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Written Question
Aducanumab
Friday 2nd July 2021

Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is monitoring regulatory developments regarding Aducanumab (Aduhelm). We are unable to formally comment on any product that is not approved for use in the United Kingdom due to commercial and market sensitivities surrounding the approval process of a product. As with all other treatments for life threatening or debilitating conditions, the MHRA will ensure a thorough and expedited assessment of this medicine.


Written Question
Mental Health Services: Young People
Tuesday 22nd June 2021

Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)

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 provide mental health support to people under the age of 30 in (a) Wakefield, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) England.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

In March we launched a Mental Health Recovery Action Plan, backed by £500million for 2021/22. This includes £79 million to significantly expand children’s mental health services, allowing approximately 22,500 more children and young people aged 0 to 25 years old to access community health services, 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services and a faster increase in the coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges over the 2021/22 financial year. It also includes £13 million to ensure young adults aged 18 to 25 years old, including university students, are supported with tailored mental health support, helping bridge the gap between children’s and adult services

In Wakefield district child and adolescent mental health services responsive adolescent and children’s home-based treatment (ReACH) team are operating seven days a week. Turning Point deliver talking therapy services in Wakefield available for children and young people aged 16 years old and above who are registered with a general practitioner surgery in the Wakefield district. An online confidential support service, Kooth, provides a safe and secure means of accessing mental health and wellbeing support designed specifically for young people aged 11 to 25 years old.

In West Yorkshire, in line with the NHS Long Term Plan, all clinical commissioning groups in the region are committed to delivering the Mental Health Investment Standard, which sees the overall budget for mental health growing faster than overall National Health Service budget.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Wednesday 16th June 2021

Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)

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 ensure that the Janssen vaccine can be administered at the earliest possible date.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

On 28 May 2021 the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency authorised the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine for use and 20 million doses of the vaccine have been secured. The first deliveries are expected to arrive later this year.

As with the currently deployed vaccines, all necessary preparations to receive, store and distribute the Janssen vaccine, as well as train health professionals in its handling and administration, will be in place prior to any deployment.


Written Question
Pharmacy: West Yorkshire
Wednesday 2nd June 2021

Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)

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 increase the number of pharmacies which are signed up to the Pharmacy Collect scheme in (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As of 18 May 2021, 68 pharmacies have opted in to provide the service in Wakefield. We do not hold this data for West Yorkshire as a region. Nine in 10 pharmacies across England are currently registered to offer lateral flow tests and there are no current plans to increase the numbers further across West Yorkshire.


Written Question
Pharmacy: West Yorkshire
Wednesday 2nd June 2021

Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many pharmacies are signed up to the Pharmacy Collect scheme in (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As of 18 May 2021, 68 pharmacies have opted in to provide the service in Wakefield. We do not hold this data for West Yorkshire as a region. Nine in 10 pharmacies across England are currently registered to offer lateral flow tests and there are no current plans to increase the numbers further across West Yorkshire.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Quarantine
Thursday 27th May 2021

Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the £12 million of additional funding for self-isolation announced by his Department on 24 May 2021, how much of that funding will be allocated to (a) Wakefield Metropolitan District Council and (b) councils in the West Yorkshire region.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Funding to support self-isolation pilots is not currently due to be allocated directly to Wakefield Metropolitan District Council or other councils in the West Yorkshire region. This pilot funding is in addition to the significant investment in supporting local outbreak management through the Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF). Local authorities should use the COMF funding first before submitting a bid for pilot funding.

Of the £12 million funding allocated to support self-isolation pilots across areas in England with higher COVID-19 prevalence rates, £548,592 has been allocated to undertake a pilot which will be run across the whole of the Yorkshire and Humber region.


Written Question

Question Link

Friday 21st May 2021

Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure that people are safeguarded when accessing NHS mental health services through (a) computer programmes, (b) video calls and (c) telephones.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

NHS England and NHS Improvement published guidance for digital mental health services to support their response to the pandemic, which included the importance of safeguarding. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsconfed.org/resources/2020/12/digital-inclusion-guide


Written Question

Question Link

Friday 21st May 2021

Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of remote mental health services on patient outcomes.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

Data on access to mental health services on people with mental health conditions is collated in the Mental Health Services Dataset and the Improving access to Psychological Therapies dataset. While both these datasets are able to record the consultation medium and show increased use of remote consultations for people in contact with services, it is too early to determine the overall effect of this change on service users and outcomes.


Written Question

Question Link

Friday 21st May 2021

Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of digital exclusion on the delivery of remote NHS mental health services.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

The Department has made no such assessment.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the NHS Confederation and the Association of Mental Health Providers to develop a guide on digital inclusion in mental health which is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsconfed.org/resources/2020/12/digital-inclusion-guide

Local efforts to tackle digital exclusion have been supported by additional capital funding, and the launch of the Attend Anywhere video consultation platform to ensure that staff and service users have the technology they need. NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked integrated care systems to develop digitally-enabled care pathways in ways which increase inclusion, including reviewing new primary, outpatient and mental health digitally-enabled care pathways.

The 2021/22 NHS Operational Planning Guidance, asked health systems to ensure providers offer face-to-face care to patients who cannot use remote services and to ensure more complete data collection on consultation mediums is carried out.


Written Question

Question Link

Tuesday 18th May 2021

Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of moving more NHS mental health services to (a) telephones and (b) online.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

Under the NHS Long Term Plan, we have set out specific objectives for the digitisation of mental health services by 2023/24. This includes digital options for accessing care, including online referrals, digital consultations and digitally enabled models of therapy to support access to psychological therapies in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme.

The digitisation of services enables people to have more control over their own appointments, have greater choice over their treatment as well as manage their own mental health in between appointments. The shift to delivering greater care online and by phone has created new opportunities to provide care more flexibly and reduce barriers to access for some people. Although some services will see the benefit of continuing to use remote consultations in the future, we recognise that many people will still prefer or require face-to-face appointments.