Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on increased investment in the clinical oncology workforce.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Discussions are ongoing between the Department and HM Treasury on the potential for further investment in the National Health Service workforce, including for clinical oncology, as part of the Spending Review process.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many radiotherapy machines currently used by the NHS are over 10 years old.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As at 31 March 2021, approximately 63 Linear Particle Accelerators (LINACs) in routine National Health Service use were aged 10 years or more. Approximately two thirds of these have a locally agreed replacement plan that is due to be implemented in 2021-22.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to record instances of covid-19 contracted in hospitals.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
NHS England and NHS Improvement collect data as part of a daily SITREP on the time between admission to hospital and first positive swab for COVID-19. Since October 2020, NHS England and NHS Improvement have published relevant data relating to COVID-19 hospital activity which includes the numbers of people diagnosed in hospital with or admitted to hospital with COVID-19. This data covers the period from 1 August 2020. Data relating to the number of patients diagnosed in the community and subsequently admitted to hospital, or admitted to hospital and diagnosed with COVID within eight days after admission is also available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-hospital-activity/
Given the incubation period of the virus and local differences in application of testing protocols, it is not possible to definitively determine the number of people who contracted the virus while in hospital in England to date.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure consistency in the way chief coroners record deaths where the cause is covid-19 acquired in a hospital.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The circumstances in which a medical practitioner must notify a death to the coroner are set out in the Notification of Death Regulations 2019. It is a judicial decision of the coroner as to whether they have a duty under section 1 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 to investigate a death referred to them.
Medical practitioners are expected to state the cause of death to the best of their knowledge and belief on the medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD). Revised guidance published by the General Register Office and the Office for National Statistics to medical practitioners completing MCCD during the period of the pandemic confirms that COVID-19 is an acceptable direct or underlying cause of death for the purposes of completing the MCCD. This guidance also confirms that COVID-19 is not a reason of itself to refer a death to a coroner under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. The guidance is available at the following link: