Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to increase public awareness of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Yellow Card scheme for reporting medicine side effects and product issues.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is committed to improving patient safety and strategically runs regular public health campaigns to raise awareness of patient safety in healthcare products and the importance of reporting to the Yellow Card scheme, which relies on voluntary reporting by healthcare professionals and the public, including patients, parents, and care givers. Further information on the MHRA is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/medicines-and-healthcare-products-regulatory-agency
A primary platform for education and awareness is the MHRA’s dedicated Yellow Card scheme website, which is regularly updated with educational resources, including Continuing Professional Development accredited e-learning modules, waiting-room videos, posters, and real-world case studies to support understanding of how and what to report as well as the importance of reporting. In 2025, the MHRA launched a new Yellow Card Partner Toolkit containing a package of materials specifically designed to support other organisations and networks in encouraging patient reporting.
To strengthen local engagement with the public, the MHRA commissions six Yellow Card Centres across the United Kingdom, covering the North and Yorkshire, the North West, the West Midlands, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and which focus on education and the promotion of reporting with the public and healthcare professionals, as well as their representative organisations within their regions.
Additionally, all MHRA safety alerts and guidance signpost users to the Yellow Card scheme, and by law, every patient information leaflet that comes with a medicine includes information signposting patients to report suspected side effects via the Yellow Card scheme. There is also information on the importance of reporting to the Yellow Card scheme on all repeat paper prescriptions given to patients.
On World Patient Safety Day, most recently 17 September 2025, the MHRA announced that statutory relationships, sex, and health education guidance for schools in England would, for the first time, include information on recognising side effects and reporting them via the Yellow Card scheme. This initiative introduces children and young people to patient safety early, empowering them to speak up and contribute to safer healthcare.
The MHRA also proactively promotes awareness through presence at conferences such as the annual Health and Safety Journal Patient Safety Congress. In addition, the MHRA also supports a number of campaigns including MedSafetyWeek, which is now an annual international social media campaign which includes 117 countries that the MHRA initiated 10 years ago, to raise awareness of medicines safety and adverse incident reporting.
The MHRA has worked with the National Health Service to ensure that there are links to Yellow Card across every single NHS page relating to a medicine or vaccine, and the MHRA is also building upon this by working with NHS colleagues to support better links between the NHS app and Yellow Card, aiming for increased visibility of the Yellow Card scheme and improved reporting of suspected reactions by the public.
Together, these measures increase public awareness of the Yellow Card scheme, helping protect patient safety and strengthen monitoring of medicines and medical devices.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2025 to Question 96915, what assessment he has made of the levels of variation in compliance with the 72-hour follow-up requirement between integrated care boards.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national ambition is for all mental health trusts to ensure 80% of patients discharged from adult acute mental health inpatient settings are followed up within 72 hours, and is intended to bring focus not just to the timeliness of follow-up, but also to the quality of pre and post-discharge care and safety planning and support. NHS England routinely monitors performance against this target at an integrated care board (ICB) level, which is subject to the same quality and performance oversight as other national targets.
This expectation is reinforced through national statutory guidance on Discharge from mental health inpatient settings, and data on performance is also published on a monthly basis, with 75% of discharges in October 2025 meeting the ambition. Over 40% of ICBs met or exceeded the target in October 2025. Further information on the Discharge from mental health inpatient settings guidance and the monthly data is available respectively, at the following two links:
The timeliness of follow-up support is linked to the capacity of community teams and pathways between inpatient and community services which vary across the country. Mental health services are facing significant pressures with more people being seen than ever before. Ongoing improvements in community mental healthcare and work to localise and realign inpatient mental health care within ICBs is expected to improve the national picture.
