Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
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 the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a transitional funding package for community pharmacists (a) before and (b) during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In July 2019, we published our landmark five-year deal, ‘Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework’. This deal made £2.592 billion per year available to community pharmacy from 2019-20 to 2023-24. It was agreed in line with the Cabinet Office’s cross-Government collective agreement process.
The Department has had regular conversations with HM Treasury during the COVID-19 period about funding for community pharmacies. In addition to the unprecedented support package put in place for all businesses, further discussions are ongoing and we have agreed additional funding for a medicines delivery service for shielded patients and bank holiday openings.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what advice and support is available for people who are clinically vulnerable to covid-19 but who have not been told that they are required to be shield.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public safety throughout this period is the Government’s top priority – this includes keeping safe society’s most vulnerable. We advise those who are clinically vulnerable to follow the Staying Alert and Safe social distancing guidance available on the GOV.UK website. The advice is to stay at home as much as possible and, if they do go out, take particular care to minimise contact with others by always staying two metres apart from others outside their household or support bubble, avoiding crowds, and keeping their hands and face as clean as possible.
Many local organisations across the country are providing support to vulnerable people. In addition, NHS Volunteer Responders are available to help open to anyone who needs to self-isolate for any reason and who may need support with their shopping, obtaining their medicines or who might need someone to talk to.
For those who are vulnerable or at risk and need help with shopping, medication or other essential supplies, they can call 0808 196 3646 (8am to 8pm).
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West 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 stop wholesalers artificially inflating prices to pharmacies during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The costs of branded medicines are controlled by the 2019 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access and the statutory scheme for branded medicines.
For unbranded generic medicines the Department relies on competition to keep prices down. This has led to some of the lowest prices in Europe and allows prices to react to the market. In an international market this ensures that when demand is high and supply is low, prices in the United Kingdom can increase to help secure the availability of medicines for UK patients.
Companies should not capitalise on the current COVID-19 situation by charging unjustifiably high prices for drugs and other supplies. Concerns about pricing abuse are a matter for the Competition and Markets Authority.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what arrangements are in place for patients being discharged from hospital and into care homes to prevent the spread of covid-19.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is our priority to ensure that everyone is discharged safely from hospital and to the most appropriate available place.
Our guidance published on 2 April set out advice to care homes on infection control procedures to limit the spread of the virus in care homes. It set out the appropriate isolation required for care home residents who have been discharged from hospital following treatment for COVID-19. The guidance is available at the following link:
The Adult Social Care Action Plan published on 15 April set out further measures to support care homes in reducing transmission of the virus. This included a commitment to all patients being tested prior to discharge to a care home, with responsibility being given to councils to identify alternative accommodation where care homes are not able to provide appropriate isolation for people who have tested positive for COVID-19. Costs of providing alternative accommodation are covered by the £1.3 billion COVID-19 discharge funding provided via the NHS in March. The Adult Social Care Action Plan is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-adult-social-care-action-plan
On 15 May, we published our care home support package. This responded to the latest evidence from Public Health England and sets out the steps that must now be taken to keep people in care homes safe, and the support that is brought together across national and local government to help care providers put this into practice. To support this, on 13 May we announced an additional £600 million to support providers through a new Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to respond to the Lancet Standing Commission report entitled Unacceptable failures: the final report of the Lancet Commission into liver disease in the UK, published in November 2019.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s Hepatobiliary Clinical Reference Group has already taken action in response to the Lancet Commission report into liver disease in the United Kingdom, such as starting work on the development of liver networks in England.
More broadly, the Department is also taking action regarding key liver disease risk factors such as excessive alcohol consumption and obesity, and the Prevention Green Paper, ‘Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s’, recognises the need for a range of actions to address causes of preventable ill health.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of vacancies in the NHS are for hepatologists.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the data requested.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospitals have been registered on the Community Assets Register; and what assessment he has made of the effect of such registration on the ability to build replacement hospital facilities on different sites.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
A list of hospitals registered on the Community Assets Register is not held centrally as the register is held by the relevant local authority.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the annual cost of maintenance and repairs is for Shotley Bridge Hospital in the most recent period for which information is available.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
For 2019/20 the annual NHS Property Services charge for rent, rates, service charges and facilities management at Shotley Bridge Health Centre to County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust was £1.744 million. This charge includes approximately £577,000 relating to maintenance and repair costs (this is subject to a reconciliation exercise of actual costs incurred to charges).
In addition, NHS Property Services has also incurred £786,000 in 2019/20 of landlord capital statutory compliance costs at this property, which are not recharged to tenants.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS Estates charges County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust for Shotley Bridge Hospital.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
For 2019/20 the annual NHS Property Services charge for rent, rates, service charges and facilities management at Shotley Bridge Health Centre to County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust was £1.744 million. This charge includes approximately £577,000 relating to maintenance and repair costs (this is subject to a reconciliation exercise of actual costs incurred to charges).
In addition, NHS Property Services has also incurred £786,000 in 2019/20 of landlord capital statutory compliance costs at this property, which are not recharged to tenants.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) GPs and (b) GP vacancies there are in the North East of England; and how many and what proportion of GPs are employed on a locum basis in that region.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in general practice in the North East and Yorkshire NHS England Region as of December 2019 has been provided in the following table.
- | FTE |
General practitioners (GPs) (all) | 5,122 |
Locums | 148 |
The data requested on the number of vacancies is not available in the format requested.