Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to prioritise covid-19 vaccinations for the carers of terminally ill spouses.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We recognise the vital role unpaid carers play in caring for vulnerable individuals. Unpaid carers are included in the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s priority group six - all individuals aged 16 to 64 years old with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality. This also includes those who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
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 dental practices have access to adequate personal protection equipment during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Dentists normally purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) through dental wholesale suppliers. However, for PPE which is needed as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has made supplies available free of charge for National Health Service dental contractors. A dedicated PPE portal has been developed to deliver these items. As of 4 November, over 5,100 NHS dental and orthodontic providers in England have registered with the PPE portal and over 36 million items have been delivered.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a house in multiple occupation is defined as a singular household for the purpose of the covid-19 rule of six policy.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
This refers to those who people live with. To reduce the risk of catching or spreading COVID-19, people should keep at least two metres away from those they do not live with. Social distancing is essential to stop the spread of the virus, as it is more likely to spread when people are close together.
Further information on social distancing is available at the following link:
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
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 (a) Marie Curie, (b) Sue Ryder and (c) other hospice care groups have adequate supplies of personal protective equipment during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We published a personal protective equipment (PPE) plan on 10 April, setting out clear guidance on who needs PPE and in what circumstances they need to use it, how sufficient supplies will be secured and distributed to the front line.
The Government recognises the vital services that hospices provide across the United Kingdom. Distribution routes for PPE are constantly reviewed to strengthen and expand capacity, and efforts are currently being undertaken to boost the service to hospices.
We have provided local resilience forums with supplies of PPE to help them respond to urgent local spikes in need across front-line services, including hospices.
The National Supply Disruption Response exists as an emergency escalation route who handle queries including the supply of PPE as a last resort.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether private rental companies who provide vehicles for the NHS and other essential public services will be able to continue to operate under the Government's covid-19 response scenarios; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to doing all it can to ensure that National Health Service workers are able to travel to work with minimal disruption. We also recognise the important role public services and private companies play in delivering key services.
At present the Government has no plans to put in place restrictions on public or private transport as part of our response to COVID-19. However, we continue to keep all aspects of our response to the virus under review, guided by the best advice from our world-renowned team of clinicians, public health experts and scientists.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of clinical commissioning groups on making the process of (a) accessing NHS capital funding and (b) making improvements to NHS services (i) easier and (ii) more efficient; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement have regular discussions with representatives of clinical commissioning groups about capital investment in community and primary care. We have already implemented changes to improve the capital business case development and approvals processes and make it more efficient. This includes establishing a joint Departmental and NHS England and NHS Improvement Investment Committee.
The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement work closely with commissioners and providers of NHS services to support service improvement.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish a White Paper in response to the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act 1983; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark on 22 January 2020 to Question 3763.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide an update on the status of the Thalidomide Health Grant; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to meeting the additional health needs of thalidomiders and to give them the same opportunities that others enjoy. The provision of the Thalidomide Health Grant is a central element of this. The current multi-year settlement continues for a further three years running until the end of the 2022/23 financial year.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to improve access to treatment for people with eating disorders.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Through the NHS Long Term Plan, the National Health Service commits to testing and rolling out waiting time standards for adults in selected areas. Twelve areas in England have received over £70 million of transformation funding in 2019/20 and 2020/21 to test new integrated models of primary and community mental health care for adults.
Eight of these sites are implementing innovative service models that will improve access and quality for adults and older adults with eating disorders in line with new national guidance on adult eating disorder care.
For children and young people, we have introduced a waiting time standard with the aim for 95% of children (up to 19 years old) with eating disorders to receive treatment within a week for urgent cases and four weeks for routine cases. We are on target to meet this aim by 2020/21.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made in tackling the shortage of Hormone Replacement Therapy drugs.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are aware of ongoing supply issues with some hormone replacement therapy (HRT) preparations due to a range of issues including manufacturing issues, regulatory issues and problems accessing the raw pharmaceutical ingredient as well as commercial decisions made by some companies to divest these products.
We have been working closely with all suppliers of HRT preparations to maintain overall supply to patients. We have shared relevant information about the supply situation and availability of HRT products with the National Health Service and are having discussions with organisations such as the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare and the British Menopausal Society.
We continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure relevant information about the HRT products affected by supply issues and the products that remain available is shared with the NHS on a regular basis.
We anticipate the supply situation will improve from February 2020.