Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 help tackle the harm caused by sodium valproate to people in (a) England, (b) Warwickshire, and (c) Stratford-on-Avon.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone who has been harmed from sodium valproate has our deepest sympathies.
The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, First Do No Harm, identified significant shortcomings in National Health Service care pathways for people harmed by sodium valproate, including fragmented services, limited diagnostic expertise, delays in diagnosis, and inequitable access to multidisciplinary care.
In response, NHS England has commissioned a Fetal Exposure to Medicines Services Pilot, being delivered by the NHS in Newcastle and Manchester. The pilot provides multidisciplinary diagnostic assessment and is informing the development of improved care pathways, better coordination of care, and reduced reliance on emergency care. Findings from the pilot will inform future decisions on the commissioning of services, subject to funding.
The Government is also carefully considering the Patient Safety Commissioner’s recommendations made in the Hughes Report, which includes proposed approaches to redress for those harmed by sodium valproate. I recently met the Patient Safety Commissioner to provide an update on the ongoing health initiatives led by the Department regarding sodium valproate and pelvic mesh, and agreed to providing an update on her report recommendations in due course.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing NHS provision of scleral contact lenses for patients with complex corneal conditions.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Scleral contact lenses can be funded by the National Health Service for hospital eye service patients if there is a clinical need.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the processing time for claims made under the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our deepest sympathies are with those who have experienced harm following vaccination and with their families. Ministers recognise that concerns have been raised with the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) and continue to consider potential reforms to the scheme.
In parallel, the Department has been working with the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA), the administrators of the VDPS, to process claims at a faster rate. The time it takes to process a claim depends on the complexity of the case and the length of time healthcare providers take to supply the requested medical records. The NHS BSA is engaging with healthcare providers to improve the return rate of these records, which is essential to assessing claims, including though submitting subject access requests.
Information on COVID-19 claims to the VDPS is published on a quarterly basis by the NHS BSA. Further information is available at the following link:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/vdps-covid-19
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will undertake a review of the effectiveness of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our deepest sympathies are with those who have experienced harm following vaccination and with their families. Ministers recognise that concerns have been raised with the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) and continue to consider potential reforms to the scheme.
In parallel, the Department has been working with the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA), the administrators of the VDPS, to process claims at a faster rate. The time it takes to process a claim depends on the complexity of the case and the length of time healthcare providers take to supply the requested medical records. The NHS BSA is engaging with healthcare providers to improve the return rate of these records, which is essential to assessing claims, including though submitting subject access requests.
Information on COVID-19 claims to the VDPS is published on a quarterly basis by the NHS BSA. Further information is available at the following link:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/vdps-covid-19
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the potential implications for his policies of regional variation in access to cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBTi) across England.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made. It is for local integrated care boards to decide whether treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia should be offered to their local populations as a treatment for insomnia.
NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression offer low-intensity therapy which may include interventions around sleep hygiene. Individuals who are experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression can be referred by their general practitioner, or can self-refer, to NHS Talking Therapies. People can also access helpful resources on sleep problems on the Every Mind Matters website at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-health-issues/sleep/
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of how NHS services support people with coeliac disease who are facing financial difficulties.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the pressures people are facing with the rising cost of living and the increased costs incurred by people with coeliac disease because they have to buy gluten-free options, which are often more expensive than their non-gluten-free equivalents.
The Department carried out an analysis of this issue as part of its Equalities Impact Assessment which was published as part of the consultation on the Availability of gluten-free foods on prescription in primary care. A copy of the assessment following this consultation is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/availability-of-gluten-free-foods-on-nhs-prescription
We looked at the equality impact assessment and the consultation responses and, as a result, made the decision to retain gluten-free bread and mixes on National Health Service prescription. This will help enable people with coeliac disease to obtain their basic food needs and mitigate the risk that those on lower incomes are not able to purchase their own gluten-free foods from retail outlets.
The national prescribing position in England remains that gluten-free bread and mixes can be provided to all eligible coeliac patients on an NHS prescription, and a wide range of these items continue to be listed in Part XV of the Drug Tariff. This means that prescribers can issue NHS prescriptions, based on a shared decision between prescriber and patient, while also being mindful of local and national guidance.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of redundancy on access to levy-funded leadership development for experienced NHS staff; and whether he plans to introduce mitigations to prevent the loss of training opportunities following involuntary redundancy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of redundancy on access to levy-funded development for experienced National Health Service staff.
The Department for Education issues guidance for all apprentices who are at risk of redundancy, which is available on their website. This sets out the terms for supporting apprentices at risk of redundancy and for continuing to fund their apprenticeships following redundancy.
To further bolster training opportunities for experienced NHS staff, NHS England is expanding some national leadership and development offers, increasing flexible and mid-career offers, and widening access based on skills and potential rather than linear progression. Additional targeted outreach and career support are being used in places to encourage participation from experienced staff, including during periods of organisational change.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many neurologists working in the NHS have specialist training in Parkinson’s disease in (a) England and (b) Coventry and Warwickshire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold a central count of the number of specialist Parkinson’s nurses employed across the National Health Service, either in England as a whole or in Coventry and Warwickshire specifically.
Specialist Parkinson’s nurses play a vital role in supporting people with Parkinson’s disease through personalised care, medicines management, and advice on self‑management. However, these posts are not recorded as a discrete workforce category in national workforce datasets. Workforce planning, including decisions about the number and type of specialist nurses needed locally, is the responsibility of individual employers and their integrated care boards (ICBs), which are best placed to assess the needs of their populations.
The Department does not hold data on the number of neurologists with specialist training in Parkinson’s disease, either nationally in England or within Coventry and Warwickshire. National workforce datasets do not record condition‑specific sub‑specialisms within neurology, and responsibility for determining local specialist workforce configurations rests with individual employers and ICBs.
As of October 2025, there are 51 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of neurology within the Coventry and Warwickshire ICB area. This is a decrease of one, or 2.2%, compared to last year and an increase of 23, or 79.3%, compared to five years ago. This includes 21 FTE consultants. This is an increase of two, or 9.9%, compared to last year and six, or 41.5%, compared to five years ago.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many specialist Parkinson’s nurses are currently employed within the NHS in (a) England and (b) Coventry and Warwickshire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold a central count of the number of specialist Parkinson’s nurses employed across the National Health Service, either in England as a whole or in Coventry and Warwickshire specifically.
Specialist Parkinson’s nurses play a vital role in supporting people with Parkinson’s disease through personalised care, medicines management, and advice on self‑management. However, these posts are not recorded as a discrete workforce category in national workforce datasets. Workforce planning, including decisions about the number and type of specialist nurses needed locally, is the responsibility of individual employers and their integrated care boards (ICBs), which are best placed to assess the needs of their populations.
The Department does not hold data on the number of neurologists with specialist training in Parkinson’s disease, either nationally in England or within Coventry and Warwickshire. National workforce datasets do not record condition‑specific sub‑specialisms within neurology, and responsibility for determining local specialist workforce configurations rests with individual employers and ICBs.
As of October 2025, there are 51 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of neurology within the Coventry and Warwickshire ICB area. This is a decrease of one, or 2.2%, compared to last year and an increase of 23, or 79.3%, compared to five years ago. This includes 21 FTE consultants. This is an increase of two, or 9.9%, compared to last year and six, or 41.5%, compared to five years ago.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 help address Creon shortages in the NHS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is aware of ongoing intermittent supply issues with pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT), including Creon capsules. Supplies of Creon and other licensed alternatives have improved in the past year, and specialist importers have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market. We continue to work closely with the manufacturers to resolve the issues as soon as possible and to ensure patients have continuous access to medicines.
We have widely disseminated comprehensive guidance to healthcare professionals about these supply issues, which provide advice on how to manage patients whilst there is disruption to supply. This includes serious shortage protocols to limit prescriptions to one month’s supply to ensure equitable distribution of available supplies and that Creon remains available for those patients who need it. The Department has issued additional management advice to healthcare professionals which directs clinicians to consider the unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable and includes actions for integrated care boards to have local mitigation plans in place and implemented to ensure that no patient is left without PERT.
The Department also routinely engages with the affected patient advocacy groups and charities, clinicians, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure they are kept informed on the latest supply picture and any communications issued.