Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Government will publish a response to the consultation on the fortification of flour with folic acid; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Further to the answer I gave on 4 February 2020 to Question 10331, we can confirm that no further progress has been made on publishing a response to the consultation due to COVID-19 pressures taking precedence. We cannot yet give an indication when the response will be published, but we will return to it, in conjunction with the devolved administrations, in due course.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the Government's guidance is on people (a) travelling and (b) travelling a distance of over 10 miles to visit someone who is dying at home from a non-covid-19 terminal illness.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 10 May, the Prime Minister released a statement explaining that everyone must stay at home wherever possible. People are allowed to leave home for limited purposes including medical need, such as caring for or supporting a vulnerable person. The Government has not set specific travel distance restrictions.
On 13 May 2020, National Health Service England published guidance on visitors for patients at the end of life in all settings - healthcare inpatient settings, care homes, hospices and at home. The considerations assert the rights of the dying to see their loved ones and/or to receive religious support. For end of life care at home, it is the healthcare professional’s role to advise on minimising risk while allowing close family members or friends to accompany and say goodbye to their loved ones. Practical considerations include the number of visitors at the bedside is limited to one close family contact or somebody important to the dying person. However, where it is possible to maintain social distancing throughout the visit, a second additional visitor (including a child) could be permitted.
The considerations aim to minimise risk of infection whilst allowing close family members or friends to accompany and say goodbye to their loved ones at the end of their life. This guidance applies to both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related illness.
More information can be found at the following link:
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to extend patient access to GP surgeries via (a) dial-in telephone lines, (b) skype and (c) other teleconferencing facilities to facilitate the remote working of GPs during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
NHSX and NHS England and NHS Improvement are supporting the rapid acceleration of the Digital First programme to ensure general practitioner (GP) practices in England have the ability to deliver total triage using online consultation and video consultations. At the same time we are ensuring every GP practice has an uncapped ability to send and receive text messages for a range of purposes e.g. reminders, invitations to video consultations, and ensuring that GP practices have sufficient telephone capacity to take and make telephone calls with patients.
In terms of general practice staff we are making sure that every GP practice has the capability to support remote working for staff including equipment, secure communications, smartcard access, software and access to support.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will discuss with the Royal College of Nursing the need to ensure that GP’s medical negligence insurance is extended to provide cover in the event GPs are required to provide medical support for neighbouring surgeries during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Arrangements are in place to indemnify healthcare professionals through one of the following state indemnity schemes:
- The Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts, if they are engaged by a National Health Service trust to provide NHS services; and
- Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice, if they are engaged by a general practitioner (GP) practice to provide NHS services (i.e. a GP practice, the main business of which is the provision of primary medical services for the NHS).
During the outbreak, existing indemnity arrangements will continue to cover the vast majority of NHS services, including staff working in a place that is not their ordinary place of work. To ensure there are no gaps in indemnity coverage, the Coronavirus Bill seeks additional powers to provide clinical negligence indemnity arising from NHS activities related to the COVID-19 outbreak, where there is no existing indemnity arrangement in place.
Departmental officials have discussed COVID-19 and indemnity with the Royal College of Nursing, and will continue this engagement.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the implementation timetable is for the provisions of the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department is working to implement the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019 which will replace the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards system with the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) system, in October 2020.
The Department has worked with health and social care organisations, the third sector, the Local Government Association, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, other Government departments, and experts with lived experience to develop chapters of the Liberty Protection Safeguards Code of Practice.
The draft Code of Practice and Regulations for the LPS system will be published for public consultation in the coming months.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for a decision on proposals on the mandatory fortfication of flour and gluten-free products with folic acid.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department published a United Kingdom-wide consultation on the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid which ran from 13 June to 9 September 2019. A post consultation update was made available on the Gov.UK website. We received 1,442 responses from a wide range of stakeholders. Due to the pre-election period, preparation of the Government response was put on hold. This is now being prepared and further information will be announced in due course. Any decisions will be made in conjunction with the devolved administrations.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to support people diagnosed with Erythropoietic Protoporphyria as a result of the decision by NICE not to license Scenesse.
Answered by Steve Brine
We have had no such discussions with patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has not yet published final guidance on the use of afamelanotide for treating erythropoietic protoporphyria. NICE’s final draft guidance, published in May 2018, is currently subject to an appeal lodged by the drug manufacturer and other bodies. The appeal is due to be heard by NICE’s appeal panel on 30 July.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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 people diagnosed with Erythropoietic Protoporphyria on the decision by NICE not to license Scenesse for availability on the NHS.
Answered by Steve Brine
We have had no such discussions with patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has not yet published final guidance on the use of afamelanotide for treating erythropoietic protoporphyria. NICE’s final draft guidance, published in May 2018, is currently subject to an appeal lodged by the drug manufacturer and other bodies. The appeal is due to be heard by NICE’s appeal panel on 30 July.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department intends to contact women who have moved to Wales who may not have been invited to their final breast screening due to computer failure as identified in the national breast screening programme in England; and what the timetable is for contacting those people.
Answered by Steve Brine
NHS Digital is working with all the devolved administrations to reconcile their respective record to trace the women affected. Once identified, Public Health England will send the appropriate letter to each of the identified women by the end of May 2018.
No assessment has been made on the number of women who have moved to Wales and may not have been invited to their final breast screening. NHS Digital is working with all devolved administrations to reconcile the record to confirm a number.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of women who have moved to Wales who may not have been invited to their final breast screening as a result of the computer failure in the national breast screening programme in England.
Answered by Steve Brine
NHS Digital is working with all the devolved administrations to reconcile their respective record to trace the women affected. Once identified, Public Health England will send the appropriate letter to each of the identified women by the end of May 2018.
No assessment has been made on the number of women who have moved to Wales and may not have been invited to their final breast screening. NHS Digital is working with all devolved administrations to reconcile the record to confirm a number.