Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of cases that have been recorded where patients have complained of side effects from the use of Roaccutane in each year since 2014.
Answered by Edward Argar
Roaccutane is a brand name for the medicine isotretinoin which is authorised for the treatment of severe forms of acne. National data on the total number of patients who have experienced side effects after using isotretinoin is not available. The Yellow Card scheme operated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) collects information on suspected side effects in the United Kingdom. Since 2014, between 87 and 135 reports of side effects suspected to be associated with the use of isotretinoin have been received each year.
It is estimated that approximately 35,000 individuals receive isotretinoin each year in the UK. Estimates of the exact number of people treated with isotretinoin is not available as the dose is individualised based on the patient’s weight and their response to the medicine.
The product information for all medicines, including isotretinoin, contains advice about possible side effects and how to report them. Healthcare professionals receive the MHRA’s Drug Safety Update which includes information about possible side effects and any action which needs to be taken. Since 2014, the Drug Safety Update has included a number of articles on isotretinoin, including reminders on important risks and precautions.
The terms of the ongoing review of the risk of psychiatric and sexual side effects for isotretinoin include consideration of whether regulatory action is needed to ensure awareness of the risks associated with this medicine.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
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 potential risks to patient safety and data protection of using IT providers that do not meet the requirements of (a) DTAC and (b) DBC0129.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
A range of online consultation and video consultation solutions are available to procure through a Digital First, Online Consultation and Video Consultation (DFOCVC) procurement framework. The DFOCVC framework is underpinned by requirements as part of the Digital Care Services framework Capabilities & Standards Model. These requirements do not currently include compliance with the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC).
Of the suppliers on the framework, currently one supplier, Push Doctor Limited is known to have met the DTAC criteria through an assessment undertaken by NHSX in February 2021. Information on whether another National Health Service organisation has undertaken a DTAC assessment of another supplier on DFOCVC is not held centrally.
The DTAC, incorporating DBC0129, was introduced in February 2021 to ensure that digital health technologies and clinical health IT systems purchased by the NHS meet a baseline standard, including on patient safety and data protection. The DTAC is currently non-mandatory and relies on its use by procuring organisations. The Health and Care Bill proposes legislative changes to provide a mechanism for DTAC to be mandatory and enforceable. In the interim, NHS organisations are required to pay due attention as an Information Standards Notice. The use of DTAC is already advised in NHS guidance, including the What Good Looks Like framework.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many IT providers of video-conferencing services have met the NHS's Digital Technology Assessment Criteria since they were launched; and which companies have met those criteria.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
A range of online consultation and video consultation solutions are available to procure through a Digital First, Online Consultation and Video Consultation (DFOCVC) procurement framework. The DFOCVC framework is underpinned by requirements as part of the Digital Care Services framework Capabilities & Standards Model. These requirements do not currently include compliance with the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC).
Of the suppliers on the framework, currently one supplier, Push Doctor Limited is known to have met the DTAC criteria through an assessment undertaken by NHSX in February 2021. Information on whether another National Health Service organisation has undertaken a DTAC assessment of another supplier on DFOCVC is not held centrally.
The DTAC, incorporating DBC0129, was introduced in February 2021 to ensure that digital health technologies and clinical health IT systems purchased by the NHS meet a baseline standard, including on patient safety and data protection. The DTAC is currently non-mandatory and relies on its use by procuring organisations. The Health and Care Bill proposes legislative changes to provide a mechanism for DTAC to be mandatory and enforceable. In the interim, NHS organisations are required to pay due attention as an Information Standards Notice. The use of DTAC is already advised in NHS guidance, including the What Good Looks Like framework.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether all NHS clinical health IT systems providers are required under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to meet the (a) Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) and (b) DCB0129 clinical risk management standard.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The Digital Technology Assessment Criteria for Health and Social Care (DTAC) was introduced in February 2021 to ensure that digital health technologies and clinical health IT systems purchased by the National Health Service meet a baseline standard. This includes areas such as clinical safety, data protection and cyber security, bringing together legislation and good practice into a single framework. It encompasses the DCB0129 clinical risk management standard.
The DTAC is currently non-mandatory and relies on the procuring organisation making use of it. The Health and Care Bill will provide a mechanism for DTAC to be mandatory and enforceable. In the interim, it will be published as an Information Standards Notice which requires NHS organisations to pay due attention. The use of DTAC is already advised in NHS guidance, including the ‘What Good Looks Like framework’.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated for mental health support teams in schools and colleges in each year between 2018-19 and 2023-24; and what proportion of schools and colleges were covered by those teams in each year from 2018-19 to date.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The funding profile for mental health support teams and four week waiting time pilots is shown in the following table.
2018/19 £ million | 2019/20 £ million | 2020/21 £ million | 2021/221 £ million | 2022/23 £ million | 2023/24 £ million |
24 | 76 | 115 | 136 | 185 | 249 |
Source: Mental Health Implementation Plan, NHS England
Note:
1 Excludes funding provided as part of £79 million additional funding for children and young people’s mental health services in 2021/22.
Information on the number of schools and colleges covered by mental health support teams is not held centrally.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Government plans to fund a full roll out of mental health support teams to all schools and colleges.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We are planning for approximately 400 operational mental health support teams in schools and colleges in England by 2023, covering an estimated three million children and young people (around 35 per cent of pupils in England). This will be determined by future funding settlements.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many schools have withdrawn from the pilot programme to identify and limit the spread of covid-19 within schools without the use of bubbles; and for what reasons those schools have withdrawn from the programme.
Answered by Jo Churchill
This information is not currently available as the results of the pilot are still being validated.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the pilot testing programme to help identify and limit the spread of covid-19 within schools without the use of bubbles will be (a) available and (b) made public.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The pilot testing programme is being reviewed in light of recent changes to self-isolation policy and for the data from pilots and clinical trials to be assessed and validated.