Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to help strengthen global supply chains of ADHD medications to help prevent shortages in the supply of those medications.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware of disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), primarily driven by issues which have resulted in capacity constraints at key manufacturing sites.
We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine shortages can be and we want to assure patients that we are working with the respective manufacturers to resolve the issues as soon as possible and to ensure patients have continuous access to ADHD medicines in the United Kingdom, in the short and long term.
We have issued communications to the National Health Service to advise healthcare professionals on management of patients whilst there continue to be disruptions to supplies. Patients are advised to speak to their clinician regarding any concerns they have and to discuss the suitability of treatment with alternative medicines.
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to tackle shortages in the ADHD medication supply.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware of disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), primarily driven by issues which have resulted in capacity constraints at key manufacturing sites.
We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine shortages can be and we want to assure patients that we are working with the respective manufacturers to resolve the issues as soon as possible and to ensure patients have continuous access to ADHD medicines in the United Kingdom, in the short and long term.
We have issued communications to the National Health Service to advise healthcare professionals on management of patients whilst there continue to be disruptions to supplies. Patients are advised to speak to their clinician regarding any concerns they have and to discuss the suitability of treatment with alternative medicines.
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
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 reduce waiting times for autism assessments.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We expect integrated care boards to have due regard to relevant best practice guidelines when commissioning services, including for autism assessments. The waiting time standard recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is for a maximum waiting time of 13 weeks between a referral for an autism assessment and a first appointment.
On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. This guidance will help the National Health Service and local authorities improve autism assessment services and improve the experience for people referred to an autism assessment service. Additionally, in 2023/24, £4.2 million is available to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services.
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
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 reduce waiting times for children with serious mental health problems.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The NHS Long Term Plan commits to investing £2.3 billion extra funding a year in expanding and transforming mental health services by March 2024. This will allow an extra 345,000 more children and young people including those with serious mental illness, to get the National Health Service-funded mental health support they need.
To support the mental health commitments in the NHS Long Term Plan, our aim is to grow the mental health workforce by an additional 27,000 staff by March 2024.
NHS England has consulted on the potential to introduce five new waiting time standards as part of its clinically-led review of NHS Access Standards, including that children, young people and their families, presenting to community-based mental health services should start to receive care within four weeks from referral. As a first step, NHS England has shared and promoted guidance with its local system partners to consistently report waiting times to support the development of a baseline position. NHS England are working on the next steps.
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
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 help community pharmacies manage costs and workforce shortages.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We absolutely recognise pressures in pharmacy – that’s why:
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings (a) they and (b) other Ministers in their Department have had with the Department's Chief Scientific Adviser from (i) 1 December 2021 to 28 February 2022, (ii) 1 March to 31 May 2022 and (iii) 1 June to 31 August 2022.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department draws from a range of scientific advice and expertise. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings he had with his Department's Chief Scientific Adviser from (a) 1 March to 31 May 2021, (b) 1 June to 31 August 2021 and (c) 1 September to 30 November 2021.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The department draws from a range of scientific advice and expertise. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed. Due to the centrality of the COVID-19 pandemic to health and social care policy and research, the department’s Chief Scientific Adviser met frequently with the Secretary of State over the stated period.