Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
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 impact on cancer patients of the Thames Valley of Rutherford Health Group going into liquidation; and if he will take steps to reopen the Rutherford Cancer Centres.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to reopen Rutherford Cancer Centres. There are no issues with Proton Beam Therapy access within the National Health Service in England and this was the main service offered by Rutherford Health Group.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost of NHS appointment letters being written, posted and sent out in England is each year.
Answered by Will Quince
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the study entitled Maternal mortality in eight European countries with enhanced surveillance systems published in the British Medical Journal on 16 November 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of NHS guidance on doctors recording links to maternity on death certificates; and what steps his Department will take to improve postnatal care to prevent (a) hearth disease, (b) suicides and (c) blood clots.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The planned digitised Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) will be completed by the medical practitioner and include the recording of maternal deaths. This will allow for information related to pregnancy recorded at the time of death, in line with international standards. Once the digitised product is deployed, guidance will be available on completing the MCCD. The intention is to introduce the revised and digitised MCCD with the introduction of medical examiners from April 2023. NHS England has commissioned 14 maternal medicine networks in England to ensure access to specialist management and care for women with chronic and acute medical problems in pregnancy.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had with Integrated Care Boards on the ability of patients to access (a) GP appointments and (b) follow up care in North East Hampshire; and what steps his Department is taking to make this process quicker.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There have been no recent discussions. The Department supports NHS England to ensure that the efficiency of elective pathways in each National Health Service trust is regularly assessed. Where necessary, NHS England will engage with the relevant integrated care board or trust.
We are investing at least £1.5 billion to create an additional 50 million general practice appointments by 2024 by increasing and diversifying the workforce. We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will issue guidance to workers that require face masks as part of their usual personal protective equipment on what steps to take in the event that suppliers of those masks are unable to restock.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Guidance has been issued and is available at the following link:
We have central stockpiles of personal protective equipment (PPE) and are also accessing the European Union Exit and pandemic influenza stockpiles which have been released for use. The Department is working with National Health Service and others in the supply chain to ensure these are delivered to the frontline as soon as possible.
Staff experiencing shortages have been asked to contact a supply disruption helpline centre by email or on a helpline.
The Department is working with wholesalers to ensure a longer-term supply of all aspects of personal protective equipment, including gloves, aprons, facemasks and hand sanitiser.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
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 effect of the shortage of face masks on dental practices.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are aware of the interruption to the supply chain of personal protective equipment, in particular face masks for the safe delivery of dental care.
We have been working with the four main dental wholesalers. Face masks have been released from the pandemic flu stock to relieve some of the current pressure and stock is available.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to run a public information campaign to tackle the consumption of so-called ethically sourced cocaine.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All illicit drugs are harmful, and there is no safe way to take them. The Government does not condone the illicit supply of drugs. Public Health England coordinate public information campaigns on drug consumption.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will issue guidance to NHS Trusts to increase the provision for fathers staying with the mother and baby in hospital.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
It is important that fathers have time to bond with their baby and support their partner. ‘Health Building Note 09-02: Maternity care facilities’ sets out best practice guidance on the design and planning of healthcare facilities so that partners and other supporters feel welcome in maternity services. This includes the provision of overnight accommodation for partners within birthing spaces and postnatal rooms or close to the unit. Maternity services need to understand their local populations and develop local policies that enable fathers to support their partners as much as they want to whilst respecting the privacy of other women.
Parents of babies who may require neonatal critical care should also be supported to stay with their baby. The NHS Long Term Plan sets out how we will redesign and expand neonatal critical care services to improve the safety and effectiveness of services and experience of families.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
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 whether vaping shops are fulfilling their legal requirements to verify age and not sell to children.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
E-cigarettes in the United Kingdom are tightly regulated by the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR) and the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015 (NIP). These regulations include preventing sale to under 18s, restrictions on mainstream TV and radio advertising, and limit both tank sizes and nicotine content.
Local trading standards have powers for enforcement of both regulations. The Government has also funded the Chartered Trading Standards Institute to undertake a review of compliance of nicotine vaping products. The latest report, ‘The Tobacco Control Survey for England 2018/19: A Report of Trading Standards Service Activity’ reports that 34 councils were able to report the number of visits with volunteer young people where sales had occurred. 90 test purchase attempts resulted in an underage sale being made. This results in a 40% test-purchase-to-sale rate.
We are monitoring youth use closely and will take action, if necessary, to ensure that regular use among children and young people does not increase, and that e-cigarettes do not become a gateway to tobacco use. We continue to keep the evidence base on e-cigarettes under review and the next Public Health England annual review is due to be published next month.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department (a) is aware of all substances used in vaping liquids and (b) has assessed the safety of all such substances.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Electronic cigarettes and nicotine-containing refill containers (e-liquids) are regulated under the Tobacco and Related Product Regulations 2016. A notification must be submitted to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for each product prior to launch. This must include a list of ingredients and information on their toxicology and emissions.
The regulations prohibit ingredients that cause harm to human health, including respiratory sensitisers and substances known to cause cancer, cause mutation in cells or are toxic to reproduction. The notifier bears full responsibility for the quality and safety of their product and the MHRA checks all notifications to ensure the absence of prohibited substances.