Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to meet with (a) patient groups and (b) campaigners representing people affected by sodium valproate harm in pregnancy.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. As part of this work the Government asked the PSC to seek views from those affected about what redress would be appropriate. The PSC has engaged with patients and patient groups in preparing her report.
We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations and will respond substantively in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is to respond to the Patient Safety Commissioner's report entitled Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations and will respond substantively in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it remains her Department's policy to build a new hospital in Lancaster.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We remain committed to delivering a new hospital for University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, for the new Royal Lancaster Infirmary. This is alongside our commitment for a new hospital for the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, for the new Royal Preston Hospital.
Up until the end of the 2022/23, we provided the trusts with over £11 million in funding to further develop the plans for the new hospitals. Additionally, we have already provided over £450,000 to both trusts in 2023/24 for surveys and land assessments on potential sites for the new hospitals.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to NHS dentistry in Lancashire.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend, allowing patients the choice of where they would like to receive a course of treatment.
Within the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board and as of 2023, 78% of people trying to get an NHS appointment in the last two years were successful, compared to 77% nationally. In the previous 24 months up to June 2023, around 558,000 adults were seen by an NHS dentist. This was 41% of the total population, matching the national average. In addition, in the previous 12 months up to June 2023, around 196,000 children were seen by an NHS dentist, representing 55% of the total population, above the national average of 53%.
Patients unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through an NHS dental practice are advised to contact NHS 111 for assistance. NHS dentists are now required to update their NHS website profiles regularly, at least every 90 days, to ensure patients have access to up-to-date information on where they can access care.
The Dentistry Recovery Plan will make dental services faster, simpler and fairer for patients and will fund around 2.5 million additional appointments. The plan sets out a number of actions which will improve access for patients, by helping the sector to recover activity more quickly, addressing underlying issues and setting out the action needed for longer term reform of the system.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS dentists are taking on new patients in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst the information requested is not held centrally, in 2022/23 1,109 dentists in the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board performed some National Health Service work work. This is equivalent to 65.2 dentists per 100,000.
NHS dentists are required to update their NHS website profiles regularly, at least every 90 days, to ensure patients have access to up-to-date information on where they can access care. Patients unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through an NHS dental practice are advised to contact NHS 111 for assistance.
On 7 February 2024 we published Faster, simpler and fairer: our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry. This plan sets out a number of actions which will improve access for patients by helping the sector to recover activity more quickly, addressing underlying issues, and setting out the action needed for longer term reform of the system. The Government is backing the plan with £200 million, and it includes the offer of additional payments to dental practices for each additional new patient requiring treatment. This will be rolled out from March this year, making it easier for patients to access NHS treatment.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to establish a patient care pathway for postural tachycardia syndrome.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has made no estimate of the number of diagnoses of postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), although we know that PoTS UK has estimated the prevalence of PoTS to be 0.2%. Further information on the estimated prevalence is available at the following link:
https://www.potsuk.org/pots-for-medics/gp-guide/
Services for PoTS are locally commissioned and, as such, it is the responsibility of the local commissioning teams within integrated care boards to ensure that their services meet the needs of their local population. NHS England does not hold information on the services that provide a PoTS service for adults or children in England.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of diagnoses of postural tachycardia syndrome since 2019.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has made no estimate of the number of diagnoses of postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), although we know that PoTS UK has estimated the prevalence of PoTS to be 0.2%. Further information on the estimated prevalence is available at the following link:
https://www.potsuk.org/pots-for-medics/gp-guide/
Services for PoTS are locally commissioned and, as such, it is the responsibility of the local commissioning teams within integrated care boards to ensure that their services meet the needs of their local population. NHS England does not hold information on the services that provide a PoTS service for adults or children in England.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 17 January 2024 on Women’s Health Strategy update, HCWS192, whether the National Institute for Health and Care Research challenge fund will fund research into anti-epilepsy medicines safe for use in pregnancy.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In the Written Statement of 17 January 2024, the NIHR announced plans for a £50 million NIHR Challenge to tackle disparities within maternity. This initiative is a new five-year investment allocated from within NIHR’s research budget. This funding is additional to the £53 million that the NIHR spent between April 2022 and July 2023 into research programmes to support women’s sexual and reproductive health, with further funding for wider health and care research that benefits women.
The specific focus of this work is being developed and we expect that the NIHR will launch a call for applications in spring 2024. Further information will be available on the NIHR website in due course. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including anti-epilepsy medicines safe for use in pregnancy.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
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 with the Secretary of State for Education to ensure that schools follow the statutory guidance entitled Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school, published on 1 September 2014.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The statutory guidance to schools is issued by the Department for Education, and responsibility for policy relating to schools sits with that Department.
Officials in the Department of Health and Social Care work closely with officials at the Department for Education to ensure the health and care system’s appropriate contribution to support children with health conditions, special educational needs, and disabilities in schools. This includes work to take forward the reforms of SEND and alternative provision and on the continued roll-out of mental health support teams and senior mental health leads in schools and colleges in England.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
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 help improve support for children with arthritis.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Although the exact cause of JIA is unknown, the symptoms often improve as a child gets older, meaning they can lead a normal life. Services for children with arthritis are provided separately by specialist paediatric rheumatology teams under the umbrella of paediatric services.
NHS England has commissioned a Respond and Advise Clinical Reference Group for paediatric specialised rheumatology. As part of this, it has commissioned a service specification available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/e03-paedi-medi-rheum.pdf
Service specifications are important in clearly defining the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England to provide specialised care. The specifications have been developed by specialised clinicians, commissioners, expert patients and public health representatives to describe both core and developmental service standards.