Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has received on the quality of congenital heart disease services at the Royal Brampton Hospital.
Answered by Philip Dunne
NHS England has undertaken an analysis of current patient flows and how these might be affected if it was minded to take action to ensure providers comply with the new national commissioning standards for congenital heart disease services for children and adults. The analysis has been shared with all the providers concerned for their comments, to provide assurance of their ability to accept additional patients if required to do so and to ensure that capacity would be available to provide care for patients in the future.
The Department has received a number of pieces of correspondence in recent weeks about congenital heart disease services at the Royal Brompton Hospital.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what detailed analysis have been undertaken into current and projected congenital heart disease patient flows in (a) London and (b) the South East and East of England and into the capacity of units in London to meet those flows.
Answered by Philip Dunne
NHS England has undertaken an analysis of current patient flows and how these might be affected if it was minded to take action to ensure providers comply with the new national commissioning standards for congenital heart disease services for children and adults. The analysis has been shared with all the providers concerned for their comments, to provide assurance of their ability to accept additional patients if required to do so and to ensure that capacity would be available to provide care for patients in the future.
The Department has received a number of pieces of correspondence in recent weeks about congenital heart disease services at the Royal Brompton Hospital.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children are born each year in England with Duchenne muscular dystrophy; how many people are living with this condition; and how many such people do receive Translarna.
Answered by David Mowat
Information on how many children are born each year in England with Duchenne muscular dystrophy is not collected. However, it is estimated that there are around 2,500 people living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in the United Kingdom.
Following the recommendation made by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in April 2016 and the announcement made by NHS England on 7 July, Translarna is now routinely commissioned for those individuals who have Duchenne muscular dystrophy and meet the relevant clinical criteria. Currently, there are approximately 50 patients receiving Translarna.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the names of chair and members of the Specialised Ophthalmology Services Reference Group.
Answered by David Mowat
Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs) are currently undertaking a process of recruitment. Once all appointments have been made, a full list of members for each CRG will be published on NHS England’s website. However, for the Specialised Ear and Ophthalmology CRG, the Chair and Lead CRG Commissioner have been confirmed as Alison Davis and Nicola Symes respectively.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS England is looking at treatments for Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.
Answered by David Mowat
Treatments for Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy are not currently within the Specialised Ear and Ophthalmology Clinical Reference Group work programme and there is no current work in the policy pipeline. Any new proposals are able to be submitted to NHS England who would consider in line with their agreed processes for specialised services.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what new treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy have been notified to the Horizon Scanning Research and Intelligence Centre in the last 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
In the last 12 months, the National Institute for Health Research Horizon Scanning Research and Intelligence Centre has identified and added to its database the following technologies for which Duchenne muscular dystrophy is an indication:
- ezutromid;
- FG-3019;
- follistatin;
- halofuginone hydrobromide;
- SRP-4045;
- SRP-4053; and
- vamorolone.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34838, under which clauses of the National Health Service Act 2006 he exercised the range of powers used in deciding to proceed to introduce a new contract.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The Secretary of State is exercising his powers under the National Health Service Act 2006 (in particular sections 1, 1A, 1B, 1F, 1G and 2), working with NHS employers who, as they are the employers of junior doctors, are using their employment powers.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, under which statute he has the power to impose contracts on junior doctors.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The Secretary of State acted entirely lawfully in deciding to announce, on 11 February 2016, Official Report, columns 1763 – 1778 that he would proceed with the introduction of a new contract without further negotiation with the British Medical Association.
In deciding that a new contract – which would be safer for patients and fair and reasonable for junior doctors – should proceed to be introduced, the Secretary of State was exercising a range of powers under the National Health Service Act 2006.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Legionnaires' disease incidents have been reported in each prison since May 2010.
Answered by Ben Gummer
Due to small numbers involved and risk of deductive disclosure, the number of cases of Legionella pneumonia in people in prisons in England cannot be provided.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times a prisoner from each prison has been airlifted to receive medical attention in each of the last five years.
Answered by Ben Gummer
This information is not collected centrally.