Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of hospice beds that have been lost due to shortfalls in the funding through integrated care boards and where no alternative provision has been made by local NHS providers.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. Palliative and end of life care is commissioned at a local level by integrated care boards (ICBs) in response to the needs of their local population. NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications to support ICBs in commissioning a range of palliative and end of life services, including inpatient beds, that meet local needs and preferences.
In addition, NHS England has funded the establishment of a palliative and end of life care Strategic Clinical Network in every NHS England region to work closely with local commissioners on the development of accessible, high quality and sustainable services.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that integrated care boards fulfil their obligations under the Health and Care Act 2022 to provide palliative care services to meet the needs of their population.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has actively increased its support to local commissioners to improve the accessibility, quality and sustainability of palliative and end of life care for all. This has included the publication of statutory guidance and service specifications, with further resources available on the FutureNHS Collaboration Platform. Copies of these documents are attached.
In addition, NHS England has funded the establishment of a palliative and end of life care Strategic Clinical Network in every NHS England region, which work closely with local commissioners regarding the development of accessible, high quality and sustainable services.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce health and social care workforce sickness absence.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local National Health Service leaders have been asked to consider the health and wellbeing of all staff as a priority and establish a preventive approach to health and wellbeing. A national growing occupational health and wellbeing programme has been launched to ensure a preventive, organisation-wide approach to health and wellbeing. In addition, all NHS staff have access to a free confidential text service and to the online Headspace and Unmind platforms until 31 December 2023.
The NHS sickness absence toolkit provides advice to managers to support staff to return to work, including considering reasonable adjustments and discussing the direct causes of absence. For winter 2022/23, NHS organisations will support staff to prevent the transmission of respiratory illnesses and all frontline healthcare workers will be offered free COVID-19 and flu vaccines.
The majority of care workers are employed by private sector providers which set pay and terms and conditions, independently of central Government. We are encouraging adult social care providers to invest in mental health and wellbeing services for staff. We will continue to work with the sector to ensure that wellbeing resources and best practice advice are available.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to maintain the UK’s international leadership on tackling antimicrobial resistance by building on the momentum generated by the UK’s G7 presidency in 2021.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We continue to work with G7 partners to implement commitments made on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), including those secured during the United Kingdom’s 2021 presidency. The UK Special Envoy on AMR, Professor Dame Sally Davies, also recently attended the Third High-level Ministerial Conference on AMR in Oman. In November 2022, the Government issued a call for evidence to seek expert contributions to the next five-year AMR national action plan, which has been shared with international counterparts.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of additional market incentive options to encourage industry and others to fund research and trials for new antibiotics, including those used to treat chronic lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In July 2019, a pilot was launched to develop and test a ‘subscription-style’ evaluation and payment model for antibiotics in England, which would pay pharmaceutical companies for access to antibiotics based on the value to the National Health Service, rather than the volume used. This model aims to incentivise pharmaceutical companies to develop new, novel antimicrobials which can be used appropriately, including those to treat chronic lung disease in people with cystic fibrosis.
Payments from NHS England to two pharmaceutical companies involved in the pilot commenced on 1 July 2022. Officials are considering how the new frameworks for the evaluation and payment of new antimicrobials can be developed, including through consultation with domestic and international stakeholders. The consultation process will continue until spring 2023.
Findings from the pilot have been shared online via the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and at international conferences. The Government has also advocated for such models internationally, including during the United Kingdom’s G7 Presidency in 2021, to jointly explore incentives to bring new antimicrobials to market.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the percentage of NHS staff on long term sick leave in NHS trusts in (1) 2020, (2) 2021, and (3) 2022; and for each year, what was the proportion of each kind of illness that prompted the leave.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not held in the format requested. NHS Digital publishes online only data on monthly sickness absence rates for staff working in hospitals and integrated care systems and the reason for the absence, collected via the Electronic Staff Record. However, data on the duration of the absence and the proportion of staff absent due to a specific illness is not currently centrally validated.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government to how many retired doctors the General Medical Council granted temporary emergency registration under section 18a of the Medical Act 1983; and how many of these retired doctors have applied for reinstatement to the Register of the General Medical Council to enable them to continue to practice after 30 September.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of all medical doctors practising in the United Kingdom which sets and enforces the standards all doctors must adhere to. In order to practise medicine in the UK, doctors are required to hold registration with a licence to practise.
The Department does not hold the information requested as this is collected independently by the GMC.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely impact on NHS services of the removal, on 30 September, from the General Medical Council’s Register of retired doctors who were granted temporary emergency registration to assist with the COVID-19 response.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of all medical doctors practising in the United Kingdom which sets and enforces the standards all doctors must adhere to. In order to practise medicine in the UK, doctors are required to hold registration with a licence to practise.
The Department does not hold the information requested as this is collected independently by the GMC.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 11 July (HL1271), how many children attending day special schools access eye tests through the domiciliary scheme.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 22 June (HL620), why the decision was made to remove central funding of the local clinical excellence awards scheme from 31 March; what assessment they have made of the impact this change will have on clinical academies; and why the planned amendment of Schedule 30 to include clinical academies within the group with a contractual entitlement to apply for such awards was abandoned.
Answered by Lord Kamall
From 2018 to March 2022, the Department was involved in tripartite negotiations between employers, the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association to reform local clinical excellence awards. However, the proposal was rejected by the executive committees of the trades unions and the negotiations concluded without agreement.
National Health Service trusts are therefore reverting to the arrangements in Schedule 30 of the consultant contract, agreed with the BMA in 2018. This does not alter the funding and eligibility position for clinical academics and represents a continuation of existing provisions.