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, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2020 to Question 98692 on Care Homes: Standards, what steps a person can take in the event that they are concerned that there are not sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons deployed to meet the needs of the people using the service.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Anyone with concerns about staffing, or other standards of care can contact the Care Quality Commission (CQC) about their concerns. The CQC encourages people to contact them by telephone, email or by using their online ‘Give Feedback on Care’ web form. This allows the CQC to respond to poor care, abuse and neglect immediately.
A crucial part of the CQC’s regulatory approach is the ability to hear the voices of relatives, people who use services, and staff. Inspectors routinely talk to Local Healthwatch and others who represent or act on behalf of people who use services.
The CQC also encourages staff to speak up by following their own service-specific internal whistleblowing policies, as well as directing them to relevant whistleblowing helplines which give free, independent and confidential guidance.
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 assessment his Department has made of the potential spread of covid-19 through bags for life and other reusable plastic bags in supermarkets during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been undertaken.
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 plans to take to improve dependency ratios in care homes.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Care homes that carry out regulated activities must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and providers must comply with the Fundamental Standards, below which the standard of care must not fall. The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 require that sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons must be deployed to meet the needs of the people using the service in order to meet regulatory requirements.
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 abortions have been carried out where the foetus was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome, since January 2020.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Between January and June 2020 there were 339 mentions of Down’s Syndrome on HSA4 Abortion Notification Forms. This figure includes all legal abortions performed in England and Wales. This data should be treated as provisional, meaning that it may be subject to revision if the Department receives further information from hospitals and clinics on missing information from HSA4 forms, or more forms are received.
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 assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing independent counselling for women considering an abortion.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists sets out that healthcare staff caring for women requesting abortion should identify those who require more support in the decision-making process and pathways to additional support, including counselling and social services, should be available.
Abortions provided by independent sector abortion providers must meet the Required Standard Operating Procedures (RSOPs) set out in the Department’s Procedures for the Approval of Independent Sector Places for the Termination of Pregnancy (Abortion). The Department’s RSOPs set out that: women are not required to have compulsory counselling or compulsory time for reflection before the abortion; clinicians caring for women requesting abortion should be able to identify those who require more support than can be provided in the routine abortion service setting, for example young women, those with a pre-existing mental health condition, those who are subject to sexual violence or poor social support, or where there is evidence of coercion; and for the minority of women who require formal, therapeutic counselling, services should have referral pathways in place with access to trained counsellors with appropriate expertise.
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 assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of permitting NHS staff to nominate a child instead of a partner to receive pension benefits in the event of the death of the staff member.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Pension Scheme already provides a generous set of protections for dependants in the event of a scheme member’s death. Pension benefits include a life assurance lump sum, a surviving partner pension and a child pension. Scheme members are permitted to nominate a child to receive the lump sum death benefit. Dependent child pensions may be paid until age 23 or later if the child is unable to earn a living due to permanent physical or mental infirmity. The amount payable may be higher if no surviving adult pension is payable.
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, pursuant to the Answers of 21 September 2020 to Questions 90109 and 90110 on Coronavirus: Congleton, when he plans to provide substantive answers to those questions.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We take parliamentary scrutiny incredibly seriously and it is fundamentally important that hon. Members are provided with accurate and timely information to enable them to hold Government to account. We are working rapidly to provide all hon. Members with accurate answers to their questions, as well as supporting the Government’s response to the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hon. Member’s questions will be answered as soon as possible.
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 recent assessment he has made of the GP-to-patient ratio for female patients with epilepsy aged people 15 and 45 years in the Congleton constituency.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Data on the general practitioner to patient ratio for female patients between the ages of 15 to 45 years old with epilepsy is not available at national or regional levels.
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 women have taken abortion pills at home after the 10-week gestation period limit; and what steps he has taken to ensure the pills are taken within the specified limit.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is carefully monitoring the impact of and compliance with the temporary approval of home administration of both sets of abortion medication during the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials have regular meetings with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Care Quality Commission and abortion service providers.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has issued clinical guidelines for healthcare professionals on ‘Coronavirus infection and abortion care’. The guidance sets out the circumstances where women should be asked to attend a clinic for an ultra-sound scan. However, it states that “most women can determine the gestational age of their pregnancy with reasonable accuracy by last menstrual period (LMP) alone”. The Royal College’s guidance has recently been updated and now includes a decision aid for clinicians to use to help determine if an ultra-sound scan is required. This includes detailed questions to identify gestational age. Women are given clear advice that they can only receive this treatment at home if they are under 10 weeks gestation.
As part of the consultation prior to treatment commencing, women will be clearly informed that medical abortion is a two-stage process which requires the administration of Mifepristone followed by Misoprostol to successfully complete the procedure.
The Code of Practice outlined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 prohibits the pre-release of official statistics before the due date of publication. The Department will be publishing an additional official statistics release of abortion data covering the COVID-19 period from January to June 2020 on 10 September.
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 ensure that abortion pills taken at home are being taken under the 10-week gestation limit.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is carefully monitoring the impact of and compliance with the temporary approval of home administration of both sets of abortion medication during the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials have regular meetings with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Care Quality Commission and abortion service providers.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has issued clinical guidelines for healthcare professionals on ‘Coronavirus infection and abortion care’. The guidance sets out the circumstances where women should be asked to attend a clinic for an ultra-sound scan. However, it states that “most women can determine the gestational age of their pregnancy with reasonable accuracy by last menstrual period (LMP) alone”. The Royal College’s guidance has recently been updated and now includes a decision aid for clinicians to use to help determine if an ultra-sound scan is required. This includes detailed questions to identify gestational age. Women are given clear advice that they can only receive this treatment at home if they are under 10 weeks gestation.
As part of the consultation prior to treatment commencing, women will be clearly informed that medical abortion is a two-stage process which requires the administration of Mifepristone followed by Misoprostol to successfully complete the procedure.
The Code of Practice outlined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 prohibits the pre-release of official statistics before the due date of publication. The Department will be publishing an additional official statistics release of abortion data covering the COVID-19 period from January to June 2020 on 10 September.