Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are registered as having received covid-19 vaccines administered abroad, in (a) England, (b) the North West, (c) Lancashire and (d) Preston.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information is not collected in the format requested as individuals who have been vaccinated abroad can record multiple vaccination events.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cancer patients have not been seen within (a) the eight main operational standards for cancer waiting times and (b) the three key timeframes in which patients should be seen or treated as part of their cancer pathway in (i) England, (ii) the North West, (iii) Lancashire and (iv) Preston in each of the last three years.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 address the backlog in (a) CT and (b) MRI appointments.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services, including reducing the backlog of diagnostic services. By March 2025, 95% of patients needing a diagnostic test should receive it within six weeks.
We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to deliver over nine million additional treatments and diagnostic procedures over the next three years. We have also provided £2.3 billion to increase diagnostic activity and reduce patient waiting times through community diagnostic centres (CDCs), with up to 160 CDCs available by March 2025. CDCs will offer imaging services including computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 tackle the impact of staff absences due to the Omicron covid-19 variant on delivering care.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The National Health Service is providing additional guidance for managers to support staff affected by the impacts of COVID-19, such as signposting to wellbeing resources and mental health hubs. The deployment of a flexible workforce, such as temporary agency or bank staff, allows the NHS to meet fluctuations in demand and staffing levels.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a compensation scheme for NHS frontline workers who have been unable to return to work due to the impact of long covid.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No assessment has been made. COVID-19 is a new disease and it is not yet clear what the physical, psychological, rehabilitation and support needs will be for those experiencing long-term effects. As more evidence emerges, the Department of Health and Social Care will continue to work with the Department for Work and Pensions to consider the Government’s provisions and approach for those experiencing the long-term effects of the virus.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is the Government taking to address the backlog of dementia assessments.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to monitor trends in the dementia diagnosis rate each month. The national target is for 66.7% of people living with dementia to receive a formal diagnosis. Due to the pandemic, the estimated diagnosis declined in 2020 but increased in March 2021 and has remained stable. At the end of January 2022, the rate was 61.6%.
In 2021/22, £17 million was allocated to NHS England and NHS Improvement to address dementia waiting lists and increase the number of diagnoses. This funding was made available to clinical commissioning groups in June 2021. In 2022, we will set out our plans for dementia in England, including a focus on dementia diagnosis.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 tends in the level of dementia diagnoses in the UK.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to monitor trends in the dementia diagnosis rate each month. The national target is for 66.7% of people living with dementia to receive a formal diagnosis. Due to the pandemic, the estimated diagnosis declined in 2020 but increased in March 2021 and has remained stable. At the end of January 2022, the rate was 61.6%.
In 2021/22, £17 million was allocated to NHS England and NHS Improvement to address dementia waiting lists and increase the number of diagnoses. This funding was made available to clinical commissioning groups in June 2021. In 2022, we will set out our plans for dementia in England, including a focus on dementia diagnosis.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 implications for his policies of reports that Black and Asian women are more likely to die in (a) pregnancy and (b) childbirth than white women in the UK.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The latest MBRRACE-UK report on maternal deaths occurring in 2017 to 2019 identified a small decrease in the maternal mortality rate for women from black, Asian and mixed ethnic groups. However, there was no substantive change in the disparity in mortality rates between women from black ethnic groups or women from Asian and white ethnic groups.
On 23 February 2022, we announced plans to establish a Maternity Disparities Taskforce to tackle disparities and reduce maternal and neonatal deaths by improving access to effective pre-conception and maternity care for women from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas. The Taskforce will bring together experts from across the health system, Government departments and the voluntary sector.
On 6 September 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement published guidance for Local Maternity Systems, which focuses on actions to reduce disparities in health outcomes for women and babies from black, Asian and mixed ethnic groups and those living in the most deprived areas. This includes an investment of £6.8 million to support the implementation of local action plans.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 help ensure that pregnant women receive equitable care during (a) pregnancy and (b) childbirth.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
On 23 February 2022, we announced plans to establish a Maternity Disparities Taskforce to tackle disparities for mothers and babies and reduce maternal and neonatal deaths by improving access to equitable maternity care for mothers and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas.
On 6 September 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement published their Equity and Equality guidance for Local Maternity Systems to reduce disparities in health outcomes for women and babies from black, Asian and mixed ethnic groups and those living in the most deprived areas. This includes an investment of £6.8 million to support the implementation of local action plans.
Evidence that suggests continuity of carer is most effective for vulnerable and disadvantaged women. By 2024, we have committed that 75% of women from a black/black British and Asian/Asian British ethnic background and women from the 10% of neighbourhoods that are most deprived nationally will receive continuity of carer.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 assess the ethical implications of using artificial intelligence (AI) in the NHS.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
In February 2021, we launched the AI Ethics Initiative, as part of the NHS AI Lab, to support research and practical interventions that could strengthen the ethical adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in health and social care. The focus of the Initiative is to counter the inequalities which can arise as these technologies are developed and deployed. We are funding research to ensure AI accounts for the health needs of diverse communities and how it can improve health outcomes in minority ethnic populations. We are also funding research to discover insights and potential approaches to strengthen safeguards and parameters that govern the deployment of AI across healthcare, such as the potential to assess the societal impact before it is used.