Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the rate of infection with covid-19 is for (a) children aged 0-10 and (b) adults over 18 years old in the UK.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We do not have the rate of infection (R) of COVID-19 for different age groups. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies publishes the R number for the United Kingdom on a weekly basis.
R is not usually a useful measure on its own and needs to be considered alongside the number of new cases. More information can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-r-number-in-the-uk
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment Public Health England has made of the implications for its policies of recent research that cigarette smokers are less likely to contract covid-19; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public Health England (PHE) is monitoring the developing evidence on smoking and COVID-19 to inform its advice to the public and local and national healthcare systems.
At the request of PHE, an independent rapid review of the evidence on smoking and COVID-19 by researchers from University College London and the Royal Veterinary College will be updated regularly as a living review. The most recent report is available at the following link:
https://www.qeios.com/read/UJR2AW.2
PHE advice remains that smokers should quit; there is no evidence to justify changing that advice.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the forthcoming long-term plan for the NHS will include the matter of investment in nursing higher education.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The National Health Service runs on the dedication of its workforce and ensuring we have the right staff in the right place when they are needed is fundamental to this. Workforce will be at the heart of the NHS long-term plan, supporting our drive to ensure the NHS has, not only the nursing workforce it needs but other key groups too to deliver excellent, safe care for patients.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of additional NHS endoscopies that will be performed annually by 2020 as a result of the additional number of clinical endoscopists in training under the accelerated training programme.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Health Education England estimates that the additional 200 clinical endoscopists being training through the accelerated training programme will result in approximately 225,000 additional procedures a year.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many clinical endoscopists have been trained as part of the accelerated training programme.
Answered by Philip Dunne
To date, 48 clinical endoscopists have completed Health Education England’s (HEE) accelerated training programme, of which 17 completed training in 2017. A further 40 clinical endoscopists are currently in training across two cohorts and are due to complete the programme in December 2017 and April 2018.
HEE plan a further three cohort intakes in 2018.
Training of endoscopists outside of England is a matter for each of the devolved administrations in that country.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on recovering money from overseas visitors and other chargeable NHS patients.
Answered by Philip Dunne
As set out in our manifesto, this Government, having been the first to clamp down on this issue, remains committed to ensuring overseas visitors and migrants not eligible for National Health Service-funded care make a fair contribution.
The steps we have taken have resulted in identified income from overseas visitors and migrants rising from £89 million in 2012-13 to £289 million in 2015-16. We expect this to increase significantly once figures are finalised for 2016-17.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in Leicestershire who (a) are estimated to be living with hepatitis C, (b) have been diagnosed with hepatitis C and (c) were able to access hepatitis C treatment in 2016-17.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Local authorities can estimate the hepatitis C prevalence (estimate how many people have hepatitis C), have been diagnosed and are eligible for treatment in their area using the hepatitis C template at the following link:
Exact data on the number of people diagnosed with hepatitis C by area is not collected centrally, however the estimated total infected population in Leicestershire is 1,495 of which approximately 60% are likely to be diagnosed.
To the end of March 2017, the Operational Delivery Network covering Leicester treated 264 individuals.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people with hepatitis C who are engaged with specialist services but have not been initiated on to hepatitis C treatment.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Currently this information is not centrally collected. However, Public Health England produces an annual report of hepatitis in England which sets out estimates of diagnosed and undiagnosed hepatitis C and treatment activity. NHS England is working with Public Health England and National Health Service trusts leading Hepatitis C Operational Delivery Networks to develop a national registry of all patients with diagnosed hepatitis C. It is anticipated that following roll out of a national registry, improved data on patients with hepatitis C engaged with specialist services but not yet initiated on treatment will be available by the summer.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consideration he has given to the development of a national plan to increase the number of people tested for hepatitis C.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
A cross-government expert group on viral hepatitis is being established to provide strategic direction and advice around hepatitis C (and other viral hepatitides). This group will be a forum to explore operational and implementation issues and find the best ways to enact our commitments at local, regional and national level. It is anticipated that increasing testing will be considered along with ensuring linkage to care and treatment and provision of prevention services.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines are available to help raise awareness of, and testing for, hepatitis C infection in people at increased risk of infection.
Progress in tackling hepatitis C is summarised in Public Health England’s “Hepatitis C in the UK 2016 report - Working towards its elimination as a major public health threat.”
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS Choices plans to add Williams syndrome to its list of recognised conditions.
Answered by David Mowat
NHS Choices is currently being redeveloped and its resources are focussed on transforming the existing site content so that it better meets users’ needs and helps connect people to appropriate healthcare services.
This means that the creation of significant new content, including in relation to rarer conditions such as Williams syndrome, will be on hold for the foreseeable future.
As part of its transformation programme, NHS Choices is considering whether it might best cater for such conditions by referring users to existing reliable sources that already provide good quality information. In the case of Williams syndrome, this will be sites such as those provided by the National Organization for Rare Disorders and the Williams Syndrome Association.