Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commission further research on the health impacts of nicotine on babies breastfed by mothers who continue to smoke.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We have no current plans to do so.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NICE on including avoidant restrictive food intake disorder in NICE guidelines on the recognition and treatment of eating disorders.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department has had no such discussions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body responsible for developing guidelines in line with its established methods and processes.
When developing its updated guideline on the recognition and treatment of eating disorders, NICE concluded following consultation that avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a relatively new diagnostic category, for which there is little evidence on which to make recommendations. NICE currently has no plans to extend the scope of the guideline to include ARFID.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps officials in his Department are taking with representatives of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to agree the timetable for introducing an A&E Local at the Princess Royal Hospital as part of the Future Fit Programme.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Strategic Outline Case (SOC) on the reconfiguration of acute services, including emergency services, in Shropshire and Telford and the Wrekin has been submitted to NHS England and NHS Improvement. Under these proposals, accident and emergency (A&E) services will be consolidated on the Shrewsbury site and a 24 hours a day, seven days a week A&E local service will be provided at the Telford site. The SOC will be subject to an assurance review and will require formal approval by the National Joint Investment Committee before it can proceed to the next stage, which will include further detailed business case development.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the recent Care Quality Commission inspection of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of single site acute hospital provision for Telford and Wrekin and the county of Shropshire.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The reconfiguration of services, including a single site acute hospital, would be for the local commissioning body to propose. Under current proposals and following a decision made by the previous Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Rt hon. Matt Hancock MP) after advice from the Independent Reconfiguration Panel, accident and emergency services are to be consolidated onto the Shrewsbury site and a 24 hours a day, seven days a week urgent care model will be provided from the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold further discussions with relevant stakeholders on the provision of an A&E Local at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The range of services being offered through the urgent care model at the Princess Royal Hospital will be determined locally in the business case development and approval process. This will include further engagement with local stakeholders.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 (a) merits and (b) cost of building a single site hospital as part of the Future Fit Programme at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Future Fit Programme refers to the consolidation of the emergency services in Shrewsbury and Telford to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and to creating an urgent treatment centre model in the Royal Princess Hospital in Telford. The single site emergency centre proposal was one element of the clinical model developed in response to the case of change. Along with a planned care centre, it has been included in all options considered for acute hospital services since 2014.
It is for local commissioners to suggest new reconfigurations of services, including the potential of building a single site hospital. All reconfigurations should adhere to the local assurance process including public and local stakeholder engagement.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with the food industry on ending the use of cartoon and children's book characters on the packaging of high sugar food products.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Department has ongoing discussions with the food and drink industry on measures to improve diets and reduce obesity including on the marketing and labelling of products high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS). This includes stakeholder engagement to assist businesses in responding to consultations. Businesses are encouraged to consider the health of their customers when directly targeting HFSS products at children.
The National Institute for Health Research Obesity Policy Research Unit, established in 2017 as part of our initial childhood obesity plan, will continue to review the evidence base of the effect of marketing and advertising on children, including the use of brand equity and licensed characters, cartoon characters and celebrities to promote high fat, salt, and sugar products.