Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff appointed after 24 June 2016 in his Department hold a post that includes work on the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Exiting the European Union is a cross-Government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is working closely with all Departments to prepare for negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning.
A central team within the Global and Public Health Directorate of this Department coordinates the provision of advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. All affected policy teams within the Department are involved with this work and they are assessing the implications of the United Kingdom leaving the EU on their policy area.
Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.
The resources available are kept under constant review and the Department is equipping itself with the resources it needs to get the best deal for the UK.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with GPs and medical defence organisations on providing appropriate funding to meet additional costs incurred following changes to the discount rate in February 2017.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Department is aware that the rise in the cost of indemnity as a result of the change in the personal discount rate announced by the then Lord Chancellor (Rt. hon. Elizabeth Truss MP) in February 2017 is an area of concern for general practitioners (GPs).
The Department has been assessing the potential effect of the discount rate change by working closely with GPs and Medical Defence Organisations to ensure that appropriate funding is available to meet the additional costs to GPs, recognising the crucial role they play in the delivery of National Health Service care.
On 12 October 2017, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced that the Department is planning, subject to examination of relevant issues, the development of a state-backed indemnity scheme for general practice in England.
The Department will continue to work with the Royal College of General Practitioners, the British Medical Association and other GP representatives to engage with the sector on this issue.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that people with spinal cord injuries are treated in specialist units.
Answered by David Mowat
NHS England commissions specialised spinal care services nationally. All patients needing specialist spinal care following either injury or disease progression should be referred to a specialist centre after initial treatment or assessment at a local hospital.
These services encompass acute care following the injury, rehabilitation and life-long follow-up of people living with spinal cord injury.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of pension freedoms policy on the cost to local authorities of residential care.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The pension freedom reforms are a fundamental change to how people can access their pension savings. The Government believes it is important to monitor these changes to understand their effects on the market and consumers. The impact of people’s pension choice can affect the extent to which they have to contribute to their social care costs.
The Department of Health, working with other Government Departments, assessed the potential effect of the policy on the cost to local authorities of residential care to be small compared to overall expenditure on residential care.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many foundation hospitals include on their council of governors elected members from Wales.
Answered by Ben Gummer
Information on the nationality of governors elected to foundation trusts is not held centrally.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many beds in each UK spinal cord injury centre have been ring fenced for the treatment of spinal cord injured readmissions or outpatients in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jane Ellison
NHS England’s Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) service specification clearly sets out what providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. It sets a core requirement that each specialised SCI Centre (SCIC) can demonstrate they have a minimum of 20 beds dedicated exclusively for the treatment and rehabilitation of SCI patients. Specialised SCI Services encompass all activity for SCI patients provided by the host trust of the SCIC, including any readmission or attendance for SCI-related care, wherever the treatment is located in the trust. A copy of the specification can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/d13-spinal-cord-0414.pdf
NHS England is aware that a number of beds in one ward at Stoke Mandeville spinal injuries unit are being used as escalation beds by medical specialties to assist with patient flow. It is planned for these beds to re-open as specialist spinal beds from September 2014.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many beds in each UK spinal cord injury centre are ring fenced for the exclusive treatment of spinal cord injured readmissions or outpatients.
Answered by Jane Ellison
NHS England’s Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) service specification clearly sets out what providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. It sets a core requirement that each specialised SCI Centre (SCIC) can demonstrate they have a minimum of 20 beds dedicated exclusively for the treatment and rehabilitation of SCI patients. Specialised SCI Services encompass all activity for SCI patients provided by the host trust of the SCIC, including any readmission or attendance for SCI-related care, wherever the treatment is located in the trust. A copy of the specification can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/d13-spinal-cord-0414.pdf
NHS England is aware that a number of beds in one ward at Stoke Mandeville spinal injuries unit are being used as escalation beds by medical specialties to assist with patient flow. It is planned for these beds to re-open as specialist spinal beds from September 2014.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will investigate the alleged misallocation of the specialist spinal injury beds at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and the use by non-spinal cord injury patients.
Answered by Jane Ellison
NHS England’s Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) service specification clearly sets out what providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. It sets a core requirement that each specialised SCI Centre (SCIC) can demonstrate they have a minimum of 20 beds dedicated exclusively for the treatment and rehabilitation of SCI patients. Specialised SCI Services encompass all activity for SCI patients provided by the host trust of the SCIC, including any readmission or attendance for SCI-related care, wherever the treatment is located in the trust. A copy of the specification can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/d13-spinal-cord-0414.pdf
NHS England is aware that a number of beds in one ward at Stoke Mandeville spinal injuries unit are being used as escalation beds by medical specialties to assist with patient flow. It is planned for these beds to re-open as specialist spinal beds from September 2014.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average time taken is in each health authority from a person being referred for a NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment to the eligibility decision being made.
Answered by Norman Lamb
The Department does not collect data regarding the time taken for individuals to be assessed for NHS Continuing Healthcare. The National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care sets out that the time which elapses between completion of the Checklist (or other notification of potential eligibility) being received by the relevant clinical commissioning group, and a funding decision being made should, in most cases, not exceed 28 days.