Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
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 benefit of music-based interventions in the care of people living with dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has commissioned research on living well with dementia from the National Institute for Health Research, which includes the methods and effectiveness of music therapy. NHS England and NHS Improvement have published guidance for social prescribing link workers to expand music prescriptions, which is available at the following link:
We will be setting out our strategy on dementia for England for future years in due course.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to include in the National Dementia Strategy recognition of the benefits of music-based interventions in the care of people living with dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has commissioned research on living well with dementia from the National Institute for Health Research, which includes the methods and effectiveness of music therapy. NHS England and NHS Improvement have published guidance for social prescribing link workers to expand music prescriptions, which is available at the following link:
We will be setting out our strategy on dementia for England for future years in due course.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
What steps his Department is taking to reform mental health legislation.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
On 13 January we published our White Paper on reforming the Mental Health Act 1983. Our public consultation is open for a further week in which we are inviting views to ensure we develop the right proposals.
We will respond to this with a formal report which will inform the development of our planned Mental Health Bill.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
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 support the mental health of NHS workers in North Wales during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Health is a devolved matter so this would be a matter for the Welsh government.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
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 (a) increase the use and (b) improve the quality of technology in the health and social care sectors in North Wales.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
As health and social care are devolved, the use and quality of technology in the health and social care sectors in North Wales are matters for the Welsh Government. The United Kingdom Government works closely with the Welsh Government on the use of technology in these settings.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on the establishment of a test and trace service for covid-19.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The NHS Test and Trace service brings together testing, contact tracing and outbreak management into an end-to-end service.
We have created the largest diagnostic testing network in British history, including 68 regional test sites, home testing kits and satellite testing, more than 147 mobile testing units and three mega Lighthouse laboratories. We have opened six new ‘walk in’ local testing centres to make it easier for people without cars to get a test. Specialised translation services will soon be offered across a range of 68 testing sites, to support people who do not speak English as their first language and British Sign Language for people with hearing difficulties.
We have recruited 27,000 contact tracers who are working alongside local public health experts and online contact tracing services to trace the contacts of anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Between 25 June and 1 July 2020:
- 303,409 new people were tested for COVID-19 under Pillars 1 and 2 in England;
- 3,903 new people tested positive for COVID-19; and
- 4,347 people had their case transferred to the contact tracing system.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
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 with UK manufacturers to increase the supply of personal protective equipment.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of 15 May, over 13,000 businesses have contacted the Government with offers of help on supplying personal protective equipment (PPE). Many are related to the manufacture of PPE for the National Health Service and care sectors, a vast majority of which we are taking forward, predominantly from United Kingdom-based companies but also including multinational companies. Some offers were not progressed due to financial and capability considerations.
The Department engages directly with potential manufacturers to qualify and prioritise the opportunity, based on availability of/access to raw supplies, lead-times to manufacture, and other commercial considerations. Product prototypes are submitted to a Technical Product Review process, to ensure they meet essential health, safety and quality standards for PPE. Financial due diligence and fraud prevention measures are also undertaken, after which the Department can contract with the manufacturer.
Lord Deighton is leading the Government’s efforts to secure sufficient PPE and ensure this gets to where it is needed. He is also driving forward coordination of the end-to-end process design and manufacture of new domestic PPE supplies. As at 15 May, the Department has entered into contract and placed orders with eight manufacturers to provide millions of items of PPE products to the National Health Service and carers. Details of this work can be found in the links below. The volumes will increase in the coming weeks.