Asked by: Bob Russell (Liberal Democrat - Colchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to support (a) research into still births and neonatal deaths and (b) the dissemination of clinical best practice in multiple pregnancies.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), who are an independent body, publishes a range of support tools and advice to help the National Health Service locally to implement its guidance. Further information can be found at:
https://www.nice.org.uk/about/what-we-do/into-practice/help-implement-nice-guidance
The implementation or communication of clinical guidance for women with multiple pregnancies is a matter for NICE and local trusts.
A range of research relating to causes, risk factors and prevention of stillbirth and neonatal death is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Department’s Policy Research Programme (PRP).
The NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme is currently funding a £6 million trial of an intelligent system to support decision making in the management of labour using the cardiotocogram. The study started in 2009 and is led by University College London. It will test whether an intelligent computer program can help midwives and doctors improve the care they give in response to abnormalities of the baby's heart rate and whether this will lead to fewer babies being harmed because of a lack of oxygen.
The NIHR is funding a £1.1 million clinician scientist award looking at preventing adverse pregnancy outcome in women at increased risk of stillbirth by detecting placental dysfunction.
The NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre and the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre both have ongoing programmes of research on women's health, including research relevant to the prevention of stillbirth and neonatal death.
The PRP is funding the Policy Research Unit in Maternal Health and Care based in the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford.
Asked by: Bob Russell (Liberal Democrat - Colchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2014 to Question 217331, what steps his Department is taking to support NICE and other stakeholders disseminate and implement NICE guidance for multiple pregnancies within the NHS; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), who are an independent body, publishes a range of support tools and advice to help the National Health Service locally to implement its guidance. Further information can be found at:
https://www.nice.org.uk/about/what-we-do/into-practice/help-implement-nice-guidance
The implementation or communication of clinical guidance for women with multiple pregnancies is a matter for NICE and local trusts.
A range of research relating to causes, risk factors and prevention of stillbirth and neonatal death is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Department’s Policy Research Programme (PRP).
The NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme is currently funding a £6 million trial of an intelligent system to support decision making in the management of labour using the cardiotocogram. The study started in 2009 and is led by University College London. It will test whether an intelligent computer program can help midwives and doctors improve the care they give in response to abnormalities of the baby's heart rate and whether this will lead to fewer babies being harmed because of a lack of oxygen.
The NIHR is funding a £1.1 million clinician scientist award looking at preventing adverse pregnancy outcome in women at increased risk of stillbirth by detecting placental dysfunction.
The NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre and the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre both have ongoing programmes of research on women's health, including research relevant to the prevention of stillbirth and neonatal death.
The PRP is funding the Policy Research Unit in Maternal Health and Care based in the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford.
Asked by: Bob Russell (Liberal Democrat - Colchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how funds raised by prescription charges were spent on NHS services in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014.
Answered by George Freeman
Prescription charge revenue is retained by the National Health Service in England and used to fund NHS services. It is not possible to track through the financial systems and identify how prescription charge revenue is used to fund specific NHS services.
Asked by: Bob Russell (Liberal Democrat - Colchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether funds raised by prescription charges are ring-fenced for spending in the NHS.
Answered by George Freeman
Prescription charge revenue is retained by the National Health Service in England and used to fund NHS services. It is not possible to track through the financial systems and identify how prescription charge revenue is used to fund specific NHS services.
Asked by: Bob Russell (Liberal Democrat - Colchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to promote the prescription prepayment certificate in the last 12 months; and how much was spent promoting the certificate.
Answered by George Freeman
Prescription prepayment certificates are promoted through posters and leaflets which are made available to general practitioner practices and community pharmacies through websites such as NHS Choices. The cost of promoting prescription prepayment certificates cannot be identified separately as it is combined with the costs for all the Help with Health Costs (HWHC) schemes. The annual cost for providing HWHC forms, leaflets, posters and the associated display contract is £485,025 for 2014-15.
Asked by: Bob Russell (Liberal Democrat - Colchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the Prescription Charges Coalition report on prescription charges and employment.
Answered by George Freeman
We have made no formal assessment. The main recommendation of the Prescription Charges Coalition’s report is to extend prescription charge exemptions to all those with a long-term condition. Extending exemption to this group was the focus of the review undertaken by Professor Sir Ian Gilmore at the request of the previous Government. Responding to the review in 2010, the Government made clear that, in light of the challenging financial context, no changes would be made to the current list of exemptions and this continues to be the case.
Prescription charges in England raise valuable income, in the region of £450 million each year, which helps the National Health Service to maintain vital services for patients.
There is an extensive system of exemption arrangements already in place, including for those on low incomes who may struggle to pay for their prescriptions. This means that around 90% of all prescription items are already dispensed free of charge. Prescription Prepayment Certificates are also available for those who need multiple prescriptions, such as those with long term conditions, and have to pay NHS prescription charges. To support this group, the cost of the annual certificate has been frozen for the last five years and the three month certificate for the last three years.