Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department provides to veterans who have lost one or more limb during their service.
Answered by David Mowat
In England veterans are able to access high quality clinically appropriate prosthetic limbs from the National Health Service either through local disablement services, or through one of the nine centres that have been selected to provide enhanced services for veterans. The veterans’ prosthetic panel continues to support these veterans, ensuring they receive the latest specification prosthetics. Health is a devolved issue however if a service is provided by the Ministry of Defence it will be available to all veterans across the United Kingdom and veterans with complex needs can be referred to the new Veterans Complex Prosthetic Assessment Clinic provided by the Ministry of Defence at Headley Court.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations 2007 to ensure that customers can use discount vouchers to purchase formula in supermarkets.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The restrictions on promotional sales of infant formula are an important aspect of the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations 2007 which implement the World Health Organization International Code on the Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes. There are no plans to amend this part of the Regulations. While the Department encourages exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life because of the significant health benefits to both mothers and babies, we recognise that infant feeding choices are complex and based on individual and family circumstances, and therefore, low income households have access to the Healthy Start Scheme and may use the vouchers to purchase infant formula.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of measures intended to curtail consumption of high sugar drinks on levels of consumption of drinks that require significant levels of added sugar to counteract their high acidity.
Answered by Jane Ellison
In its 2015 Carbohydrates and Health report the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition recommended that the consumption of sugary soft drinks should be minimised by children and adults. Such drinks do not need to contain added sugar; there are many alternatives on the market which contain artificial sweeteners instead.
Public Health England’s (PHE) report Sugar reduction: The evidence for action (October 2015), outlined its assessment of a range of measures that could be implemented to reduce sugar intakes and improve diets overall. As part of their assessment of the evidence, PHE conducted an analysis of the impact on sugar intakes in adults and children of reducing the sugar content of eight food categories, including sugary soft drinks.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential role of cranberries can play in reducing the frequency of prescribing antibiotics for simple infections such as urinary tract infections.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The research database, Cochrane, published a study in 2012 which assessed the effectiveness of cranberry products in preventing urinary tract infections in susceptible populations. Researchers found that there is no objective evidence for the benefit of cranberry juice in preventing urinary tract infections. Therefore the Department has not taken steps to promote the consumption of cranberry products.
The UK five year Antimicrobial Resistance strategy set out the need to stimulate the development of new antibiotics, rapid diagnostics and novel therapies. The DH commissioned the Wellcome Trust to undertake a review of alternative treatments in 2014. The review concluded that while many approaches have potential, there is a continued need for conventional antibiotics to treat the majority of infections for the foreseeable future.
A paper, summarising the review “alternatives to antibiotics – a pipeline portfolio review” was published in the Lancet in January 2016. This is available at the following link:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00466-1
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to promote the consumption of cranberry products to prevent simple infections such as urinary tract infections.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The research database, Cochrane, published a study in 2012 which assessed the effectiveness of cranberry products in preventing urinary tract infections in susceptible populations. Researchers found that there is no objective evidence for the benefit of cranberry juice in preventing urinary tract infections. Therefore the Department has not taken steps to promote the consumption of cranberry products.
The UK five year Antimicrobial Resistance strategy set out the need to stimulate the development of new antibiotics, rapid diagnostics and novel therapies. The DH commissioned the Wellcome Trust to undertake a review of alternative treatments in 2014. The review concluded that while many approaches have potential, there is a continued need for conventional antibiotics to treat the majority of infections for the foreseeable future.
A paper, summarising the review “alternatives to antibiotics – a pipeline portfolio review” was published in the Lancet in January 2016. This is available at the following link:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00466-1
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the health benefits of cranberries and their role in preventing the incidence of urinary tract infections in women and children; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The research database, Cochrane, published a study in 2012 which assessed the effectiveness of cranberry products in preventing urinary tract infections in susceptible populations. Researchers found that there is no objective evidence for the benefit of cranberry juice in preventing urinary tract infections. Therefore the Department has not taken steps to promote the consumption of cranberry products.
The UK five year Antimicrobial Resistance strategy set out the need to stimulate the development of new antibiotics, rapid diagnostics and novel therapies. The DH commissioned the Wellcome Trust to undertake a review of alternative treatments in 2014. The review concluded that while many approaches have potential, there is a continued need for conventional antibiotics to treat the majority of infections for the foreseeable future.
A paper, summarising the review “alternatives to antibiotics – a pipeline portfolio review” was published in the Lancet in January 2016. This is available at the following link:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00466-1
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the cost to the NHS of antibiotics used to treat urinary tract infections in each of the last three years.
Answered by George Freeman
Information on why a drug has been prescribed is not collected.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on whether there is a causal link between a mother suffering from post-natal depression and the number of children aged up to three years old taken into care.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Neither the Department of Health nor the Department for Education holds the information requested.
The latest statistics on looked-after children at both national and local authority levels for the financial year 2013 to 2014 can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption--2
Table A1 (National Tables) gives a breakdown of the primary reasons for children becoming looked after.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether a diagnosis of post-natal depression is routinely shared with social services.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance (Clinical Guideline 192 December 2014) that offers evidence-based advice on the recognition, assessment, care and treatment of mental health problems in women during pregnancy and the postnatal period (up to one year after childbirth) and in women who are planning a pregnancy.
The guidance references appropriate sharing of information with healthcare professionals involved in the woman’s care, respecting confidentiality and rights of the child (particularly in relation to girls and young women) and involving family and carers, with the agreement of the woman. There is no specific reference to social services, nor does it suggest that diagnoses should be routinely shared with them.
The majority of diagnoses take place in primary care. If a woman is diagnosed with post-natal depression whilst being cared for within specialised services, including perinatal mental health services, routine notification to social services for patients does not take place. Where child protection concerns arise, a notification to social services would occur prior to discharge.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of pregnancies result in a diagnosis of post-natal depression.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are advised by the Health and Social Care Information Centre that data is not collected on the diagnosis of post-natal depression.
The NHS Improving Quality report; Improving Access to Perinatal Mental Health Services in England – A review (published September 2015), says that post-natal depression prevalence within the first few post-natal months is estimated to be 13%. This suggests that following the 687,346 maternities in 2014 in England and Wales, there were around 90,000 women in 2014 who suffered from post-natal depression in the first few post-natal months.