Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether all hospitals and NHS buildings are fully compliant with fire and building regulations; and if he will ensure that all NHS properties will be checked and signed-off as safe.
Answered by Philip Dunne
National Health Service organisations in England are locally responsible for the safety of their estate, including in relation to fire. The Department publishes comprehensive and up to date guidance on fire safety, including the ‘Firecode’ suite of Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) documents, to support NHS organisations in England to comply with legislation relating to fire safety:
HTM 05-01: Managing healthcare fire safety: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-healthcare-fire-safety
HTM 05-02: Firecode Guidance in support of functional provisions (Fire safety in the design of healthcare premises): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-in-support-of-functional-provisions-for-healthcare-premises
HTM 05-03: Fire safety measures for health sector buildings: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/suite-of-guidance-on-fire-safety-throughout-healthcare-premises-parts-a-to-m
Fire safety is taken extremely seriously in the NHS and because of the professionalism and dedication of staff across the entire NHS estate, the number of fire incidents is extremely low, given the complexity and size of the health estate (about 25 million square metres of occupied floor area) and its level of clinical activity.
To ensure that the lessons from the Grenfell Tower fire incident are learned, the Department is working with all NHS organisations to ensure that any appropriate action is taken as soon as possible.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on healthcare standards and patient access to medicines in the UK.
Answered by David Mowat
The Department is working to make sure the best outcome for the health and social care system. All policy teams within the Department are involved with this work and assessing the implications of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union on their area. This includes working with NHS England and other arm’s length bodies.
The Prime Minister has instructed all departments to identify potential opportunities that will arise in their areas from EU Exit. The Government is united in its ambition to deliver a successful withdrawal from the EU and a new relationship with Europe, and departments will work together to deliver this.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the UK Chief Medical Officer's revised alcohol guidelines, published in January 2016.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The UK Chief Medical Officers’ (CMOs) alcohol guidelines give the public the latest and most up to date scientific information so that they can make informed decisions about their own drinking. Government has a responsibility to ensure this information is provided for citizens in an open way.
The Government launched a public consultation seeking views on the advice from the UK CMOs. The final guidelines and the Government response to the consultation will be published shortly.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many da Vinci surgical systems for use in the treatment of prostate cancer are in operation in the NHS in England.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Data on the number of da Vinci systems for treating prostate cancer, in operation across the National Health Service in England, is not routinely collected or held centrally.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on the devolution of abortion legislation to the Scottish Parliament.
Answered by Jane Ellison
I have had discussions with Ministers on the Smith Commission Agreement and the Scotland Bill. The Secretary of State for Scotland has spoken to women’s groups in Scotland about devolution of abortion legislation, and Department of Health officials have had informal discussions and communication with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on this matter.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with organisations representing women in (a) Scotland, (b) England and (c) Wales on the devolution of abortion legislation to the Scottish Parliament.
Answered by Jane Ellison
I have had discussions with Ministers on the Smith Commission Agreement and the Scotland Bill. The Secretary of State for Scotland has spoken to women’s groups in Scotland about devolution of abortion legislation, and Department of Health officials have had informal discussions and communication with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on this matter.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on the devolution of abortion legislation to the Scottish Parliament.
Answered by Jane Ellison
I have had discussions with Ministers on the Smith Commission Agreement and the Scotland Bill. The Secretary of State for Scotland has spoken to women’s groups in Scotland about devolution of abortion legislation, and Department of Health officials have had informal discussions and communication with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on this matter.