Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision of Riluzole for patients with motor neurone disease.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware that one of the suppliers of riluzole 50 milligram tablets is experiencing a supply issue. However, alternative suppliers have stock available. We are working closely with all the manufacturers and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure supplies remain available for patients in the United Kingdom.
We have well-established processes for managing and mitigating medicine supply issues, which involve working with the pharmaceutical industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, NHS England, the devolved governments, and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure patients have access to the treatments they need.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve access to Riluzole for patients with motor neurone disease.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware that one of the suppliers of riluzole 50 milligram tablets is experiencing a supply issue. However, alternative suppliers have stock available. We are working closely with all the manufacturers and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure supplies remain available for patients in the United Kingdom.
We have well-established processes for managing and mitigating medicine supply issues, which involve working with the pharmaceutical industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, NHS England, the devolved governments, and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure patients have access to the treatments they need.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring local authorities to use the same model for the commissioning of social care services.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Care Act, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to ensure a diverse range of high-quality person-centred care and ensure that support services are provided to meet the needs of the local population. We recognise that this is challenging, and the Government intends to develop a set of national commissioning standards, to set clear expectations of what good commissioning looks like and to drive greater consistency across the country. We are also investing in a new training offer for senior commissioners, to enhance strategic leadership capability and ensure they have the skills they need to shape their markets well.
We recently published the Market Sustainability Insights Report, which summaries some of the approaches local authorities in England are taking to building sustainable and innovative care markets. It is designed to be a supportive tool for local authority commissioners and it is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-market-sustainability-plans-insights-report
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of processes for social care users to (a) acquire the care they need and (b) file complaints.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has made up to £8.1 billion available over this year and next to strengthen adult social care provision with the aim of ensuring everyone can access high quality care that enables choice, control and independence.
Local Authorities are responsible for the delivery of social care. Local authorities must assess individuals’ care and support needs and, where the person is eligible, meet those needs. Where individuals do not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authorities in making their own arrangements for care services, as set out in the Care Act 2014.
By law, all health and social care services must have a procedure for dealing efficiently with complaints, and anyone who has seen or experienced poor-quality care has the right to complain to the organisation that provided or paid for the care.
If an individual is not satisfied with the way a provider or local authority has dealt with a complaint, they may escalate it to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman who can investigate individual concerns.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to improve (a) assessment and (b) diagnosis processes for adults with (i) autism and (ii) ADHD.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to have due regard to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when commissioning services, including assessment and diagnosis services.
In respect of autism, on 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. This guidance will help the National Health Service improve autism assessment services and improve the experience for people referred to an autism assessment service.
Each ICB must have an Executive Lead for learning disability and autism to support them to deliver care and support for autistic people in their area. NHS England has published statutory guidance on these Executive Lead roles. This year, we are updating the Statutory Guidance on Autism to support the NHS and local authorities to deliver improved outcomes for autistic people.
Regarding ADHD, NICE guidelines for ADHD diagnosis and management aim to improve the diagnosis of ADHD and the quality of care and support people receive. The Department is investigating options for improving data collection and reporting on waiting times for ADHD assessments and diagnoses, to help improve access to ADHD assessments in a timely way and in line with the NICE guidelines.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
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 impact of masking on adult (a) autism and (b) ADHD assessments.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No such assessment has been made. We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) and National Health Service trusts to have due regard to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism when commissioning and providing services for people, including assessments. It is the responsibility of ICBs to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, in line with these NICE guidelines.
In April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. This framework aims to help the NHS improve the quality of their autism assessment services and improve the experience for people who are referred to an autism assessment service. It also includes operational guidance, intended to guide strategic decision making about the range of autism assessment services that should be provided in each area. It makes clear that clinicians should offer a comprehensive assessment that includes considerations of different factors that may be relevant for confirming a diagnosis of autism.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to introduce a system to help people locate local dental surgeries accepting new NHS patients.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
From 25 November 2022 it became a contractual responsibility for NHS dental practices to ensure their NHS.UK profile is kept up to date so that patients can find a dentist more easily. Practices are required to update their information at least once every 90 days, including information on whether they are accepting new patients.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
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 support for people who care for individuals with motor neurone disease.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are required under the Care Act 2014 to undertake a Carer’s Assessment for any unpaid carer who appears to have a need for support and to meet their eligible needs on request from the carer.
Funding for respite and short breaks for unpaid carers has been included in the National Health Service contribution to the Better Care Fund (BCF) since 2015. In 2022/23, £291.7 million of BCF funding has been earmarked to provide short breaks and respite services for carers, as well as advice and support to unpaid carers.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
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 allowing 100-hour pharmacies increased flexibility in their opening hours.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There is currently no legal mechanism for NHS England to agree a reduction to the contractual commitment for the contractors that entered the market under the previous exemption from the market entry rules on the condition that they open for 100 hours a week. A range of evidence of pressures on community pharmacies, including 100-hour pharmacies, has been presented by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC). We continue to consult the PSNC on what proportionate action we can take balancing the need for patient access to pharmaceutical services and the ability of businesses to provide those services.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
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 more pharmacists are (a) trained and (b) recruited.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Health is a devolved matter and Health Education England is the national leadership organisation for education, training and workforce development in the health sector in England.
The number of pharmacy training places annually is uncapped. In England, each year around 2,500 pharmacists enter training and the net increase in pharmacists practicing has increased by around 1,400 per year since 2016.
Health Education England is implementing reforms to the initial education and training of pharmacists and developing cross-sector clinical placements to enable pharmacists to play a greater clinical role across the health system. The Department has also added pharmacy students to the list of professionals eligible for the Education and Training tariff to fund clinical placements from 1 September 2022.