Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
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 increase the number of GP surgery appointments available to the public.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney MP) on 4 November 2021 to Question 67228.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people receiving treatment at A&E departments in England in each year since 2010.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information is not available in the format requested.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
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 ensure people travelling to countries, such as Israel, which require proof of three Covid-19 vaccination doses can provide appropriate certification to gain entry to those countries.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Booster vaccinations are currently not recorded on the NHS COVID Pass as they are not required for domestic certification in England or at the United Kingdom border. We recognise that some countries are altering their vaccination requirements, therefore we are keeping this under review.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ask the NHS to allow people to book their appointments for booster covid-19 vaccinations in advance so that they can schedule an appointment immediately after the expiry of six months from the date of their second dose.
Answered by Maggie Throup
On 8 November, the National Booking Service was updated to allow those eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccine to pre-book their vaccination five months after their second dose.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
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 improve NHS (a) treatment and (b) support for those suffering from chronic long-term pain conditions.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
NHS England and NHS Improvement have established a task and finish group to produce guidance on the provision of high-quality services for people living with long-term pain conditions by April 2022. The guidance is aimed at integrated care systems to provide core principles which can be used to inform the development of local models of care to support people living with chronic pain.
NHS England and NHS Improvement will appoint a National Clinical Director for Prescribing in November 2021. The National Clinical Director will be responsible for promoting safe use of medicines, such as opioids for patients suffering from chronic pain conditions, as recommended in the 2021 National Overprescribing Review.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS plans to include booster vaccinations in the NHS app.
Answered by Maggie Throup
There are currently no plans to record booster vaccinations on the NHS COVID Pass, as they are not required for domestic certification in England.
Internationally, no countries currently require boosters of a COVID-19 vaccination as part of their entry requirements. However, we are aware that some countries have begun introducing expiry dates on vaccination for travel. The Government is reviewing the implications of booster doses for international travel and we are currently exploring whether and how boosters could be incorporated into the NHS COVID travel Pass.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ask NHS England to ensure that people who do not have access to online services are notified of their covid-19 booster vaccination appointment by other non-digital means.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The National Health Service will contact those who are eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccination by letter, email or text message. For those unable to book their appointment online themselves, it is possible for bookings to be made on someone’s behalf. Appointments can also be booked by calling 119.
The NHS Immunisation Management Service may contact those who have received a letter but not booked an appointment by telephone to offer further help and support if required.
Walk-in centres are also available for COVID-19 booster vaccine appointments, for those who do not have access to online services.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ask NHS England to include records of covid-19 booster vaccinations in the NHS App.
Answered by Maggie Throup
There are currently no plans to record booster vaccinations on the NHS COVID Pass, as they are not required for domestic certification in England.
Internationally, no countries currently require boosters of a COVID-19 vaccination as part of their entry requirements. However, we are aware that some countries have begun introducing expiry dates on vaccination for travel. The Government is reviewing the implications of booster doses for international travel and we are currently exploring whether and how boosters could be incorporated into the NHS COVID travel Pass.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
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 NICE on access to Fampridine by people with multiple scleroris.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We have had no such discussions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether medicines represent a clinical and cost-effective use of resources.
NICE was unable to recommend fampridine in its clinical guideline on managing multiple sclerosis (MS) which was originally published in 2014. However, NICE is now updating this guideline, which will include reviewing the recommendation on fampridine. NICE expects to publish its draft guidance on the management of MS for consultation in December this year, with final guidance expected on 1 June 2022.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NICE on their guidelines for the treatment of chronic pain.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We have had no such discussions. The National Institute for Care and Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE has published a range of guidance on the management of chronic pain, including ‘Chronic pain (primary and secondary) in over 16s: assessment of all chronic pain and management of chronic primary pain’ in April 2021 which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG193
Healthcare professionals should take the NICE guideline fully into account in the care and treatment of their patients.