftrio are currently available as treatment options for eligible National Health Service patients with cystic fibrosis, under the terms of a commercial agreement reached between NHS England and the manufacturer. This agreement has enabled the collection of data to inform a full appraisal of these medicines by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which is currently underway.
NICE published draft guidance on 3 November 2023 which does not recommend Orkambi, Symkevi and Kaftrio for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. The draft guidance is now subject to a public consultation and NICE’s committee will carefully consider all evidence as well as comments received during the consultation in developing its final guidance, which is expected to be published on 20 March 2024. Patients already receiving these treatments will have continued access following the publication of NICE’s final guidance, regardless of the outcome.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2023 to Question 198889 on Genomics: Health Services, if he will list the companies (a) involved in delivering and (b) that provided technology and products in support of the NHS Genomic Medicine Service.
Answered by Will Quince
It has not proved possible to reply to the hon. Member in the time available before prorogation.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services, published on 30 January 2023, what progress he has made on increasing clinical support for 111 online and urgent call services.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's Written Statement of 11 April 2023, on Achieving Smokefree 2030: cutting smoking and stopping kids vaping, HCWS710, what modelling his Department has done of how the steps outlined in that Statement will help bring smoking rates down to 5% or less in England by 2030.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Annex 1 of ‘Stopping the start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation’ sets out the modelling used to forecast changes in smoking prevalence over time based on legislating for a smokefree generation. This modelling is preliminary and will continue to be further refined ahead of publication of a full impact assessment.
Annex 1 is available at the following link:
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to check GP surgery buildings for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by Will Quince
Privately owned primary care estate is not part of the national reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) remediation programme. NHS England has issued RAAC guidance to providers of National Health Service services operating from private premises to advise them to engage with the private landlords who hold the responsibility for surveying and maintaining their own property. In many cases in primary care, the general practitioners are the owners.
The Department and NHS England have engaged with Community Health Partnerships (CHP) and NHS Property Services (NHSPS) who own the proportion of the primary and community estate in public ownership to understand their RAAC risk and the associated programmes. CHP has not identified any RAAC in its estate. NHSPS has identified three sites that are part of the national programme.