While the central metric of the new standard focuses on the timeliness of follow up, the overarching expectation is that this will incentivise focus on overall quality of discharge planning and support. This is expected to have a direct impact on patient experience as well as outcomes. The Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 includes the expectation that plans should be set out for the consistent and systematic use of the mental health Urgent and Emergency Care Action Cards in all relevant settings, namely acute settings, and delivery of the 10 high-impact actions for mental health discharges to support flow through all mental health, including child and adolescent mental health, and learning disability and autism pathways. Further information on the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 and mental health discharges is available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/urgent-and-emergency-care-plan-2025-26/
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2025 to Question 96915 on Mental Health Services: Standards, what steps he is taking to ensure that all people discharged from Integrated Care Board commissioned inpatient mental health services are followed up within 72 hours.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national ambition is for all mental health trusts to ensure 80% of patients discharged from adult acute mental health inpatient settings are followed up within 72 hours, and is intended to bring focus not just to the timeliness of follow-up, but also to the quality of pre and post-discharge care and safety planning and support. NHS England routinely monitors performance against this target at an integrated care board (ICB) level, which is subject to the same quality and performance oversight as other national targets.
This expectation is reinforced through national statutory guidance on Discharge from mental health inpatient settings, and data on performance is also published on a monthly basis, with 75% of discharges in October 2025 meeting the ambition. Over 40% of ICBs met or exceeded the target in October 2025. Further information on the Discharge from mental health inpatient settings guidance and the monthly data is available respectively, at the following two links:
The timeliness of follow-up support is linked to the capacity of community teams and pathways between inpatient and community services which vary across the country. Mental health services are facing significant pressures with more people being seen than ever before. Ongoing improvements in community mental healthcare and work to localise and realign inpatient mental health care within ICBs is expected to improve the national picture.
While the central metric of the new standard focuses on the timeliness of follow up, the overarching expectation is that this will incentivise focus on overall quality of discharge planning and support. This is expected to have a direct impact on patient experience as well as outcomes. The Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 includes the expectation that plans should be set out for the consistent and systematic use of the mental health Urgent and Emergency Care Action Cards in all relevant settings, namely acute settings, and delivery of the 10 high-impact actions for mental health discharges to support flow through all mental health, including child and adolescent mental health, and learning disability and autism pathways. Further information on the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 and mental health discharges is available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/urgent-and-emergency-care-plan-2025-26/
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 raise public awareness of the risks of taking multiple doses of different over-the-counter medicines which contain the same active ingredient.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department with responsibility for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of quality, efficacy, and safety. The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 lays out the conditions of the licencing and marketing of a medicine. This includes the information which must be provided with the medicinal product.
Schedule 24 specifies that the outer and immediate packaging of medicinal products must display the name of the medicinal product, the strength and pharmaceutical form, and when the product contains more than three active substances, the common name for the active substances. In addition, regulation 259 states that packaging or outer label should present the name in braille for the blind or partially sighted. In addition, schedule 24 states that the labelling should display the contents, for instance the number of tablets, where to store, expiry date, the manufacturers name, and any special precautions relating to the product.
The MHRA has recently updated voluntary Best Practice Guidance on the general sale of medicines for pain, to further highlight the risks of overdose, to address public concerns and recognise current sales techniques. Links are also provided to patient support groups, including Papyrus for young people. The update was undertaken in collaboration with retailers, stakeholders and healthcare professionals, and the updated guidance is avaiable at the following link:
Most retailers adhere to the guidelines on not promoting multiple purchases and have introduced in store measures such as till bars that restrict sales to a maximum of two packs across a range of products containing aspirin, paracetamol, or ibuprofen. The aim of these voluntary measures is to balance the need of people for access to pain relief medicines against the dangers for vulnerable individuals and to reduce the opportunity for customers to purchase on impulse excessive quantities of any single analgesic, like paracetamol, aspirin, or ibuprofen.
Paracetamol and ibuprofen are well-known medicines for pain, which when taken as recommended, have well-established safety profiles. The vast majority of patients use these medicines responsibly as effective pain-relievers.
The use of paracetamol and accidental overdose is a safety concern, especially in relation to the many trade names of non-prescription and prescription medicines containing paracetamol. Therefore, the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 contain a number of conditions for the presentation of these medicines to highlight the presence of paracetamol in a medicine.
