Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the findings of the MBRRACE-UK Perinatal Mortality Surveillance State of the Nation Report published in September 2023, what steps he is taking to reduce perinatal mortality (a) among babies from (i) deprived areas and (ii) Black and Asian backgrounds and (b) in general.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department is committed to improving perinatal outcomes and working towards the Government’s Maternity Ambition to halve the 2010 rates of stillbirths and neonatal deaths. In March 2023, NHS England published its three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services. The plan outlines how NHS England will make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for all.
NHS England also published its Equity and Equality guidance for Local Maternity Systems which focuses on actions to reduce disparities for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what monitoring his Department carries out of who is in receipt of funds allocated through the NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme, and what oversight he has of how this money is spent.
Answered by Will Quince
The information on funding distributed to National Health Service trusts to deliver the NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme (HTCS) is not held centrally as funding is included within NHS Trusts’ baselines. No central monitoring is undertaken on who is in receipt of funds allocated through HTCS, or on how the money is spent. The scheme is administered by the NHS locally.
As part of its review into non-emergency patient transport services (NEPTS), including HTCS, NHS England has developed a National Minimum Data Set to monitor provision of NEPTS, including elements of HTCS, at integrated care system (ICS) level.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the funding to deliver the NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme has been distributed to NHS trusts in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Will Quince
The information on funding distributed to National Health Service trusts to deliver the NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme (HTCS) is not held centrally as funding is included within NHS Trusts’ baselines. No central monitoring is undertaken on who is in receipt of funds allocated through HTCS, or on how the money is spent. The scheme is administered by the NHS locally.
As part of its review into non-emergency patient transport services (NEPTS), including HTCS, NHS England has developed a National Minimum Data Set to monitor provision of NEPTS, including elements of HTCS, at integrated care system (ICS) level.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information the Government requires NHS Trusts to publish under the NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme.
Answered by Will Quince
The information on funding distributed to National Health Service trusts to deliver the NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme (HTCS) is not held centrally as funding is included within NHS Trusts’ baselines. No central monitoring is undertaken on who is in receipt of funds allocated through HTCS, or on how the money is spent. The scheme is administered by the NHS locally.
As part of its review into non-emergency patient transport services (NEPTS), including HTCS, NHS England has developed a National Minimum Data Set to monitor provision of NEPTS, including elements of HTCS, at integrated care system (ICS) level.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the high travel costs for parents of babies in neonatal care for extended periods; and whether the existing NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme provides adequate support to such parents.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We have made no specific assessment. Visitors to patients in hospitals cannot claim their travel costs through the NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme and there are no plans to review the scheme’s qualifying criteria.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on appointing a National Neonatal Safety Champion.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We have no current plans to appoint a National Neonatal Safety Champion.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential role of localised Neonatal Safety Champions in improving outcomes.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There has been a requirement for localised Neonatal Safety Champions to be appointed alongside their maternity counterparts since 2019. They are responsible for supporting the provision of multidisciplinary perinatal services, the implementation of the Neonatal Critical Care Review, representing safety needs of their services at board level, and ensuring the safe delivery of care provision.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will extend the remit of the NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme to include parents attending hospital to care for a baby in neonatal care, recognising that they are not visitors to their baby, but essential caregivers.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There are no plans to extend the Scheme.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to review the qualifying criteria for the NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There are no plans to review the qualifying criteria.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on ensuring that households which use (a) home-oxygen and (b) other medical equipment are not prevented from doing so by rising energy costs.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Certain National Health Service specialised services provide rebates on energy costs for patients using medical equipment at home, such as home oxygen concentrators.