Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her Department's planned timescale is for responding to the Patient Safety Commissioner's report entitled The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
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: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the supply of triamcinolone hexacetonide injections (intra-articular steroid) for children and young people with rheumatoid arthritis.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
We are aware of a shortage of triamcinolone hexacetonide 20 milligram/1 millilitre suspension for injection ampoules. Details of this shortage were shared with the National Health Service in June 2022. We are working closely with the sole supplier of this product to expedite resupplies, to make this important product is available again as soon as possible. We regularly review the tier, or impact categorisation, assigned to supply issues, and the tier of a supply issue does not affect the options available for management.
We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine supply issues can be. While we cannot always prevent supply issues from occurring, the Department has a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise. We work with the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, the devolved administrations, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages, and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when supply issues arise. If any patient is concerned about their treatment, they should discuss this with their clinician at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to review the impact categorisation of the supply shortage of triamcinolone hexacetonide injections (intra-articular steroid).
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
We are aware of a shortage of triamcinolone hexacetonide 20 milligram/1 millilitre suspension for injection ampoules. Details of this shortage were shared with the National Health Service in June 2022. We are working closely with the sole supplier of this product to expedite resupplies, to make this important product is available again as soon as possible. We regularly review the tier, or impact categorisation, assigned to supply issues, and the tier of a supply issue does not affect the options available for management.
We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine supply issues can be. While we cannot always prevent supply issues from occurring, the Department has a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise. We work with the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, the devolved administrations, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages, and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when supply issues arise. If any patient is concerned about their treatment, they should discuss this with their clinician at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her Department’s policies of a call from over 250 members of the Inequalities in Health Alliance (IHA) for a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Government is committed to its levelling up mission to narrow the gap in healthy life expectancy by 2030, and increase healthy life expectancy by five years, by 2035. We are supporting people in living healthier lives, helping the National Health Service and social care provide the best treatment and care for patients, and tackling health disparities through national and system interventions such as the NHS’s Core20PLUS5 programme.
The Government continues to work together, through the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)-led Levelling Up Inter-Ministerial Group, to progress the wider levelling up agenda. The levelling up missions are mutually reinforcing, and we are exploring new and existing opportunities for cross-Government action on the drivers of health, to support progress on the health mission and our wider common interests.
We are also working with the DLUHC to maximise opportunities to develop partnerships through English devolution and the Levelling Up Partnerships programme. These provide opportunities to test what works at a local and regional level, to support the health mission.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
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 potential merits of establishing a cross-government strategy to tackle health inequalities.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Government is committed to its levelling up mission to narrow the gap in healthy life expectancy by 2030, and increase healthy life expectancy by five years, by 2035. We are supporting people in living healthier lives, helping the National Health Service and social care provide the best treatment and care for patients, and tackling health disparities through national and system interventions such as the NHS’s Core20PLUS5 programme.
The Government continues to work together, through the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)-led Levelling Up Inter-Ministerial Group, to progress the wider levelling up agenda. The levelling up missions are mutually reinforcing, and we are exploring new and existing opportunities for cross-Government action on the drivers of health, to support progress on the health mission and our wider common interests.
We are also working with the DLUHC to maximise opportunities to develop partnerships through English devolution and the Levelling Up Partnerships programme. These provide opportunities to test what works at a local and regional level, to support the health mission.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact on (a) physical and (b) mental wellbeing of the NHS workforce working beyond the age of the current state pension age.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
No recent assessment has been made. National Health Service staff are not expected to work beyond state pension age, though some choose to do so. The NHS Pension Scheme is generous, and provides good pensions for retirement. The scheme offers a partial retirement option, which allows staff to draw down part of their pension and continue working in a more flexible way.
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan commits to going beyond statutory requirements in supporting and promoting flexible working opportunities. NHS England have produced guidance for employers on supporting their older workforce, together with a wide-ranging package of support for NHS staff. This includes tools and resources to support line managers to hold meaningful conversations with staff to discuss their well-being, and emotional and psychological health and wellbeing support.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who have died since being (a) treated with contaminated blood products and (b) given contaminated blood transfusions in Liverpool, Walton constituency.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Department does not hold information on the number of people who have died since being treated with contaminated blood products and given contaminated blood transfusions in Liverpool, Walton constituency.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what psychological support is available for people infected and affected by contaminated blood and blood products in Liverpool, Walton constituency.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Psychological support is available for those who are beneficiaries of the England Infected Blood Support Scheme (EIBSS), and their families. The EIBSS provides a grant of up to £900 a year for beneficiaries and family members to access counselling and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved talking therapies. In August 2022, this offer was expanded to enable beneficiaries to access funding for ongoing or longer-term treatment. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/talking-therapy-support
A bespoke psychological support service for infected blood victims, commissioned by NHS England, is currently being developed, intended to go live in early Summer 2024.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who were (a) treated with contaminated blood products and (b) given contaminated blood transfusions by the NHS in Liverpool, Walton constituency.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Department does not hold information on the number of people who were treated with contaminated blood products and given contaminated blood transfusions by the National Health Service in the Liverpool, Walton constituency.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure the adequacy of the level of accommodation provision for parents of babies in neonatal care.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
NHS trusts are expected to follow the guidance on Maternity Care Unit accommodation, as set out in Health Building Note 09-02. The building note sets out that partners and other supporters should be made to feel welcome, and their presence should be a key consideration in designing facilities for birth. There should be overnight accommodation for partners either within the rooms, or within or close to the unit.
NHS England published the Three-Year Delivery Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Services in March 2023. The delivery plan included a commitment to undertake a review of maternity and neonatal estates against the recommendations in the Health Building Note 09-02, and this year NHS England will conduct a survey of the condition of the maternity and neonatal estate.