Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the toxicologists based in Guy's Hospital's Poisons Unit are employed directly by the (a) Department of Health and Social Care, (b) NHS or (c) other organisation.
Answered by Will Quince
The three consultant clinical toxicologists (and two emergency physicians with an interest in clinical toxicology) are all employed by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) with full-time National Health Service contracts.
Guy’s Poisons Unit closed over 15 years ago. Poisons information services in the United Kingdom are run by the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) which has units in Birmingham, Newcastle, Cardiff and Edinburgh. Two of the GSTT Consultant Clinical Toxicologists are on the NPIS consultant on call rota.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
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 offering patients routine NHS testing for poisoning from heavy metals and volatile organic compounds when poisoning is suspected.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department has made no assessment of the potential merits of offering patients routine National Health Service testing for poisoning from heavy metals and volatile organic compounds when poisoning is suspected.
Testing for heavy metals where diagnosis of heavy metal poisoning is a possibility may include blood testing, 24-hour urine collection, long bone X-ray in children and chest X-ray as listed in the following link:
https://patient.info/doctor/heavy-metal-poisoning#ref-4
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what training is given to GPs on the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
General Practitioners are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge, including on carbon monoxide, remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, to ensure that they can continue to provide high quality care to all patients.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) ambulance staff and (b) other medical staff who visit homes are provided personal alarm equipment to sense carbon monoxide.
Answered by Will Quince
No such steps are currently planned by the Department. The provision of safety equipment to National Health Service staff is an operational matter for the NHS.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to recommendation 13 in the Chief Medical Officer’s 2022 annual report on air quality, what steps he has taken with Cabinet colleagues to clarify the ownership of indoor air quality policy.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There have been no discussions about changes to Departmental responsibility in this area. There is no single Departmental policy lead for indoor air quality. There is ongoing collaborative work across Government on both outdoor and indoor air quality.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on the role that health and social services have in filling the workforce gaps in the specialist support for children and young people with special educational needs that were identified in the SEND review.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Ministers have regular discussions on cross Government policy issues, including in relation to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP).
The SEND and AP green paper sets out our proposal to commission analysis to ensure that the health needs of children and young people with SEND are supported through effective workforce planning. We propose to work with Health Education England, NHS England and the Department for Education to build on existing evidence and build a clearer picture of demand for support for children and young people with SEND from the therapy and diagnostic workforce.
Following the Department of Education’s consultation on the green paper proposals, respective Departments are working closely on the development of an improvement plan to deliver change and continue to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who need AP. This is due to be published early this year.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the findings of the National Diabetes Audit Young People with Type 2 Diabetes Report 2019-20, published by NHS Digital on 12 August 2021; what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in under 40’s being four times higher in the most deprived areas than in the least deprived areas; and whether he is taking steps to reduce inequalities in type 2 diabetes risk among young adults and children living in more and less deprived areas.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. Given the inequalities in who develops type 2 diabetes we continue to work with the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP) providers and integrated care systems to raise awareness and boost uptake from those in deprived groups.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
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 reasons for the trend in the level of type two diabetes in (a) young adults and (b) children in the last five years; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of type two diabetes in these groups.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No specific assessment has been made. Obesity is one of the leading causes for type 2 diabetes, including in children and young people. New regulations on out of home calorie labelling for food sold in large businesses, including restaurants, cafes and takeaways, came into force in April 2022. Additionally, restrictions on the promotion by location of products high in fat, salt or sugar came into force on 1 October 2022. We are also working with the food industry to ensure it is easier for the public to make healthier choices and make further progress on reformulation.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
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 implications for his policies of research published in the British Medical Journal on 7 December 2022 which shows that the UK had the fastest increase in the age standardised incidence rate for early onset type 2 diabetes between 1990 and 2019; and whether he is taking steps to help reverse that trend.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), invests in high-quality research on diabetes. NIHR is investing £2 million in an evaluation of scalable behavioural weight management programmes for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to publish guidance on fragrance free (a) health centres and (b) hospitals to help support people with (i) allergies and (ii) breathing difficulties.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department has no current plans to publish guidance on fragrance free health centres and hospitals.