Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 extent of regional variations in the provision of radioligand therapy.
Answered by James Morris
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Nottingham North (Alex Norris MP) on 6 July 2022 to Question 23788.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 availability of shielded rooms in the NHS in the context of the potential increase in availability of (a) radioligand therapy and (b) other nuclear medicines to treat certain cancers.
Answered by James Morris
No specific assessment has been made. Further work is required on the safe delivery of the service with an appropriate number of providers to balance patient access with available specialist expertise and infrastructure.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 reduce inequalities in access to dental services.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
We are aware that some patients find it difficult to access NHS dentistry. Work is underway to better target patients with complex needs. NHS England has provided a flexible commissioning toolkit to commissioners to focus available capacity on reducing oral health inequalities.
In addition, we provided an extra £50 million earlier this year for additional dental access. The appointments were targeted to vulnerable patients and those in most urgent need.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether chronic kidney disease will be included in the update of the NHS Long Term Plan expected in summer 2022.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The updated NHS Long Term Plan is expected to be published later this year. Discussions on the specific detail of the update are continuing.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will supply a decision on behalf of the Government on each of the 25 recommendations made by the select committee on Health and Social Care in its Eighth Report, Children and Young People's Mental Health, HC 17, published on 9th December 2021; and if he will make a statement on that matter at the first available opportunity.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We welcome the Committee’s report. In our response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s report, we set out where we agreed with its recommendations or where we are taking forward the recommendations in part or in full. We will be considering the recommendations in full during the development of a new long term cross-Government plan for mental health. We are launching a wide-ranging discussion paper and call for evidence to support development of the plan. The Committee’s inquiry and evidence from witnesses will be considered during this process.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support is available for people that cannot take a nasal covid-19 test; and whether his Department plans to approve a non-nasal covid-19 test such as the lollipop saliva test.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is investigating alternative testing options for people who cannot take a nasal COVID-19 test and awaiting the results from a number of LAMP or saliva-based testing pilots that are underway. The UKHSA will continue to review and evaluate the usability of emerging technologies.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department will publish the Elective Recovery Plan.
Answered by Edward Argar
The publication of the National Health Service elective recovery delivery plan has been delayed as a result of the emergence of the Omicron variant. The Department continues to ensure the NHS is in the strongest position to recover elective services and tackle the backlog. The delivery plan will be published in due course.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timescale is for (a) notifying and (b) deploying people who have made successful applications to work on the covid-19 vaccine delivery programme.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The timescales will vary due to differences in training programmes for returners, those who are still registered in their profession and those who are no longer registered.
Returners who are still registered in their profession, including the temporary register, are no longer required to complete the full statutory and mandatory package.
However, those who are not registered healthcare professionals and are applying through the national recruitment process are required to complete the full core knowledge on statutory and mandatory training as part of their application process. They may also need to complete local training which will be decided by the relevant trust.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 ensure the (a) equitable and (b) transparent distribution of the covid-19 vaccine throughout the East of England.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
To ensure equitable and transparent distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, the National Health Service have an allocations committee that reviews and monitors distribution. Allocations to all regions in England, including the East of England, are made on a population proportionate basis factoring in the priority cohorts identified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
Each Primary Care Network site, including those in the East of England, receives their own supply and work has been carried out with local clinical commissioning groups to ensure that vaccine supply aligns with the number of registered patients in the priority cohort groups.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when a vaccine for covid-19 will be available to high priority patients in (a) Bedford and (b) Kempston.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The phased vaccination programme commenced on 8 December 2020. The NHS has now offered the COVID-19 vaccine to everyone in the top four priority cohorts which includes people aged 70 years old and over, care home residents and staff, health and care staff and clinically extremely vulnerable patients.
From 15 February 2021, we have been inviting people aged 65 to 69 years old and those who are defined as clinically vulnerable and are therefore thought to be at high risk of serious illness from COVID-19 to book their vaccination. The target to reach all those in priority cohorts five to nine is 15 April 2021.