Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 enable the NHS App to display booster vaccines as part of the COVID Pass.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The NHS COVID Pass can now be used to demonstrate proof of a booster or third dose for outbound international travel and this record is visible through both the NHS App and on NHS.UK. Booster vaccinations are not required for domestic certification in England.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 use the £5.9 billion NHS covid recovery funding, announced at the Spending Review on 27 October 2021, to help disabled children and young people recover lost progress in managing their conditions during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
On 6 September, the Government announced plans to spend over £8 billion over the Spending Review period between 2022/23 to 2024/25 for a programme to assist the National Health Service to provide elective care delayed by the pandemic.
We have also announced an additional £5.4 billion to support the COVID-19 response over the next six months, bringing the total Government support for health services in response to COVID-19 to over £34 billion this year 2021/22. This includes £2 billion to tackle the elective backlog and reduce waiting times for patients, including disabled children.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has undertaken a review of the adequacy of the (a) eligibility criteria for and (b) financial payments under the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme in the context of the covid-19 vaccination programme.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We have no current plans to do so. However, we will monitor the situation as more information becomes available and our understanding of the potential causal links between the COVID-19 vaccines and its purported side effects becomes clearer.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 improve access to community defibrillators in (a) County Durham and (b) the UK.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There have been no specific discussions.
The Government recognises that better provision of defibrillators and increasing the number of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation could help save more lives of those who have a cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting. We therefore encourage organisations across England, including in County Durham, to consider purchasing a defibrillator as part of their first-aid equipment, particularly for places where there are high concentrations of people. Provision elsewhere in the United Kingdom is a matter for the devolved administrations.
Many community defibrillators have since been provided in public locations, including shopping centres, through national lottery funding, community fundraising schemes, workplace funding or by charities.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on increasing access to defibrillators at grassroots sports events in (a) County Durham and (b) England.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There have been no specific discussions.
The Government recognises that better provision of defibrillators and increasing the number of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation could help save more lives of those who have a cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting. We therefore encourage organisations across England, including in County Durham, to consider purchasing a defibrillator as part of their first-aid equipment, particularly for places where there are high concentrations of people. Provision elsewhere in the United Kingdom is a matter for the devolved administrations.
Many community defibrillators have since been provided in public locations, including shopping centres, through national lottery funding, community fundraising schemes, workplace funding or by charities.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 potential merits of providing additional funding for disabled children’s health services at the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review to support access to appropriate disability services and equipment.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Further details on the next Spending Review will be set out in due course. As part of COVID-19 recovery planning we are working with the Department for Education and NHS England and NHS Improvement to improve the provision of health services to disabled children.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2021 to Question 33332, what discussions have taken place between NHS England and Spectrum Community Health CIC, the chosen healthcare provider for the new Derwentside immigration removal centre, to ensure that women detained there will be able to access a female nurse or doctor if requested.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
No such discussions have taken place.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have confirmed that Spectrum Community Health CIC will endeavour to ensure that female general practitioners and other healthcare professionals are available, and that women in Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre are offered the option to choose to see a female healthcare professional wherever possible.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to ensure that adequate funding is available to neonatal units to allow them to provide effective psychological support to parents when their baby is admitted into neonatal care.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
‘Implementing the Recommendations of the Neonatal Critical Care Transformation Review’ sets out an action for Local Maternity Systems and Neonatal Operational Delivery Networks (NODN) to work together to profile the provision in local providers by reviewing the extent to which providers are integrating families into care, which should also include information on and access to emotional wellbeing and psychological support and the provision of resources and accommodation. NODN implementation plans have been submitted to NHS England and NHS Improvement and reviewed. The Long Term Plan committed to enhance the experience of families during neonatal critical care. From 2021/22, care coordinators will work with families within each of the clinical neonatal networks across England to support families to become more involved in the care of their baby.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
What plans he has to train healthcare professionals in communicating the (a) safety and (b) effectiveness of covid-19 vaccines.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We offer our thanks to all healthcare professionals for their exceptional work on the front line administering vaccines to those who are most vulnerable.
Safety is absolutely paramount in any vaccination programme. Public Health England have produced comprehensive training and information materials for COVID-19 vaccinators. These include information about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, as well as key messages for healthcare professionals to convey to those being vaccinated.
All vaccinating staff involved in the deployment programme must complete training that includes modules on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. Communicating about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine is also a component of the process for gaining informed consent.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to provide an Answer to Question 88395 tabled by the hon. Member for City of Durham on 10 September 2020.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question 88395 of 23 November.