Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to estimate the number of residents living in close proximity to Cuadrilla Resources' shale gas well at Preston New Road who have pre-existing health conditions potentially susceptible to aggravation by drilling for shale gas.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Public Health England (PHE) report, published in June 2014, concluded that the currently available evidence indicates that the potential risks to public health from exposure to chemical and radiological emissions associated with shale gas extraction will be low if the operations are properly run and regulated. PHE continues to review the evidence on the potential public health impacts of emissions associated with shale gas extraction.
The Director of Public Health at Lancashire County Council, commissioned a rapid health impact assessment of the shale gas exploratory stage, specifically the proposed sites at Roseacre Wood and Preston New Road, which included an assessment of the baseline health profile for residents within the Warton and Westby ward of the Fylde district. The relevant recommendations for the health community fell broadly into four areas; public engagement, health surveillance, health impact assessment and research. PHE is taking forward the recommendations relevant to their responsibilities.
PHE engages regularly with Government partners and agencies in respect of the PHE review recommendations. Actions include continued engagement with the regulators, supporting public engagement events in areas where shale gas developments are proposed, and participating in a baseline environmental monitoring project led by a British Geological Survey consortium:
http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/groundwater/shaleGas/monitoring/yorkshire.html
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department's assessment is of the potential implications of drilling for shale gas for the health of residents living in close proximity to shale gas well sites.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Public Health England (PHE) report, published in June 2014, concluded that the currently available evidence indicates that the potential risks to public health from exposure to chemical and radiological emissions associated with shale gas extraction will be low if the operations are properly run and regulated. PHE continues to review the evidence on the potential public health impacts of emissions associated with shale gas extraction.
The Director of Public Health at Lancashire County Council, commissioned a rapid health impact assessment of the shale gas exploratory stage, specifically the proposed sites at Roseacre Wood and Preston New Road, which included an assessment of the baseline health profile for residents within the Warton and Westby ward of the Fylde district. The relevant recommendations for the health community fell broadly into four areas; public engagement, health surveillance, health impact assessment and research. PHE is taking forward the recommendations relevant to their responsibilities.
PHE engages regularly with Government partners and agencies in respect of the PHE review recommendations. Actions include continued engagement with the regulators, supporting public engagement events in areas where shale gas developments are proposed, and participating in a baseline environmental monitoring project led by a British Geological Survey consortium:
http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/groundwater/shaleGas/monitoring/yorkshire.html
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the current budget is for treating dementia in prisons.
Answered by Ben Gummer
Prisoners with dementia should be offered the treatment and care they require, equivalent to that provided to people with similar needs in the community.
Health services in prisons are commissioned by NHS England to meet the health needs of prisoners. Every person entering a prison will have an initial health screen at reception where health needs are assessed and where appropriate referrals are made to other services. Prisoners with dementia who also have care and support needs will have these assessed and any eligible care needs will be met by the local authority in which the prison is situated.
The budget for treating dementia in prisons cannot be reported separately, as the prison healthcare budget is not disaggregated into specific treatment provision or diagnoses.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what services are currently provided for prison inmates with dementia.
Answered by Ben Gummer
Prisoners with dementia should be offered the treatment and care they require, equivalent to that provided to people with similar needs in the community.
Health services in prisons are commissioned by NHS England to meet the health needs of prisoners. Every person entering a prison will have an initial health screen at reception where health needs are assessed and where appropriate referrals are made to other services. Prisoners with dementia who also have care and support needs will have these assessed and any eligible care needs will be met by the local authority in which the prison is situated.
The budget for treating dementia in prisons cannot be reported separately, as the prison healthcare budget is not disaggregated into specific treatment provision or diagnoses.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2016 to Question 37187, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) improve the provision of care for patients with and (b) increase funding for research into lung diseases other than chronic pulmonary disease, asthma and lung cancer.
Answered by Jane Ellison
To help the National Health Service understand what a good quality service looks like, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence publishes quality standards which define best practice within the topic area. It has recently published quality standards on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (January 2015) and pneumonia (January 2016).
The National Institute for Health Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including any lung disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on funding research into improving the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Answered by George Freeman
The information requested is not available.
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) spent £25.5 million on respiratory disease research in 2014/15 (the latest available figure). Most of this investment (£16.6 million in 2014/15) is in infrastructure for respiratory research where spend on specific topics such as the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis cannot be separated from total infrastructure expenditure. This infrastructure includes NIHR biomedical research centres and the NIHR Clinical Research Network.
The NIHR manages the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme, which is funded by the Medical Research Council and NIHR. The programme is currently funding a £1.4 million efficacy and mechanism evaluation of treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with the addition of co-trimoxazole.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to make a decision on the drug Nivolumab becoming available under the Early Access to Medicines Scheme to treat patients with renal cell carcinoma.
Answered by George Freeman
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a positive scientific opinion concerning the use of nivolumab for renal cell carcinoma under the Early Access to Medicines Scheme on 11 February 2016. This scientific opinion has now lapsed as nivolumab has received its marketing authorisation for use in for renal cell carcinoma from the European Commission.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many current prison inmates have been diagnosed with dementia.
Answered by Ben Gummer
This information is not collected centrally by the Department or NHS England.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support innovation in assistive technology for use by people with dementia.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Dementia is a key priority for the Government. That is why in February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his Challenge on Dementia 2020. The Government will implement the Prime Minister’s Challenge in full to make sure that dementia care, support, awareness and research are transformed by 2020.
As part of the 2020 Challenge, we want to see greater provision of innovative and high quality dementia care, delivered in a way that is personalised and appropriate to the specific needs of the person with dementia, their family and carers. This includes providers incorporating new ideas including technology solutions into everyday practice. We also want to see research on assistive technologies and assisted living, including research on how information and communication technologies can best help people with dementia and carers.
The Department and NHS England recently launched seven ‘Test Bed Sites’ in England. These sites will evaluate the real world impact of technologies, testing them together with innovations in how the NHS services are delivered, to improve health and care outcomes. Three of the Test Beds will have a focus on dementia.
A number of programmes have been launched to support usage of technology for the benefit of people including those with dementia and their carers. These include:
- The Technology Enabled Care Services (TECS) Programme;
- A TECS resource for Commissioners; and
- The Small Business Research Initiative Healthcare and Regional Innovation Fund initiative.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) improve the provision of care for patients with lung disease and (b) increase funding for research into lung diseases.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Respiratory disease is specifically covered in the NHS Outcomes Framework and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published Quality Standards for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and lung cancer setting out the markers of high-quality, cost-effective care.
Expenditure by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) on research relating to respiratory disease has increased from £15.7 million in 2009/10 to £25.5 million in 2014/15 (the latest available figure).
The NIHR has launched a new, open competition for biomedical research centre funding from April 2017 to March 2022. In this competition, a number of clinical areas of particular strategic importance to the health of patients are highlighted including respiratory disease.