Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
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 potential merits of exempting people with sickle-cell anaemia from prescription charges.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no plans to amend the list of medical conditions that provide eligibility for free prescriptions to include sickle-cell anaemia.
Approximately 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in the community in England, and there are a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for which those with sickle-cell anaemia may be eligible. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.
People on low incomes can apply for help with their health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme. Prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) are also available. PPCs allow people to claim as many prescriptions as they need for a set cost, with three-month and 12-month certificates available. The 12-month PPC can be paid for in instalments, allowing the holder of a 12-month certificate to get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.
Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a national service specification for adult cerebral palsy to be used to commission specialist services within integrated care system areas.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to ensuring that people with cerebral palsy have access to appropriate support and services at all stages of their lives, so that they can fulfil their potential and lead happy, healthy and productive lives. Later this year, NHS England’s service specification for neurology services is being updated. The specification defines standards and manages care pathways for neurological conditions like cerebral palsy.Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the difference between the (a) fee that will be paid to deliver the NHS Special Schools Eye Care Service and (b) cost of delivering the same clinical care in outpatient paediatric ophthalmology clinics.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The fee that has been put in place to underpin the service is aligned to other fees paid for domiciliary sight testing services. NHS England has committed to investing up to £12.7 million annually on the provision of sight tests and the associated optical vouchers in special educational settings. This provides the potential for these services to reach approximately 165,000 children and young people in over 2,000 educational settings, ensuring sight tests are provided in a familiar environment whilst minimising disruption to the school day.
NHS England has engaged with key stakeholders throughout the life of the programme and continues to work closely with local integrated care board commissioners, and the ophthalmic and voluntary sector, to scale up and roll out sight tests for patients in a special educational setting.
Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS special schools eye care service will have an oversight and evaluation programme in 2025-26 (a) monitoring coverage and uptake and (b) assessing whether it is delivering comparable health and education outcomes to the proof of concept.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is in the process of publishing a final service specification for sight testing in special educational settings that will provide for comparable health and education outcomes to the proof of concept. A process is also being established for ongoing reporting against service delivery which will be confirmed with integrated care boards shortly.
Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
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 to shift care from hospitals into the community.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are determined to transform the NHS into a neighbourhood health service. As a downpayment we have announced the biggest boost to GP funding in years - an extra £889 million.
However, the reform needed to shift health care from hospital to community will come through our 10 year plan.
We are also making the biggest investment into hospices in a generation, boosting the Disabled Facilities Grant by £86 million and implementing an Elective Reform Plan that will see more tests and scans delivered in the community.