Schedule 25, Part 4 of the Human Medicines Regulations sets out statutory labelling requirements for paracetamol medicines to highlight the presence of paracetamol in that product. Paragraph 14 states that, except where the name of the product includes the word “paracetamol” and appears on the outer and immediate packaging, the words “contains paracetamol” should be displayed.
Paragraph 15 states that the labelling must highlight paracetamol on the front face of the carton or label and should also contain the warning: “Do not take more medicine than the label tells you to. If you do not get better, talk to your doctor”, which must appear adjacent to either the directions for use or the recommended dosage.
Further to this, if the product contains a leaflet, paragraph 16 states that if the product contains paracetamol, unless the product is wholly or mainly intended for children aged 12 years old or younger, the words “Do not take anything else containing paracetamol while taking this medicine” and the warning “Talk to a doctor at once if you take too much of this medicine, even if you feel well” must be included. If the product does not contain a leaflet, then the words “Talk to a doctor at once if you take too much of this medicine, even if you feel well. This is because too much paracetamol can cause delayed, serious liver damage” should be displayed.
Schedule 8 of the regulations also set out the material which must accompany any application for the marketing of a medicine. The Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) as referenced in part 2, for healthcare professionals, provides a summary of the clinical particulars in the use of a medicine, including the recommended maximum daily dose. In addition, particulars in reference to overdose are provided. This includes the potential dose over which liver damage may occur and potential risk factors which may elevate the risk of overdose, including medical history, concomitant medicines, or alcohol intake. A summary of the symptoms of overdose and management are also provided.
The market authorisation holders are obligated under the Human Medicines Regulations to continually review the safety of their medicines and to inform the MHRA of any serious adverse reactions. The MHRA continues to monitor the safety of all medicines and if necessary, will take advice from our independent experts on recommended regulatory action. The MHRA provides a list of the SmPCs and patient leaflets for all medicines at the following link:
Additional resources on product information and the treatment of overdose are available from the British National Formulary (BNF), the electronic medicines compendium, the National Poisons Information Service, and National Health Service, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/paracetamol-for-adults/
The Human Medicines Regulations and the BNF highlight the information that is required in general and electronic prescriptions.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 reasons for ICB non-compliance with the 72-hour follow-up requirement for mental health inpatients.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national ambition is for all mental health trusts to ensure 80% of patients discharged from adult acute mental health inpatient settings are followed up within 72 hours, and is intended to bring focus not just to the timeliness of follow-up, but also to the quality of pre and post-discharge care and safety planning and support. NHS England routinely monitors performance against this target at an integrated care board (ICB) level, which is subject to the same quality and performance oversight as other national targets.
This expectation is reinforced through national statutory guidance on Discharge from mental health inpatient settings, and data on performance is also published on a monthly basis, with 75% of discharges in October 2025 meeting the ambition. Over 40% of ICBs met or exceeded the target in October 2025. Further information on the Discharge from mental health inpatient settings guidance and the monthly data is available respectively, at the following two links:
The timeliness of follow-up support is linked to the capacity of community teams and pathways between inpatient and community services which vary across the country. Mental health services are facing significant pressures with more people being seen than ever before. Ongoing improvements in community mental healthcare and work to localise and realign inpatient mental health care within ICBs is expected to improve the national picture.
While the central metric of the new standard focuses on the timeliness of follow up, the overarching expectation is that this will incentivise focus on overall quality of discharge planning and support. This is expected to have a direct impact on patient experience as well as outcomes. The Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 includes the expectation that plans should be set out for the consistent and systematic use of the mental health Urgent and Emergency Care Action Cards in all relevant settings, namely acute settings, and delivery of the 10 high-impact actions for mental health discharges to support flow through all mental health, including child and adolescent mental health, and learning disability and autism pathways. Further information on the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 and mental health discharges is available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/urgent-and-emergency-care-plan-2025-26/
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will introduce additional safeguards for patients assessed as being at higher risk of harm following discharge from mental health inpatient wards.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national ambition is for all mental health trusts to ensure 80% of patients discharged from adult acute mental health inpatient settings are followed up within 72 hours, and is intended to bring focus not just to the timeliness of follow-up, but also to the quality of pre and post-discharge care and safety planning and support. NHS England routinely monitors performance against this target at an integrated care board (ICB) level, which is subject to the same quality and performance oversight as other national targets.
