Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
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 (a) the mental health of NHS staff (b) the effect of stress on NHS staff in (i) each year since 2015 and (ii) since the outbreak of covid-19.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The annual National Health Service staff survey enables an analysis of self-reported trends and can be tracked back to 2015. The survey collects data on health and wellbeing.
It includes the question ‘During the last 12 months have you felt unwell as a result of work-related stress?’. The response rates for the past five years are shown in the following table:
Year | % of staff responding ‘yes’ |
2015 | 37.10% |
2016 | 36.80% |
2017 | 38.40% |
2018 | 39.90% |
2019 | 40.30% |
Data on NHS staff sickness absence is published by NHS Digital includes reporting on the reason for sickness absence dating back to 2015.
The following table shows the full time equivalent (FTE) days lost to mental health related absence for NHS Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) staff, for the period March to February in each year since 2015.
Period | FTE days lost due to mental health related reasons | Sickness absence rate for mental health related absence as a percentage of FTE days available | Sickness absence rate for mental health related absence as a percentage of FTE days lost due to all reasons |
March 2015 to February 2016 | 3,264,151 | 0.80% | 20.10% |
March 2016 to February 2017 | 3,465,678 | 0.90% | 20.70% |
March 2017 to February 2018 | 3,759,543 | 0.90% | 22.20% |
March 2018 to February 2019 | 4,206,154 | 1.00% | 24.10% |
March 2019 to February 2020 | 4,820,335 | 1.10% | 25.60% |
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, a significant health and wellbeing offer accessed over 500,000 times by NHS staff, has been developed to support the psychological and physical health of staff. The offer is kept under review and gathers intelligence from existing surveys and user experience.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the (a) mental health and (b) occupational health and safety of health workers.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Supporting the mental health and occupational health and safety of health workers is a priority for the Government, particularly during this unprecedented pandemic. NHS England and NHS Improvement have put in place a comprehensive package of health and wellbeing services for National Health Service staff, including helplines for counselling and support and free access to well-being apps. The NHS People Plan published in July is focused on the wellbeing of the NHS workforce. This includes more comprehensive occupational health support and a £15 million investment into mental health hubs that will provide proactive outreach to overcome barriers to seeking help for frontline staff. The NHS also funds NHS Practitioner Health, which provides confidential mental health services for doctors and dentists.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the scientific evidence base for the decision to close soft play centres in (a) tier 3 covid-19 local alert areas and (b) Liverpool city region during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Throughout the pandemic, the Government has listened carefully to the views of the scientific community, the information from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and its sub-groups when taking decisions on the best way to tackle COVID-19.
Data and scientific advice informing the fight against COVID-19 are published on GOV.UK and specific relevant findings are shared in presentations accompanying significant policy announcements.
Unfortunately, we know that the virus spreads readily in indoor environments where members of different households and/or support bubbles spend time together. These restrictions do not single out restaurants, pubs or gyms but apply to a wide range of settings where the risk of transmission is high.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the scientific evidence base for the decision to close gyms and leisure centres in (a) tier 3 covid risk areas and (b) Liverpool city region during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Throughout the pandemic, the Government has listened carefully to the views of the scientific community, the information from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and its sub-groups when taking decisions on the best way to tackle COVID-19.
Data and scientific advice informing the fight against COVID-19 are published on GOV.UK and specific relevant findings are shared in presentations accompanying significant policy announcements.
Unfortunately, we know that the virus spreads readily in indoor environments where members of different households and/or support bubbles spend time together. These restrictions do not single out restaurants, pubs or gyms but apply to a wide range of settings where the risk of transmission is high.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are eligible for the £500 Test and Trace Support Payment for self-isolating in (a) the North West, (b) Liverpool City Region, (c) Wirral and (d) Wallasey; and of those people so eligible how many of those people have (i) claimed and (ii) received that payment.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are working closely with all 314 lower tier and unitary local authorities to collate information on how the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme is progressing and will release information on the number of applications, number of successful applications and amounts paid out in due course.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
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 increase the availability of covid-19 tests in (a) the North West, (b) Liverpool city region, (c) Merseyside, (d) Wirral and (e) Wallasey constituency; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are increasing our testing capacity, both through current swab testing and new, rapid lateral flow tests to cut the spread of COVID-19 nationwide.
The United Kingdom’s daily testing capacity passed the 500,000 mark on 31 October. Testing capacity in the UK across all pillars between 29 October and 4 November was at 4,367,049 tests, an increase of 21% compared to the previous week.
Our mass testing pilot in Liverpool continues and will help inform any future rollout of large-scale population testing. Any confirmed expansion will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
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 health care workers who have experienced breaches of their occupational health and safety during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the capacity is for (a) pillar I and (b) pillar II covid-19 tests in (i) the North West, (ii) Merseyside, (iii) Wirral and (iv) Wallasey constituency.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government does not publish this data in this format.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
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 PPE for (a) dentists and (b) dental hygienists who have to see patients face-to-face during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Dentists normally purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) through dental wholesale suppliers. However, for PPE which is needed as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has made supplies available free of charge for National Health Service dental contractors. A dedicated PPE portal has been developed to deliver these items. As of 4 November, over 5,100 NHS dental and orthodontic providers in England have registered with the PPE portal and over 36 million items have been delivered.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
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 raise awareness of the potential health risks for women aged between 15-45 years who are prescribed sodium valproate.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has updated the patient information leaflets for all valproate-containing medicines to ensure women have access to the latest information on the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children born to women who took the medicine during pregnancy. A pictogram warning of the risks of use in pregnancy has been added to the outer packing of valproate medicines and a patient card is available to provide more detail on actions to take.
The documents that form the basis of the valproate Pregnancy Prevention Program, including a patient guide, have been made available electronically and disseminated as hard copies to doctors and pharmacists to support discussion of the risks with women. Healthcare professionals have been reminded of their responsibility to inform women taking valproate of the risks through letters from the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officers and Chief Pharmaceutical Officers and by articles in the MHRA’s electronic bulletin Drug Safety Update.
We are working with the Valproate Stakeholder Network to explore additional ways of improving the reach of regulatory communications through platforms in the healthcare and patient setting.