Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jane Ellison and Henry Smith(8 years ago)
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Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
T4. Last month, Coperforma took on the patient transport contract for Sussex. Unfortunately, since then there have been unacceptable and serious delays for some very sick and elderly patients. May I have assurances that the Department of Health will follow up this issue?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Jane Ellison)
Sussex CCGs are responsible for monitoring Coperforma’s performance, and High Weald Lewes Havens CCG acknowledges that, as my hon. Friend said, the early performance of the new non-emergency patient transport service has not been acceptable. For that reason, the CCG, on behalf of all Sussex CCGs, has begun an inquiry, with the aim of making a report available by June, and with interim progress reports. We will of course monitor the issue carefully.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jane Ellison and Henry Smith(8 years, 10 months ago)
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Jane Ellison
The message is actually very clear, as we have labelling on over 90% of bottles. As the hon. Gentleman knows from the debates we have had on the subject, it is a difficult area and there is no consistent evidence of adverse effects from low to moderate pre-natal alcohol consumption. I have talked this through with the chief medical officer: we have to get the balance right between warning women and responding to the important stats the hon. Gentleman has mentioned, without causing unnecessary worry for the around 50% of women who do not plan their pregnancy and might have drunk alcohol before they realised they were pregnant.
Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
14. What steps the Government are taking to improve support for children and young people with mental health problems.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jane Ellison and Henry Smith(9 years, 11 months ago)
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Jane Ellison
Before I respond to the substantive point, it is worth saying that there is a spectrum of disorders and some of the diagnoses on certain parts of the spectrum are quite difficult. We have statistics on foetal alcohol syndrome and there is no evidence that that is increasing, although we seem to be diagnosing more in younger children. Also, the women to whom this tends to happen are extremely difficult to reach through public education campaigns as many are subject to additional, complex factors.
On bottling, through the responsibility deal, there was a commitment to get 80% of alcoholic drinks on the market labelled. That is being independently audited and is something we champion, not just with messages about drinking in pregnancy, but through guidance from the chief medical officer on drinking generally.
Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
Prevention is of course better than cure. What is my hon. Friend’s Department doing on better guidance and support for midwives and other groups such as the National Childbirth Trust to discourage expectant mothers from drinking alcohol?
Jane Ellison
One of the slight challenges in this area is that quite a lot of pregnancies are unplanned and people have sometimes been drinking alcohol before they know they are pregnant. However, a lot of advice is available. Along with health visitors and midwives—we are putting more resource into those areas—Public Health England’s “start for life” campaign provides advice to pregnant women. There are National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, including for those women to whom I referred earlier with complex social factors. A lot of information is available, and the chief medical officers are reviewing the guidance to people generally. The simple message to women who are hoping to conceive or who are pregnant is that it is best to avoid alcohol.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jane Ellison and Henry Smith(13 years, 10 months ago)
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Jane Ellison (Battersea) (Con)
6. If he will take steps to reduce the functions of the non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible.
Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
16. What steps he is taking to reduce the functions of non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible.