Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made in ensuring that medical cannabis containing THC is available on the NHS for patients whom clinicians deem it clinically appropriate to prescribe it to.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The law was changed on 1 November 2018 to allow clinicians on the General Medical Council’s ‘Specialist Register’ to prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use, where clinically appropriate and in the best interest of patients. The Government has been clear that decisions on whether to prescribe these products must remain a clinical one.
Following a meeting in Parliament with the families of patients seeking access to medicinal cannabis, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care asked NHS England and NHS Improvement to undertake a rapid process review into any barriers to prescribing on the National Health Service, where clinically appropriate. The review report is now published, and the Department is working closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement and other delivery partners to implement the report’s recommendations. This includes committing public funds through the National Institute for Health Research to establish clinical trials to develop the evidence base and exploring alternative studies to help children and young adults with treatment resistance epilepsy who are currently receiving cannabis-based medicines. We have also contacted all producers of cannabis-based products, known to have an interest in supplying the United Kingdom market, to encourage and support research applications to develop the evidence base further.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 everyone who suffers from an eating disorder is able to access treatment and support regardless of gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity or background.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The Government is committed to ensuring everyone with an eating disorder has access to timely treatment based on clinical need. NHS England’s ‘Access and Waiting Time Standard for Children and Young People with an Eating Disorder: Commissioning Guide’ sets out guidance on establishing and maintaining eating disorder services.
It states that eating disorder services for young people should follow the overarching principles for service design and development for children’s services required of local transformation plans. This includes meeting legal duties with regard to equality, with an aim to reduce inequality in access and outcomes.
The guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 10 October 2018 to Question 174614 on Horses: Slaughterhouses, how many soliped and equidae were slaughtered in 2018; and how many of those soliped and equidae carried passports issued by Weatherbys.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for the delivery of official controls in approved meat establishments (slaughterhouses, cutting plants and game handling establishments) subject to veterinary control within the United Kingdom. The FSA records the number of soliped and equidae that are slaughtered.
In 2018 2,618 soliped and equidae were slaughtered in FSA approved premises, of which 447 had passports issued by Weatherbys. It should be noted that Weatherbys passport numbers include Weatherbys, Weatherbys Thoroughbred, Weatherbys Ireland and Weatherbys Irish.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the appropriateness of NHS trusts referring to debt collection agencies requests for payment by non-UK citizens of NHS maternity and other essential health care.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department has recently reviewed the impact of changes introduced by the Amendment Regulations with a particular focus on the extent to which there are any unintended consequences for the most vulnerable. The outcomes of this review will be published in due course.
The Department does not collect data on the number of women who do not access maternity care because of concerns about National Health Service charging policies.
The national guidance is clear that NHS maternity treatment should always be considered as immediately necessary and provided to all patients regardless of whether or not they are entitled to receive it free of charge or there are doubts about whether they could pay if subsequently found to be chargeable under the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, as amended.
Providers of NHS care need to ensure that they take necessary and appropriate steps to recover the cost of providing treatment to those not entitled to NHS-funded care. National guidance recommends that providers of NHS care should consider employing the services of a debt recovery agency that specialises in the recovery of overseas debt except in relation to persons whom it is clear to the relevant body will be unable to pay.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an (a) assessment of the effect on the health and wellbeing of vulnerable women and (b) equalities impact assessment of charging those women for maternity care.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department has recently reviewed the impact of changes introduced by the Amendment Regulations with a particular focus on the extent to which there are any unintended consequences for the most vulnerable. The outcomes of this review will be published in due course.
The Department does not collect data on the number of women who do not access maternity care because of concerns about National Health Service charging policies.
The national guidance is clear that NHS maternity treatment should always be considered as immediately necessary and provided to all patients regardless of whether or not they are entitled to receive it free of charge or there are doubts about whether they could pay if subsequently found to be chargeable under the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, as amended.
Providers of NHS care need to ensure that they take necessary and appropriate steps to recover the cost of providing treatment to those not entitled to NHS-funded care. National guidance recommends that providers of NHS care should consider employing the services of a debt recovery agency that specialises in the recovery of overseas debt except in relation to persons whom it is clear to the relevant body will be unable to pay.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of women who do not access maternity care because of concerns about NHS charging policies.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department has recently reviewed the impact of changes introduced by the Amendment Regulations with a particular focus on the extent to which there are any unintended consequences for the most vulnerable. The outcomes of this review will be published in due course.
The Department does not collect data on the number of women who do not access maternity care because of concerns about National Health Service charging policies.
The national guidance is clear that NHS maternity treatment should always be considered as immediately necessary and provided to all patients regardless of whether or not they are entitled to receive it free of charge or there are doubts about whether they could pay if subsequently found to be chargeable under the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, as amended.
Providers of NHS care need to ensure that they take necessary and appropriate steps to recover the cost of providing treatment to those not entitled to NHS-funded care. National guidance recommends that providers of NHS care should consider employing the services of a debt recovery agency that specialises in the recovery of overseas debt except in relation to persons whom it is clear to the relevant body will be unable to pay.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 tackle the alleged practice of GP surgeries receiving payments for so-called ghost patients still registered at that GP practice but who have died or moved to a different area.
Answered by Steve Brine
NHS England has confirmed that Capita will shortly recommence list maintenance for all practices across England in accordance with NHS England policy, guidance and agreed standard operating procedures. This is to ensure that the lists of registered patients are as accurate as possible. General practitioner (GP) practice list maintenance is part of NHS England’s contract with Primary Care Support England, which is delivered by Capita. GP practices also have a duty to maintain their registered patient lists in a current and accurate state.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report entitled Fair funding for mental health: Putting parity into practice, published by the Institute for Public Policy Research in October 2018, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies of the finding in that report on the additional funding required for mental health care.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The Government recognises the need for additional investment in mental health services and the Institute for Public Policy Research report represents a valuable contribution to the debate.
The Government announced its long term financial settlement for the National Health Service in June. This will represent an increase of £20.5 billion in real terms by 2023/24. The Government has asked the NHS to develop a long term plan which will set out a vision for the health service and ensure every penny is well spent. The Government has been clear that better access to mental health services, to help achieve the Government’s commitment to parity of esteem between mental and physical health, is one of the principles which must underpin the plan.
The 2018 Budget set out some of aspects of what the long term plan will contain, and further details will follow when the plan is published in due course.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include end of life care in the long-term plan for the NHS; and what steps are being taken to improve end of life care.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Delivering improvements to end of care is a key priority for this Government and end of life care is an important part of the proposals which are helping to shape the long-term plan for National Health Service.
NHS England is now considering the many responses and submissions it has received, including those from end of life care charities, as part of the listening exercise it held to help develop and refine policy proposals for inclusion in the plan. NHS England will continue working with key stakeholders to test the plan before its publication in November 2018.
In ‘Our Commitment to you for end of life care’, published in July 2016, the Government set out what everyone should expect from their care at the end of life and the actions being taking to make high quality and personalisation a reality for all and to reduce variation in end of life care. NHS England is responsible for delivering the commitment, in partnership with system partners and key stakeholders, through its National End of Life Care Programme Board. Key steps over the first two years include:
- Working with Public Health England and the Care Quality Commission to provide bespoke end of life care data and support packs to Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships to plan for, and improve, end of life care services;
- Testing Personal Health Budgets for people approaching the end of life;
- Working with Health Education England to ensure that all staff involved in the delivery of end of life care have appropriate education and training choice and quality of care at the end of life and strengthening medical curricula to support choice and quality and the of life;
- Inspecting and rating NHS hospital and community services for end of life care. This new inspection approach has a clear focus on end of life care and applies in all services where end of life care is delivered;
- Developing a new indicator for the Clinical Commissioning Group Improvement and Assessment Framework (CCG IAF) to measure deaths in hospital after three or more emergency admissions in the final 90 days of life to help assess choice and quality in end of life care; and
- Supporting to trusts rated as ’inadequate or ‘needs improvement’ to improve end of life care services. At the start of 2017/18, 66 trusts were in these categories (four were inadequate). This is now down to 56.
For 2018-19, the Government’s Mandate asks NHS England to increase the percentage of people identified as likely to be in their last year of life, so that their end of life care can be improved by personalising it according to their needs and preferences at an earlier stage. NHS England will use the Quality and Outcomes Framework to demonstrate such an increase by looking at the percentage of people who are on the general practitioner register for supportive and palliative care, and consider expected levels based on local populations. Currently the national English average is 0.37%, it is anticipated this figure will increase in the 2018/19 period.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many horses were slaughtered in abattoirs in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017; and how many of those horses carried passports issued by Weatherbys.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for the delivery of official controls in approved meat establishments (slaughterhouses, cutting plants and game handling establishments) subject to veterinary control within the United Kingdom.
2016 –3,328 Soliped and Equidae were slaughtered
2017 –2,358 Soliped and Equidae were slaughtered
The FSA does not record the number of horses slaughtered. These are recorded under the Soliped and Equidae category. This category includes horses, but other members of the Soliped and Equidae family are also included (mammals, members of which have a single functional digit although the second and third digits persist as splint bones, includes horses, wild horses, asses (donkeys) and zebras).
2016 – 143 had passports issued by Weatherbys
2017 – 127 had passports issued by Weatherbys
Weatherbys passport numbers include: Weatherbys, Weatherbys Thoroughbred, Weatherby Ireland and Weatherbys Irish.