Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure patient safety in beauty establishments.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government is using the powers in the Health and Care Act 2022 to introduce a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England. The licensing scheme will help to uphold patient safety by ensuring that those who offer specified procedures are suitably knowledgeable, trained, qualified, hold appropriate indemnity cover and operate from premises which meet the necessary standards of hygiene, infection control and cleanliness.
We recently ran the first public consultation on the scope of the licensing scheme and are currently analysing the responses. We will publish our response in the new year.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
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 impact of requiring nurses to be DBS-checked on patient safety.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Nurses are in Regulated Activity and are required by law to have an enhanced check with adults and/or children’s barred list information, where applicable to the role. For eligible positions, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks are one of several background checks that employers must carry out to ensure individuals working in the National Health Service are suitable and safe to carry out the roles they are appointed to do and to protect patient safety.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of people who have been injured by fireworks in each of the last five years.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to provide additional funding for training social care staff in supporting people with Parkinson’s-related dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
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 NHS staff are trained to provide high-quality care for people living with (a) Parkinson’s and (b) other conditions.
Answered by Will Quince
Individual employers are responsible for ensuring their staff are trained and competent to carry out their role. Regulated healthcare professionals need to meet the standards of education and training set by the relevant professional regulator. The regulators set and enforce the standards that their registrants must adhere to and are responsible for ensuring that healthcare professionals have the necessary skills and knowledge to join the register.
NHS England has published a RightCare toolkit which aims to address challenges in providing services for those with progressive neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease by highlighting key areas of focus and actions to take. This includes actions to ensure that services are equipped with appropriate skills to identify, assess, and manage progressive long-term neurological conditions.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
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 support NHS Trusts to ensure that people with Parkinson's receive their medication on time in hospital settings in England.
Answered by Will Quince
Hospital providers are responsible for ensuring that patients within hospital settings, including those with Parkinson’s disease, receive the appropriate medication on time.
NHS England has published a RightCare toolkit which aims to address challenges in providing services for those with progressive neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. The toolkit provides advice on medicine optimisation, highlighting the importance of timely administration of specific drugs, such as Levodopa, in acute and community health settings.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that NHS Trusts in England have a self-administration policy that enables people with Parkinson’s to (a) take their own time-critical Parkinson's medication in hospital should they wish to and (b) be assessed as safe to do so.
Answered by Will Quince
Hospital providers are responsible for ensuring that patients within hospital settings, including those with Parkinson’s disease, receive the appropriate medication on time.
NHS England has published a RightCare toolkit which aims to address challenges in providing services for those with progressive neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. The toolkit provides advice on medicine optimisation, highlighting the importance of timely administration of specific drugs, such as Levodopa, in acute and community health settings.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of school-age children who (a) smoke cigarettes and (b) use (i) vapes and (ii) e-cigarettes.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Data on the number and proportion of school-age children aged 11 to 15 years who are regular vapers is available at the following link:
The latest data available for 2021 shows that the number of children aged 11 to 15 years who currently smoke cigarettes is 101,189, equating to 3%, while the number of children in the same age group who currently use vapes (e-cigarettes) is 288,159, equating to 8.6%.
Survey data from Action on Smoking and Health on youth vaping from 2023 is also available at the following link:
https://ash.org.uk/resources/view/use-of-e-cigarettes-among-young-people-in-great-britain
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on taking steps to limit the access of children to (a) vapes and (b) e-cigarettes.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Government recently ran a call for evidence on youth vaping (using an e-cigarette) which closed on 6 June 2023. This will identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vaping products and explore where the Government can go further. We will respond later this year.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Children's Hospice Grant agreement (a) continuing beyond 2023-24 and (b) expiring on (i) the current availability of child hospice funding and (ii) ease in which hospices can access funding.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative and end of life care is commissioned locally by integrated care boards in response to the needs of their local population.
The Government and NHS England are committed to the long-term sustainability of high-quality palliative and end of life care for all children and young people. Discussions between the Department and NHS England regarding the future of the Children’s Hospice Grant beyond 2023/24 are ongoing, and NHS England is aiming to be able to communicate details in the coming weeks, as soon as is practically possible.