Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that public sector procurement in relation to Lighthouse laboratories prioritises local UK firms.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The development of the Lighthouse Labs was a United Kingdom-based response to the COVID-19 pandemic and involved direct contract awards allowed within the procurement regulations. Contracts were placed on due diligence requirements of value for money and meeting service and performance quality standards. We know from the successful entrants that the majority are UK based organisations.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure the provision of respiratory physiotherapy for (a) patients with covid-19, (b) patients with long-term symptoms related to covid-19 and (c) non covid-19 patients in the event that physiotherapists and physiotherapy support workers have to self-isolate on the basis of contact with covid-19 positive patients while wearing PPE.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Physiotherapists are established as a core part of the multi-disciplinary team treating patients with COVID-19. Through its communication to general practitioner practices and commissioners on 31 July 2020, NHS England and NHS Improvement set out the requirement that general practice, community and optometry services should restore activity to usual levels where clinically appropriate, and reach out proactively to clinically vulnerable patients and those whose care may have been delayed. The communication also stated community health services should continue to support patients who have recovered from the acute phase of COVID-19 but need ongoing rehabilitation and other community health services. NHS England and NHS Improvement’s letter is available at the following link:
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the guidance to track and trace assessors on whether (a) physiotherapists and (b) other medical staff wearing PPE should be required to self-isolate after coming into contact with patients with covid-19.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Public Health England provides guidance on the management of staff, patients and residents who have been exposed to COVID-19 which is available at the following link:
This guidance provides advice on the management of staff and patients or residents in health and social care settings according to exposures, symptoms and test results. It includes staff with symptoms of COVID-19, staff return to work criteria, patient exposures in hospital and resident exposures in care settings. This guidance is applicable to both physiotherapists and other medical staff.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many confirmed covid-19 cases were recorded under (a) Pillar 1 and (b) Pillar 2 testing strands in the Newcastle City Council area on each day since records began.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All upper tier local authorities have access to record level (including sex, age, occupation and postcode) test and case data.
We also publish public dashboards at a national, regional and local authority level and the Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA) map, which allows individuals to type in a postcode to find their MSOA and see how many cases there are in small areas of around 7,000 people
Data on the 7 day average for the number of people with COVID-19 identified through an NHS lab (Pillar 1) or from commercial swab testing (Pillar 2) back to March 2020 is available as part of the NHS Digital Progression Dashboard to upper tier local authority level and is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/dashboards/progression
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to his oral contribution of 21 September 2020, Official Report, column 633, if he will publish details of the trial he referred to on the impact of vitamin D on the incidence or severity of coronavirus.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published ‘Vitamin D for COVID-19: Evidence Review’ which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/advice/es28/evidence/evidence-review-pdf-8777674477
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition also published ‘Rapid review: Vitamin D and acute respiratory tract infections’ which is available at the following link:
https://app.box.com/s/g0ldpth1upfd7fw763ew3aqa3c0pyvky
These rapid evidence reviews, published in June 2020, concluded that there is currently no evidence to support taking vitamin D supplements to reduce the risk and severity of COVID-19. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care was referring to these publications when he responded to the hon. Member for Ealing Central and Acton (Rupa Huq MP).
Public Health England will keep this topic under review and will consider updating this assessment if emerging high-quality evidence suggests a change to existing conclusions, and advise the Government accordingly.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answers of 23 September 2020 to Questions 90184 and 89844, what assessment his Department has made of the number of NHS trusts that still have restrictions in place on birth partners attending hospital during scans and from admittance during labour.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Department expects trusts to use the ‘Framework to assist NHS trusts to reintroduce access for partners, visitors and other supporters of pregnant women in English maternity services’ and consider as a priority how access for partners, visitors and supporters of pregnant women can be reintroduced as soon as possible whilst maintaining the safety of all service users, staff and visitors.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are assured that 100% of trusts report that they are actively using the framework as they make local decisions on visiting restrictions, based on a risk assessment.