Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his plans are to ensure the future protection for immunocompromised or immunosuppressed groups who are potentially at greater risk from covid-19 than the general population after the rollout of the vaccine.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Immunocompromised individuals are a priority cohort for research into therapeutic and prophylaxis treatments, such as monoclonal antibody therapies and repurposed compounds. The new Antivirals Taskforce is also identifying effective treatments for patients who have been exposed to the virus to prevent the spread of infection spreading and accelerate recovery time. The National Health Service is also developing plans to deploy monoclonal antibody therapies if these become available.
We are ensuring the supply of these treatments in the event that they are found to be effective at treating COVID-19, including for immunocompromised individuals.
Until these treatments are available, patients with immunosuppression are advised to continue to follow advice to reduce their chance of exposure.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish communications on the potential continued risk to immunocompromised and immunosuppressed groups who may not receive the same level of protection from the covid-19 vaccines as the general population.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
On 12 July, we published updated guidance for the clinically extremely vulnerable, including those who are immunocompromised and immunosuppressed, in light of the lifting of restrictions on 19 July. The guidance is available at the following link:
The Deputy Chief Medical Officer and NHS England’s National Medical Director wrote to clinicians on 16 July regarding immunosuppressed patients to provide an overview of the information available to date regarding vaccine efficacy in the immunosuppressed. This included additional information to inform conversations clinicians may have with patients who are immunosuppressed.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
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 reduce the number of people with sarcoma who are diagnosed at stages three and four.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
People diagnosed with sarcoma and those with a family history or risk factors are able to access genomics tests as commissioned through the NHS England genomics test directory to aid early diagnosis and treatment options.
There are fifteen specialist soft tissue sarcoma cancer centres and five specialist bone sarcoma centres in England. All accept referrals for patients with suspected diagnoses from genomics results or primary or acute care, thereby improving early diagnosis and treatments. Specialists sarcoma centres provide a full range of sarcoma care, ranging from diagnostics, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and any long-term follow-up. This can also include specialist palliative care and survivorship, when provided by a specialist cancer centre.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
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 extent of the UK’s access to monoclonal antibody therapies as an alternative to covid-19 vaccines.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Therapeutics Taskforce continues to monitor a range of COVID-19 therapeutics, including monoclonal antibodies, aimed at different stages of the treatment pathway. There has been a collaboration with the Vaccines Taskforce to assess the potential of neutralising monoclonal antibodies to provide passive immunity as an alternative to COVID-19 vaccines. We continue to work closely with the cross-agency group RAPID C-19, to assess evidence from clinical trials and delivery to patients, following regulatory approval.
We are in contact with a number of manufacturers to ensure that United Kingdom patients have access to COVID-19 therapeutics as evidence continues to emerge.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to provide funding for research into covid-19 vaccine efficacy among all types of blood cancer.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
As part of the COVID-19 Immunity National Core Study, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is providing initial funding of £1.8 million for 12 months towards the OCTAVE study, examining the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in clinically at-risk groups and £3 million towards a new research call to support projects investigating COVID-19 vaccine responses and immune failure. UKRI is also supporting the COVID-19 Data and Connectivity National Core Studies Programme with an investment of up to £15.2 million, which will enable studies including the evaluation of vaccine uptake and efficacy across all populations, including people with blood cancer.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to measure the value of covid-19 vaccine boosters for (a) people with blood cancer and (b) other immunocompromised groups.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
To ensure ongoing protection for the United Kingdom population, particularly the most vulnerable, we are preparing for a potential booster vaccination programme. While we are planning for several potential scenarios, final decisions on the timing and scope of the booster programme will not be taken until later this year, in line with results from key clinical studies. This includes the OCTAVE study, which will examine the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in clinically at-risk groups, including patients with certain immunocompromised conditions such as blood cancer.
Any decision on a booster vaccination programme will be informed by independent advice from the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the failure to collect completed tests from a number of care homes, whether there has been a problem with the courier system for the collection of covid-19 tests from care homes; how many incidences of a failure to collect completed tests there have been in England; what steps he is taking to investigate the failure to collect completed tests from care homes; and what steps he is taking to ensure new tests are carried out at those homes.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the rare case where logistical issues have been identified, we have a dedicated team who are able to further investigate and respond.
Between 30 July and 5 August 2020, 43.3% of test results for satellite testing, which includes care home testing, were received within 48 hours of the test being taken. Care homes predominantly use satellite test kits as they need greater control and flexibility over when tests are collected. For example, tests may be conducted over multiple days with a collection scheduled a few days later.
Due to this, a lower proportion of test results will be available within 24 hours of the test being taken. We are encouraging more care homes to conduct testing over the weekend (Friday to Sunday) where possible to do so, to make better use of available lab capacity which should support faster turn-around times.
Turnaround times for tests conducted under Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 are published weekly on GOV.uk as part of the Weekly NHS Test and Trace Bulletin.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to ensure that the Statutory Guidance to the Domestic Abuse Act 2020 includes best practice on interventions in health to ensure that they are implemented consistently throughout (a) care commissioning group and (b) NHS trust areas.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care regularly speaks to Cabinet colleagues.
As set out in the NHS Constitution for England, the National Health Service aspires to the highest standards of excellence and professionalism, with the patient at the heart of everything the NHS does.
Best practice is already shared in a number of ways, including through events, guidance and resources such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality standards. Accountability and regulatory structures are also in place to ensure commissioned health services meet high standards of quality and safety.
In this case, the new Domestic Abuse Commissioner will help drive further consistency and better performance in the response to domestic abuse across all local areas and agencies.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to ensure the adequacy of funding for (a) best practice and (b) evidence-based interventions throughout the health service for victims and survivors of domestic abuse in the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care regularly speaks to Cabinet colleagues. Funding is agreed with HM Treasury and funding beyond 2020/21 will be addressed through the next Spending Review due later this year.
Taking a multi-agency approach is important to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse. The Ministry of Justice will be developing a cross-Government victim funding strategy to ensure a strategic and joined-up approach to funding at both national and local level to maximise the impact of support we provide to victims and witnesses.
The Department will continue working with our partners to share best practice. The Pathfinder project developed a toolkit which is available for free online and aims to support development of a model health response to domestic abuse.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure the adequacy of funding for the effective provision of (a) services and (b) referrals in relation to incidences of violence against women and girls.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The National Health Service will see its day-to-day spending rise by £33.9 billion in cash terms by 2023-24, compared with 2018-2019, and the public health grant saw a real term increase to £3.279 billion in 2020/21. Responsibility for local decisions on funding services rest with the local areas to meet the needs of their population.
There are a wide range of healthcare services that victims and survivors of violence against women and girls may access. This includes sexual assault referral centres and female genital mutilation support clinics. The 47 sexual assault referral centres received £35 million in 2019/20, rising from £27 million in 2017/18.
We will continue to work across Government and agencies to ensure the effective provision of services to support victims and survivors and support multi-agency working and referrals.