Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to regulate the (a) promotion and (b) sale of (i) unofficial and (ii) potentially harmful (A) thermography scans and (B) other diagnostics and treatments to people diagnosed with cancer.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Any equipment or diagnostic test that fits the definition of a medical device or in vitro diagnostic medical device must meet the requirements of the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (the MDR).
Thermography scanning equipment for a medical purpose would be likely to meet the definition of a medical device and as such the manufacturer must hold clinical and scientific evidence to demonstrate the safety and performance of the device in relation to the claims being made for it. The manufacturer must CE mark the device in accordance with the MDR.
The MDR do not contain specific provisions dealing with promotion or advertising of medical devices. The general United Kingdom legislation for advertising applies to medical devices. In addition, the provisions of the Cancer Act 1939 prohibit the advertising of products to treat cancer. There are currently no plans to review the provisions around promotion of products laid down in the Cancer Act.
Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
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 establish a study into the treatment and care of patients experiencing prolonged symptoms of covid-19 infection.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1 billion a year in health and care research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR Recovery and Learning Call is currently open to researchers to submit proposals on the treatment and care of patients experiencing prolonged symptoms of COVID-19 infection.
The NIHR Recovery and Learning Call will fund research to better understand and manage the health and social care consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic beyond the acute phase. The research will focus specifically on health outcomes, public health, social care and health service delivery and to mitigate the impact of subsequent phases and aftermath.
This follows on from the UK Research and Innovation-NIHR Rapid Response Rolling Call for COVID-19 research that closed on 30 June which funded projects that could make a significant contribution to the understanding, prevention and/or management of the COVID-19 outbreak within 12 months.
Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospital beds the NHS has reserved in the private sector; and what the occupancy data for those beds was at 8 June 2020.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
National Health Service patients are benefitting from an unprecedented partnership with private hospitals in the United Kingdom as we battle the COVID-19 outbreak. The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the independent sector to secure all appropriate inpatient capacity and other resource across England. This has increased NHS capacity and ensured that more facilities are available for patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
It is not currently possible to provide data on the occupancy of those beds for the time frame asked for.
Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospital beds the NHS has reserved within the private sector; and if he will publish the occupancy data for those beds as at 8 June 2020.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
National Health Service patients are benefitting from an unprecedented partnership with private hospitals in the United Kingdom as we battle the COVID-19 outbreak. The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the independent sector to secure all appropriate inpatient capacity and other resource across England. This has increased NHS capacity and ensured that more facilities are available for patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
It is not currently possible to provide data on the occupancy of those beds for the time frame asked for.