Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what timeframe the UK Health Security Agency are working to in order to assess the effectiveness of Evusheld against the Omicron variant of covid-19.
Answered by Maggie Throup
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has for cardiovascular disease, including heart valve disease, to remain a priority in the updated NHS Long Term Plan.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The National Health Service will continue to ensure cardiovascular disease services remain a priority in the updated NHS Long Term Plan, including diagnostic and treatment services for patients with heart failure and heart valve disease. The NHS is investing in cardiac networks to support whole pathway improvements, from prevention, diagnosis, treatment through to end of life care.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
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 implementing a ten year plan to tackle cardiovascular disease, similar to the ten year plans for cancer and mental health in development.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific assessment has been made.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many immunocompromised people remain shielding against covid-19; and what assessment he has made of the impact of that shielding on people's social interactions, mental health and economic activity.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information requested is not held centrally as the shielding programme ended in September 2021. The Office for National Statistics’ ‘Coronavirus and clinically extremely vulnerable people in England’ survey includes information on the behaviours of clinically extremely vulnerable people and their health and wellbeing, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of immunocompromised patients received antiviral treatments within five days of the first symptoms, as recommended by the MHRA.
Answered by Maggie Throup
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many doses of the MHRA approved Evusheld covid-19 preventative treatment for immunocompromised patients his Department plans to procure; and when he expects to outline eligibility to receive this treatment.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We are unable to provide the information requested as this is commercially sensitive. Any public announcement would be made after an agreement is reached with companies.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the context of the Conditional Marketing Authorisation awarded by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agencyon 17 March 2022, what plans he has to (a) procure Evusheld and (b) roll out the treatment to severely immunocompromised patients.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We are unable to provide the information requested as this is commercially sensitive. Any public announcement would be made after an agreement is reached with companies.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people who are immunosuppressed have not been offered a second dose of the covid-19 vaccine; and how many of those people have blood cancer.
Answered by Maggie Throup
All those with immunosuppression aged 16 years old and over living in the United Kingdom have been offered a second primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Immunosuppressed children aged 12 to 15 years old have also now been offered a second primary dose. The offer of first primary doses to immunosuppressed children aged five to 11 years old commenced on 31 January 2022. Vaccination data for those with blood cancer is not held in the format requested.
As of 20 February 2022, data for those formerly regarded as clinically extremely vulnerable, which includes the immunosuppressed and those with blood cancer, shows an uptake rate of over 93.9% for a second primary dose.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
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 ensure that NHS services are able to meet the needs of people with learning disabilities this winter.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
To ensure that the needs of people with a learning disability have been met during the winter, we have worked with the National Health Service to ensure that the COVID-19 booster and flu vaccination programmes provides appropriate adjustments to encourage uptake. This includes accessible information such as an easy-read vaccination invitation letter and vaccination consent form and a film about the vaccine to support those with a learning disability and autistic people.
NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to support the health and wellbeing of people with a learning disability as part of the national Learning Disability and Autism programme. This includes continuing the provision of annual health checks to people with a learning disability.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
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 effectiveness of the existing regulatory framework for provision of religious and ethical diets in care settings; and whether the Government plans to review the regulations and guidance relating to diet in care, in the context of the White Paper, People at the Heart of Care.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Local authorities should facilitate personalised care in line with their legal duties. The white paper sets out that personalised care should be the norm, where people have the choice, control and support they need to live independent lives, can access outstanding quality and tailored care and support and find adult social care fair and accessible.
We expect care providers to be encouraged to allow individuals to take control over the way their care is planned and delivered, which includes dietary requirements and preferences where appropriate. We have no plans to assess the regulatory framework or review the regulations and guidance relating to diet in care.