Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many claims were made against GPs working outside of regular hours in each of the last five years; and what the average amount is for which the claim was made in that period.
Answered by Ben Gummer
Information on claims made against general practitioners (GPs) is not held centrally. In relation to clinical negligence claims made against GPs working outside of regular hours, these are in the main covered by the Medical Defence Organisations.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the cost of medical indemnity insurance premiums on the number of female GPs returning to work after maternity leave.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Department and NHS England recognise that increasing medical indemnity costs are a significant issue for general practitioners (GPs), including for particular groups of the workforce, such as those GPs who may work part time.
The Department and NHS England will bring forward proposals for reviewing indemnity arrangements in primary care in the summer for discussion with the profession, medical defence organisations, the commercial industry and the NHS Litigation Authority.
To address rising indemnity costs, NHS England has already negotiated changes to the products offered by Medical Defence Organisations to bring down costs of indemnity for extended access and from December 2015 to March 2016 ran a winter indemnity scheme to offset the additional indemnity premium for GPs who wish to work additional sessions for their out-of-hours providers.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department provides to GPs to assist with the cost of insuring work undertaken outside of normal working hours.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Department and NHS England are committed to addressing the issue of increasing medical indemnity costs for general practitioners (GPs), including those working out of hours.
The Department and NHS England will bring forward proposals for reviewing indemnity arrangements in primary care in the summer for discussion with the profession, medical defence organisations, the commercial industry and the NHS Litigation Authority.
To address rising indemnity costs, NHS England has already negotiated changes to the products offered by Medical Defence Organisations to bring down costs of indemnity for extended access and from December 2015 to March 2016 ran a winter indemnity scheme to offset the additional indemnity premium for GPs who wish to work additional sessions for their out-of-hours providers.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department is making preparations to plan for widespread resistance to known antibiotics.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Government has already made comprehensive plans to address the threat of antibiotic resistance through the UK Five Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2013 – 2018
The UK Strategy, which was published in September 2013, sets out our overarching goal to slow the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance. It focusses activities around three strategic aims, namely, to improve the knowledge and understanding of antimicrobial resistance; to conserve and steward the effectiveness of existing treatments; and to stimulate the development of new antibiotics, diagnostics and novel therapies. The strategy is based on the principle of “One Health”, tackling the problem of resistance in humans, animals and the environment.
Globally, the UK has led efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance. For example, we have taken the lead in the development and adoption, in May 2015, of a new World Health Organization (WHO) Resolution on antimicrobial resistance. We are now working towards agreement for a high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance at the United Nations General Assembly in 2016.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will promote the development of a pharmacist-led common ailments service to reduce winter pressures on A&E departments and GP practices.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Minor ailment schemes are commissioned locally by NHS England and clinical commissioning groups in many parts of England to meet local need. As part of its urgent and emergency care strategy, NHS England has run campaigns for the last two winters to encourage wider use of community pharmacies to treat coughs and colds. This year’s campaign Stay Well This Winter, launched on 2 November, directs people to their local pharmacy to seek advice on common ailments and advises people who feel unwell to get help from their pharmacy team quickly before it gets more serious.