Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 number children that have received the meningococcal conjugate vaccine injection in each of the last three years.
Answered by Steve Brine
There are two meningococcal conjugate vaccines that are used in the United Kingdom. The meningococcal ACWY vaccine (Men ACWY) is given to adolescents and the meningitis C and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine is given between 12 to 13 months of age.
The number of children receiving the Hib/Meningitis C vaccine by age two for the last three fiscal years (2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18) is 1,828,100.
The MenACWY data are not available in the format requested.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 prevent young people from developing type 2 diabetes as a result of a bad diet.
Answered by Steve Brine
We published the second chapter of our world-leading childhood obesity plan in June. This builds on the real progress we have made since the publication of chapter one in 2016, particularly in reformulation of the products our children eat and drink most. Key measurers in this next chapter include consulting on restricting promotions of fatty and sugary products by location and by price, further advertising restrictions and mandating calorie labelling in restaurants.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 encourage people to discuss mental health issues.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
This Government is committed to eliminating the stigma around mental health and has provided a total of £20 million funding since 2012 for the Time to Change national mental health anti-stigma campaign.
Time to Change works with people with experience of mental health problems to challenge stigma and to improve social attitudes towards mental health. Encouraging people to talk openly about mental health is an important part of achieving this and Time to Change holds regular annual Time to Talk Days which encourage people to have a conversation about mental health. The evaluation of Time to Change shows that over four million people to date have reported improved attitudes towards mental health because of the campaign.
Public Health England is currently delivering a £15 million national mental health campaign called ‘Every Mind Matters’, with the aim to equip one million people to be better informed to look after their own mental health. This campaign was launched in October 2018 with a national rollout planned for spring 2019.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of surgical mesh implant groups on their experiences of such implants.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
Pelvic mesh groups have been in direct contact with Departmental Ministers on several occasions.
The Department is currently working on data needs to monitor mesh procedures. Sling the Mesh has been involved in early discussions.
The former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Jeremy Hunt (MP) announced the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Review in February 2018. Baroness Cumberlege has made listening to patients a priority.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 prevent patients from gaining commercially from prescriptions.
Answered by Steve Brine
Clinicians will only prescribe medicines that they believe are in the clinical interest of the patient, and in line with best clinical practice guidelines, including those developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Clinicians will weigh the benefits and risks of any medicine for an individual patient before making a prescribing decision. The prescribing options should be discussed carefully with the patient.
Where there is evidence of diversion and illicit supply of medicines from legitimate prescriptions, the Government may consider scheduling of medicines under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, which includes strict controls on the prescription, supply and monitoring of medicines.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has a policy on earlier diagnosis of dementia.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government’s mandate to NHS England requires NHS England to deliver the actions set out in the Challenge on Dementia 2020 Implementation Plan. The Implementation Plan envisages that:
“In every part of the country people with dementia having equal access to diagnosis as for other conditions, with an expectation that the national average for an initial assessment should be 6 weeks following a referral from a GP (where clinically appropriate), and that no one should be waiting several months for an initial assessment of dementia.”
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS England new story, New ambulance service standards announced, published on 13 July 2017, how many heart attack and stroke patients have been seen within ambulance performance target times.
Answered by Steve Barclay
Ambulance quality indicators, including response time performance and specific measures for stroke and heart attack patients, are published by NHS England at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 increase the level of organ and blood donation.
Answered by Matt Hancock
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for the collection, manufacturing and issuing of blood products to the NHS in England. NHSBT needs to collect more than 6,000 blood donations every day to treat patients in need across England.
NHSBT undertake a range of activities to drive recruitment of around 200,000 new donors each year to off-set donors who can longer donate for reasons such as illness, travel or pregnancy. In addition, NHSBT has undertaken work to change its donor base to better reflect the needs of NHS patients. In particular, it is working to recruit a significant number of new blood donors from a black African or black Caribbean background.
Initiatives to support this goal have included work with black Christian churches across England, to encourage more black donors to register, book an appointment and give blood. NHSBT continues to work with black Asian and minority ethnic charity partners, including the Islamic Unity Society and Sewaday to promote registration drives and publicise sessions. It has also carried out Know Your Type events in high population Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic areas where individuals can learn their blood type with a finger prick test and be encouraged to book an appointment to donate.
NHSBT has continued this promotion in 2018 with the B Positive choir, which was created by NHSBT. The members include blood donors and blood recipients, people who have blood-related medical conditions such as sickle cell disease, their families, friends and people who work with blood.
NHSBT is currently implementing the ‘Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020: A UK Strategy’ which was launched in 2013. The strategy aims to achieve world class performance in organ donation and transplantation. It was developed by NHSBT and the four United Kingdom Health Departments. The strategy set the agenda for increasing organ donation and transplantation rates to world class standards over the next few years.
There is an urgent shortage of organs for people from all backgrounds. The problem is particularly acute for black, Asian and minority ethnic patients. These patients are over-represented on the waiting list. They are more likely to need an organ transplant than the rest of the population as they are more susceptible to illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension, which could result in organ failure. NHSBT is running a number of projects and engaging with stakeholders to address this issue.
During Organ Donation Week 2018 NHSBT and the Department announced a community investment scheme to break down myths and barriers and increase support for organ donation among black, Asian and ethnic minority communities. Community and faith-based groups from across England and Wales were invited to apply for funding for projects to promote organ donation. An estimated £115,000 has been made available for projects in England in the first year of the scheme.
Despite these efforts, there are over 5,000 people on a transplant waiting list in England. To address this challenge, in October 2017, the Prime Minister announced plans to increase organ donation by shifting the balance of presumption in favour of organ donation. The new system which is expected to start from 2020 is expected to save hundreds more lives.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase the number of staff who assist people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Answered by Steve Barclay
National Health Service trusts and general practitioner surgeries are responsible for ensuring they have the right level and skill mix of staff available for the patients that seek their help with conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The majority of people with COPD will largely receive their care from registered nurses, physiotherapists and healthcare support workers. Since 2010, there are over 12,200 more nurses on our wards, over 1,100 more physiotherapists and over 21,000 more healthcare staff providing support to doctors and nurses.