This expectation is reinforced through national statutory guidance on Discharge from mental health inpatient settings, and data on performance is also published on a monthly basis, with 75% of discharges in October 2025 meeting the ambition. Over 40% of ICBs met or exceeded the target in October 2025. Further information on the Discharge from mental health inpatient settings guidance and the monthly data is available respectively, at the following two links:
The timeliness of follow-up support is linked to the capacity of community teams and pathways between inpatient and community services which vary across the country. Mental health services are facing significant pressures with more people being seen than ever before. Ongoing improvements in community mental healthcare and work to localise and realign inpatient mental health care within ICBs is expected to improve the national picture.
While the central metric of the new standard focuses on the timeliness of follow up, the overarching expectation is that this will incentivise focus on overall quality of discharge planning and support. This is expected to have a direct impact on patient experience as well as outcomes. The Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 includes the expectation that plans should be set out for the consistent and systematic use of the mental health Urgent and Emergency Care Action Cards in all relevant settings, namely acute settings, and delivery of the 10 high-impact actions for mental health discharges to support flow through all mental health, including child and adolescent mental health, and learning disability and autism pathways. Further information on the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 and mental health discharges is available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/urgent-and-emergency-care-plan-2025-26/
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency plans to update its public communications strategy to increase the reporting of adverse reactions to medical supplements.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department and regulates medicines, for human use, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom.
If a “medical supplement” was covered by the definition of a medicinal product as set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, or the definition of a medical device under Medical Devices Regulations, it would fall under the remit of the MHRA and would be subject to the relevant regulatory requirements. Food supplements are regulated by the Food Standards Agency.
Ongoing efforts to raise awareness of the Yellow Card scheme will enhance public understanding of the scheme’s remit and the range of healthcare products it covers, including the reporting of suspected side effects associated with herbal and/or homeopathic medicines, as set out in existing information and general awareness materials available on the Yellow Card scheme website.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 undertaken of the potential impact of Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency winter wellness campaigns during the last five years.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The main Government health winter campaigns are run by the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England, which the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) supports.
The MHRA also runs annual winter campaigns to raise public awareness of medicines and medical devices safety that achieves media coverage and social media engagement.
For example, the MHRA’s 2025/26 campaign provided five public safety tips covering medicines and medical devices. It achieved media coverage in national print and online, regional and trade press, as well as an interview on BBC One Breakfast.
The MHRA created and posted social media content throughout this period which was seen approximately 50,000 times. The MHRA also worked with key stakeholders, such as the National Fire Chiefs Council, to help amplify safety messages.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Yellow Card reports on over‑the‑counter cough and cold medicines were received in each of the last five years.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) publishes information in the form of interactive Drug Analysis Profiles which can be accessed here on the Yellow Card website, at the following link:
https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/idaps
You will be able to access a complete listing of all suspected adverse drug reactions that have been reported to the MHRA via the Yellow Card scheme for all medicines, including medicines used to treat coughs and colds. This includes all reports received from healthcare professionals, members of the public, and pharmaceutical companies.
Please note information regarding whether a drug was prescribed or purchased over the counter is not mandatory to provide on a Yellow Card and as such we do not capture this information in a structured data field to be able to provide as part of this request.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether additional resources have been provided to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to support winter‑related medicine safety surveillance.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department and regulates medicines for human use, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and efficacy.
Safety surveillance activity at the MHRA is funded through the annual service fee. Recent and sufficient fee increases mean that this funding now covers all required surveillance activity, with separate Living with COVID funding helping to support periods of peak demand.