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Written Question
Coronavirus: Death
Thursday 30th July 2020

Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what data they are collecting on the numbers of COVID-19 deaths broken down by (1) age, (2) occupation, (3) gender, (4) ethnicity, and (5) religion.

Answered by Lord Bethell

To provide a more comprehensive response to a number of outstanding Written Questions, this has been answered by an information factsheet Science of Covid-19 note for House of Lords, which is attached due to the size of the data. A copy has also been placed in the Library.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Ethnic Groups
Wednesday 27th May 2020

Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the reported numbers of COVID-19 related deaths of frontline staff from BAME communities, what steps they are taking to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 for BAME frontline staff.

Answered by Lord Bethell

We are looking very specifically at the impact COVID-19 is having on the black, Asian and minority ethnic population. We have commissioned Public Health England to look at this issue in detail and they are due to report before the end of May. The review will also analyse available data on health outcomes for National Health Service staff, to develop a better understanding of how the virus affects frontline workforce.

In advance of Public Health England’s review, and on a precautionary basis, NHS England and NHS Improvement have recommended that NHS employers should risk-assess staff at potentially greater risk and make appropriate arrangements accordingly.

We are working around the clock to ensure personal protective equipment is delivered as quickly as possible to all those on the frontline during this global pandemic for as long as it is required.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Mental Health Services
Friday 15th May 2020

Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to ensure frontline workers are provided with support and counselling following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answered by Lord Bethell

The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a comprehensive emotional, psychological and practical support package for National Health Service staff during and following the COVID-19 response. This currently includes: free access to well-being apps; a dedicated support helpline and text service (in partnership with the Samaritans); and a separate helpline offering bereavement support (in partnership with Hospice UK). The Department is working with partners to extend both helplines to the social care workforce and will also be introducing an app and website aimed at providing timely information for the adult social care workforce.


Written Question
NHS and Social Services: Coronavirus
Thursday 14th May 2020

Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, towards instigating an independent inquiry into the number of deaths of BAME NHS and care staff due to COVID-19.

Answered by Lord Bethell

We are very concerned by the apparent disproportionate number of people from minority ethnic backgrounds who have died, both within the National Health Service and overall. We have asked Public Health England to complete a rapid review to understand how COVID-19 may be having an impact on different ethnic groups, and other groups of concern. The terms of reference will be announced in due course.

To complement this rapid review, the National Institute for Health Research and UK Research and Innovation issued a joint call on 22 April for research proposals to investigate emerging evidence of an association between ethnicity and COVID-19 incidence and adverse health outcomes.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Public Health
Wednesday 6th May 2020

Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that public health information is reaching vulnerable people, including those with (1) hearing impairments, and (2) other disabilities.

Answered by Lord Bethell

Public Health England (PHE) has created a number of easy read versions of the public health advice on COVID-19 for people with learning difficulties, which is available to the public and organisations. An example of an easy read guide on COVID-19 is attached.

There are also a number of British Sign Language resources for the public on PHE’s campaign resource centre including the television advert with the Chief Medical Officer. PHE has provided links from its public facing guidance web page to the wide range of content available in sign language. This includes the guidance on staying at home and shielding vulnerable groups.


Written Question
Care Homes: Coronavirus
Wednesday 6th May 2020

Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on residential homes which care for people with learning difficulties and autism.

Answered by Lord Bethell

Public Health England (PHE) records reported outbreaks of suspected and confirmed COVID-19 in care homes. However, PHE does not hold data on the type of residents cared for. PHE is currently seeking advice from the Care Quality Commission on the range of types of care homes that care for people with a learning disability or autism in order to undertake an analysis of this issue and report back by mid-May.


Written Question
Mental Health Services
Tuesday 3rd July 2018

Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how they assess the providers of mental health contracts commissioned by NHS England; and what criteria they use to evaluate the standard of services provided.

Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy

All providers of National Health Service funded care (NHS and independent sector providers) for specialised mental health services are contracted using the same standard NHS national contract. These contracts set out the standard terms of business relating to the provider and commissioner relationship.

The monitoring of performance is undertaken by NHS England centrally and through the contracting hubs. Performance management includes:

- Performance against operational standards within the NHS Contract;

- Reporting against Key Performance Indicators undertaken quarterly and reviewed as part of contract management meetings between commissioner and provider;

- Regular performance review meetings with the provider;

- Measurement against local quality standards developed by individual hubs;

- Measurement of service specification compliance;

- NHS England Hub ward visits;

- The patient satisfaction survey and implementation of service improvements informed by patient feedback; and

- Triangulation with Care Quality Commission inspections.

The Quality Assurance and Improvement Framework sets out the quality assurance and improvement activity undertaken in relation to all specialised commissioned services.

The outcome of the annual assessment has two features:

- Identification of levels of surveillance for the following year; and

- Assessment of compliance and non-compliance and if non-compliant, whether provider action or commissioner action is required.

A framework has been introduced which requires those reviewing and assessing the information on quality, to categorise services into one of three categories to determine levels of surveillance for the following year:

- Routine surveillance – services that have been scored at 100% with no risks identified and those services that have not scored 100% but regional teams have determined that the issue is not material;

- Enhanced surveillance – services in this category will require further discussions between provider organisations and relevant commissioning teams to determine whether formal provider action or commissioner action is required, or whether after further discussion the service is deemed to be compliant; and

- Peer review visit – services considered for peer review should be discussed with the provider and commissioner to confirm that the factors leading to this proposed option are relevant and proportionate for the action. Based on the level of risk agreed at hub or regional meetings, the service may also be subject to a provider or commissioner action.


Written Question

Question Link

Tuesday 11th July 2017

Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

Her Majesty's Government whether NHS protocols for the management of acid attacks include the use of Diphotrine for the purposes of emergency treatment.

Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy

Emergency medical technicians and paramedics operate to the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee Clinical Practise Guidelines 2016. This does not refer to the use of Diphoterine. Ambulance personnel would follow the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear advice in the guidelines to disrobe the patient and decontaminate with water.


Written Question

Question Link

Tuesday 11th July 2017

Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

Her Majesty's Government how they ensure that, in responding to acid attacks, first responders are adequately equipped to deal with (1) the immediate effects, and (2) the need to prevent prolonged physical damage.

Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy

Emergency medical technicians and paramedics operate to the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee Clinical Practise Guidelines 2016. This does not refer to the use of Diphoterine. Ambulance personnel would follow the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear advice in the guidelines to disrobe the patient and decontaminate with water.


Written Question
Speech and Language Therapy: Recruitment
Thursday 19th November 2015

Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current levels of speech therapists recruited from diverse minority communities.

Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton

Data from the NHS Hospital and Community Health Services shows that of the 7,836 speech and language therapists (headcount) employed in England as at 30 September 2014, 5.4% are from an ethnic minority background.


We are aware that we need to do more to encourage individuals from a black and minority ethnic background into this rewarding profession. Health Education England (HEE) is committed to meeting its duties under the Equality Act 2010 and is working with external partners to continuously develop their education and training commission’s activities to ensure they are inclusive to all of the whole population.


NHS England is working with partners on the Equality and Diversity Council, NHS Employers, the Leadership Academy and HEE to co-ordinate work in the areas of values based recruitment and talent management to ensure that we can aspire to having a representative workforce at all levels.


We welcome the work that the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists are currently conducting with schools and career fairs in promoting speech and language therapists as a rewarding profession for all, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability and age.