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Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Monday 21st June 2021

Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2021 to Question 4578 on exploring prioritisation of immunocompromised individuals for the planned autumn booster covid-19 vaccine programme, what key clinical studies will be considered in the decision-making process for that programme; and when the data used to inform decisions will be published.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

The Department has asked the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to consider the need for and timing of additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines. The JCVI will consider available evidence from a range of sources in its deliberations but is not able to confirm which studies will be available at this stage. The JCVI’s deliberations will be published in due course.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Friday 28th May 2021

Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of proposals to offer immunocompromised patients their second dose of the covid-19 vaccine sooner than 12 weeks.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

The Government currently has no plans to reduce the length of time between the provision of first and second vaccine doses for people deemed to be clinically immunocompromised as a group.

However, there are a small number of patients who are about to receive planned immunosuppressive therapy and where clinically appropriate, should be considered for vaccination at least two weeks prior to commencing therapy, when their immune system is better able to respond. Where possible, it is also preferable for both first and second doses to be completed prior to commencing immunosuppression. Therefore, to provide maximum benefit, this may entail offering such patients the second dose at the recommended minimum for that vaccine.

On 14 May 2021, the Government accepted new advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and announced that appointments for a second dose of a vaccine would be brought forward from 12 to eight weeks for the remaining people in the top nine priority groups who have yet to receive their second dose. This is to ensure people across the United Kingdom have the strongest possible protection in response to the B1.617.2 variant of concern. As a result, immunosuppressed patients waiting for their second dose may be invited for to book an appointment within this revised timeframe.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Thursday 27th May 2021

Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the merits of prioritising immunocompromised individuals for the planned autumn booster covid-19 vaccine programme.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

To ensure ongoing protection for the United Kingdom population, particularly the most vulnerable, we are preparing for a potential booster vaccination programme. While we are planning for several potential scenarios, final decisions on the timing and scope of the booster programme will not be taken until later this year, in line with results from key clinical studies. This includes the OCTAVE study, which will examine the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in clinically at-risk groups, including patients with certain immunocompromised conditions. Any decision on a booster vaccination programme will be informed by independent advice from the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Medical Treatments
Thursday 22nd October 2020

Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether treatments for community acquired pneumonia have been used to treat patients with covid-19 on the NHS; and whether he plans to stockpile those treatments to prepare for a rise in cases of covid-19.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence advises that antibiotic treatments for community acquired pneumonia are ineffective for COVID-19 related viral pneumonia unless there is a bacterial co-infection though the guidance allows for antibiotic prescription in certain circumstances, accommodating local antimicrobial prescribing preferences.

The Government continues to hold stockpiles of medicines, including those used in the treatment of community acquired pneumonia, to cope in a range of scenarios, and robust contingency planning continues to ensure that the country is prepared for a possible second peak of COVID-19 infections.


Written Question
Social Prescribing
Tuesday 21st January 2020

Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the working relationship will be between social prescribing link workers and (a) her Department's work coaches and (b) non-NHS public agencies.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with local areas to support implementation of the social prescribing link worker model, including how they work with emerging roles like work coaches. Social prescribing link workers will work with local partners (such as local public and Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise agencies) to develop substantial support offers which address people’s health and wellbeing needs, including access to employment support.

As local social prescribing schemes develop, we would expect to see link workers establishing important relationships with local health and care professionals and a wide range of community groups and services to maximise the impact of social prescribing. Further information is outlined in the summary best practice guided published by NHS England and NHS Improvement in January 2019 at the following link:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/social-prescribing-community-based-support-summary-guide.pdf


Written Question
Medical Records: Databases
Tuesday 21st January 2020

Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the NHS digital (a) integrated and (b) shared record pilots in (a) Hampshire (b) the UK.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

The Care and Health Information Exchange is the shared patient record which covers primary and secondary care organisations in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. It provides authorised health and care professionals with safe and secure access to shared records of patients they are treating to ensure that decisions about their care can be taken with complete medical histories

Hampshire is one of five local programmes currently part of the Local Health and Care Records programme tasked with ensuring there is a national coverage of shared records across England by 2024.


Written Question
NHS and Social Services: Agency Workers
Wednesday 30th October 2019

Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the (a) NHS and (b) social care system of (i) fees, (ii) markups and (ii) commissions to supply agencies for (A) clinical and (B) other staff.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

In 2018/19, National Health Service trusts spent £2.40 billion on agency staff, including clinical and non-clinical staff. Between March 2018 and March 2019, £938 million was spent on agency medical staff, £950 million on agency nursing staff and £513 million on other staff.1

NHS Improvement’s agency rules include a cap which sets a ceiling for agency fees. Full details of the NHS Improvement price caps are attached.

The Department does not hold data that shows the breakdown of fees, markups and commissions.

The Department does not hold this data for social care. The Skills for Care programme estimates that in 2018/19 agency social care staff represented 7% of the 1.52 million people strong adult social care workforce.2

Notes:

[1]https://improvement.nhs.uk/documents/5404/Performance_of_the_NHS_provider_sector_for_the_quarter_4_1819.pdf

2https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/adult-social-care-workforce-data/Workforce-intelligence/documents/State-of-the-adult-social-care-sector/State-of-Report-2019.pdf


Written Question
Health Professions: Hampshire
Wednesday 30th October 2019

Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answers of 9 September 2019 to Question 286692 and 4 October 2019 to Question 290772 on Health Professions: Hampshire, what estimate he has made of the number of FTE (a) general practitioners, (b) other doctors and (c) nurses employed by the NHS in (i) Hampshire and the Isle of Wight STP area, (ii) Fareham and Gosport CCG, (iii) North East Hampshire and Farnham CCG, (iv) North Hampshire CCG, (v) Portsmouth CCG, (vi) South Eastern Hampshire CCG, (vii) Southampton City CCG and (viii) West Hampshire CCG in (A) 2010 and (B) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers.

The data requested is attached.


Written Question
Health Professions: Hampshire
Wednesday 30th October 2019

Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answers of 9 September 2019 to Question 286692 and 4 October 2019 to Question 290772 on Health Professions: Hampshire, what estimate he has made of the number of FTE (a) doctors (b) nurses and (c) other staff employed by the NHS in (i) Hampshire and the Isle of Wight STP area, (ii) Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, (iii) Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, (iv) Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, (v) Solent NHS Trust, (vi) South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, (vii) Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust and (viii) University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust in (A) 2010 and (B) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers.

The data requested is attached.


Written Question
NHS and Social Services: Recruitment
Tuesday 29th October 2019

Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) the NHS and (b) the social care system of recruitment advertising in the most recent period for which data is available.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Information on the cost of all recruitment advertising to the National Health Service and the social care system is not held centrally by the Department. This would be held by individual NHS trusts and individual care providers.