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Written Question
Abortion
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will have discussions with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on the adequacy of the range of stakeholders consulted for the guidance for healthcare staff on Involvement of the Police and External Agencies following Abortion, Pregnancy Loss and Unexpected Delivery it issued on 22 January 2024.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The recent guidance for healthcare staff on the involvement of the police and external agencies following abortion, pregnancy loss, and unexpected delivery, was produced independently by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The Department does not intend to review the stakeholder consultation related to this guidance. Abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance, and it is for Parliament to decide the circumstances under which abortions should take place. The Department’s focus is on patient safety and ensuring the law, as set out in the Abortion Act 1967, is applied to ensure women can access to safe, high-quality services.


Written Question
IVF
Wednesday 7th June 2023

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) implantation failures, (b) spontaneous miscarriages, (c) terminations of pregnancies and (d) live births have been recorded pursuant to clinical application in the UK of (i) pronuclear transfer and (ii) spindle-chromosomal complex transfer.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The following table shows how many implantation failures, spontaneous miscarriages, terminations of pregnancies, and live births, have been recorded pursuant to clinical application in the United Kingdom of pronuclear transfer, and spindle-chromosomal complex transfer.

Pronuclear transfer

Spindle-chromosomal complex transfer

Implantation failures1

20-23

0

Spontaneous miscarriages

0

0

Terminations of pregnancy

0

0

Live births

0

Source: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)

Notes:

  1. The data is as recorded by the HFEA on 10 May 2023, these figures reflect the data on this day and are likely to change over time.
  2. The HFEA publishes information which does not compromise patient confidentiality. All counts of less than five are not released as there is a significant possibility that when combined with other information which may be reasonably accessed, it could lead to the identification of a person to whom the HFEA owes a duty of confidentiality.
  3. Implantation failures is calculated as embryo transfer procedures subtracting where intrauterine foetal pulsations were recorded. This calculation does not account for chemical pregnancies as these are not recorded.
  4. This information has been banded as it could reasonably be used in combination with information already in the public domain to determine suppressed information in this table.

Written Question
IVF
Wednesday 7th June 2023

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients have been licensed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority as eligible for mitochondrial donation treatment in the UK; how many embryos have been produced using (a) pronuclear transfer and (b) spindle-chromosomal complex transfer; and how many embryos have been transferred to uteri pursuant to (a) pronuclear transfer and (b) spindle-chromosomal complex transfer.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) have advised that 32 patients have been licensed as eligible for mitochondrial donation treatment in the United Kingdom. The following table shows how many embryos have been produced during mitochondrial donation treatment and how many embryos have been transferred to uteri pursuant to clinical application in the UK of pronuclear transfer and spindle-chromosomal complex transfer.

Pronuclear transfer

Spindle-chromosomal complex transfer

Embryos produced during mitochondrial donation treatment

317

0

Embryos transferred

24

0

Source: HFEA, 2023

Notes:

  1. The data is as recorded by the HFEA on 4 June 2023, these figures reflect the data on this day and are likely to change over time.
  2. Embryos produced during mitochondrial donation treatment are calculated as the total number of embryos developed from patient eggs and number of embryos developed from mitochondrial donor eggs.

Written Question
IVF
Wednesday 7th June 2023

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority holds on children born as a result of mitochondrial donation with (a) a mitochondrial disease, (b) a birth defect, (c) genetic abnormality and (d) another adverse outcome.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority have advised that it cannot provide the detailed information as requested as it may compromise patient confidentiality.


Written Question
IVF: Health Services: Congleton
Tuesday 6th June 2023

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to help ensure that the provision of IVF is (a) efficient and (b) compassionate for people requiring IVF services in Congleton constituency.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Funding decisions for health services in England, including in vitro fertilisation (IVF), are made by integrated care boards (ICBs) and are based on the clinical needs of their local population. We would therefore expect Merseyside and East Cheshire ICB to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, ensuring fair and equal access to fertility treatment for the people of Congleton.


Written Question
Dementia: Congleton
Wednesday 19th April 2023

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

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 help ensure (a) dementia is diagnosed in a timely way, (b) services involved in dementia health care communicate with each other effectively and (c) dementia healthcare services are accessible to patients at convenient times and locations, in the Congleton constituency.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Cheshire East Council and Cheshire & Merseyside Integrated Care Board have been working in close partnership with local providers and Dementia Communities to develop a new Dementia Plan which prioritises the Dementia Well Pathway. The Plan will be published in May 2023.

NHS England funding provided in 2021 was used to recruit an Admiral Nurse in each of the two Cheshire East memory services. The aim is to free up existing clinicians to focus on assessment and diagnosis while the Admiral Nurses provide post-diagnostic support to those recently diagnosed or those referred because they are experiencing complexity. An evaluation of this approach will be conducted in October 2023. Early indications suggest high levels of patient and carer satisfaction.


Written Question
Spondyloarthritis
Tuesday 13th December 2022

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

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 reduce the diagnosis time for people with Axial Spondyloarthritis (a) in the Congleton constituency and (b) nationally.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time programme has worked with the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society to create a pathway to support clinicians to improve the diagnosis of Axial Spondyloarthritis, including in Congleton. The pathway is available at the following link:

https://www.actonaxialspa.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Rheumatology-Axial-Spondyloarthritis-Pathway.pdf


Written Question
Nurses: Labour Turnover
Friday 25th November 2022

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

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 improve the retention of experienced nurses in (a) Congleton constituency and (b) nationally.

Answered by Will Quince

NHS England’s retention programme seeks to understand why staff leave and provide targeted interventions to support staff to stay, with each trust required to have retention action plans, including in Congleton.

NHS England is working with each integrated care system to support a dedicated retention resource for 2022/23. Support for line managers has been provided, including a staff retention guide with information on induction, reward and recognition, menopause support and online resources to support colleagues in late and early career.

In July 2022, NHS England asked each National Health Service organisation to prioritise the delivery of five actions on nursing and midwifery retention, including enhanced support for those joining the NHS, menopause support and improved advice and guidance for those later in their career with flexible working and pensions. The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan will consider the number of staff and the roles required and will set out the actions and reforms needed to improve workforce supply and retention, including in Congleton.


Written Question
Pregnancy: Thromboembolism
Monday 6th June 2022

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

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 raise awareness of (a) the potentially fatal clotting conditions that may occur during pregnancy and (b) how early intervention can prevent fatal outcomes.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Midwives discuss venous thromboembolism (VTE) with all women during pregnancy, advising them if they are at increased risk, explaining the signs and symptoms and sources of advice. Women will often be provided with a printed or digital information leaflet and NHS.UK provides accessible advice and guidance, emphasising the urgency if they have any symptoms of a VTE.

Clinicians assess a woman's risk factors for VTE at the first antenatal appointment and following any hospital admission or significant health event during pregnancy. A referral to an obstetrician may be made if risk factors are present. Prophylactic treatment from early pregnancy is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence if the risk of thromboembolism is very high or later in pregnancy if the risk is lower.


Written Question
Dental Services: Congleton
Monday 14th March 2022

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement of £7,310,000 allocated to the North West to secure additional dental appointments, what assessment he has made of the impact of that funding on access to dental appointments for people in Congleton constituency.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

No formal assessment has been made. National Health Service regional teams are currently commissioning additional activity supported by this funding.