Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of (a) the number of patients affected by Essential Tremor in Liverpool and (b) how many of those patients will receive magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound treatment for that condition in financial year 2022-23.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made regarding the number of patients with essential tremor in Liverpool. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust provide this treatment in England and meet patient demand. There are no current plans to expand the number of providers.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to support the improvement of eye care services in Liverpool, Riverside constituency.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity, including for eye care services in Liverpool. NHS England is working with partners to support outpatient ophthalmology services closer to home and in the community through the use of technology and workforce skills in primary and secondary care.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if is her policy to continue the development of the 10 year mental health plan on which the Government consulted in April 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In response to the mental health and wellbeing call for evidence earlier this year, we received 5,273 submissions from a range of stakeholders in England. We are currently considering these responses and further information will be available in due course.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the call for evidence for the Mental health and wellbeing plan, published by her Department on 12 April 2022, whether it is still her Department's policy to publish a 10-year mental health plan.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In response to the mental health and wellbeing call for evidence, we received 5,273 submissions from a range of stakeholders in England. We are currently considering these responses and further information will be available in due course.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made (a) podiatry vacancy rates in the NHS in Liverpool Riverside constituency and (b) the impact these vacancies will have on patient treatment for diabetic foot complications.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department does not hold information on podiatry vacancies at a constituency level and therefore no specific assessment of the rate or its impact on services has been made.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the reported covid-19 vaccine deaths to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Yellow Card Scheme have (a) been investigated and (b) been found to be related to the vaccines.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) investigates all reports of fatal or serious adverse drug reactions (ADRs) related to the COVID-19 vaccines as a priority.
However, an ADR report associated with a fatal outcome does not determine that the vaccine was the cause of death. The MHRA assesses information received through the Yellow Card scheme to determine the likelihood of an association between the vaccine and any suspected ADR. This involves consideration of the overall pattern of reports and whether more events than would normally be expected have occurred in the general population. However, the MHRA does not assess whether an individual’s death was directly caused by a vaccine.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
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 improve the recruitment, retention and progression of care workers.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
In the short to medium term we are developing a knowledge and skills framework, providing hundreds and thousands of training places, and delivering initiatives to support wellbeing, as outlined in our People at the Heart of Care White Paper and backed by at least £500 million. This investment will have long term benefits, boosting recruitment and retention of staff, whilst providing opportunities for staff to progress and undertake continuous professional development that demonstrates value to employers.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the letter from the Minister of State for Care and Mental Health to the Rt hon. Member for South West Surrey of 20 April 2022, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals on early intervention and school and community-based measures for the mental health support of children and young people.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) on 17 May 2022 to Question 199.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will reconsider the decision that the UKHSA will scale down the COVID-19 Infection Survey (CIS) announced in the Government’s Living with COVID-19 Strategy, published on 21 February 2022.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Government will continue monitoring the virus through maintaining surveillance studies such as the Office for National Statistics’ COVID-19 Infection Survey and other data sources, including genomic sequencing. The Government will keep all surveillance activities under review to ensure we have the capabilities to monitor waves of COVID-19 and defend against future variants.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will extend the provision of free covid-19 tests to the unpaid carers of clinically vulnerable individuals in the community.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The testing regimes for adult social care after 1 April 2022 are currently under review. Further details will be provided in due course.