Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the funding allocated to support the roll-out of electronic prescribing and medicines administration systems across the NHS will be allocated during the financial year 2019-2020.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
For the financial year 2019-20, £20 million of funding has been allocated to support the implementation of Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administrations Systems (EPMA) in provider trusts.
Allocations (between trusts and between systems) are based on a bidding process as usual. NHS Improvement have already received some bids for EPMA funding, which were of a high quality. Trusts have been informed that decisions can be expected in summer.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the funding allocated to support the roll-out of electronic prescribing and medicines administration systems across the NHS will be allocated to medicines administration systems.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
For the financial year 2019-20, £20 million of funding has been allocated to support the implementation of Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administrations Systems (EPMA) in provider trusts.
Allocations (between trusts and between systems) are based on a bidding process as usual. NHS Improvement have already received some bids for EPMA funding, which were of a high quality. Trusts have been informed that decisions can be expected in summer.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
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 improve the administration of medicines in NHS trusts.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Work has commenced on a variety of projects to help improve the administration of medicines in National Health Service trusts.
Following the announcement of £75 million of funding for ePrescribing and Medicines Administration (ePrescribing or ePMA) systems, work has commenced to accelerate the uptake and implementation across the NHS. Funding was provided to 13 trusts in 2018/19 all of whom have now commenced work. Applications for the second wave of funding have been received – a total of 48 bids are currently being reviewed for 2019/20 funding. A further round of funding is also planned for 2020/21.
Additionally, the Global Digital Exemplar programme is providing funding to support the roll-out of new, integrated technologies including ePrescribing and closed loop medicines administration and will share their learning as they make progress.
The sites that have led the way with closed loop medicines administration have provided valuable learning for what is a relatively new approach to support this process in England. Early work is demonstrating a positive impact on medication related administration error.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
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 on implementing electronic prescribing and medicines administration systems across all NHS trusts by 2021.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Work has commenced on a variety of projects to help improve the administration of medicines in National Health Service trusts.
Following the announcement of £75 million of funding for ePrescribing and Medicines Administration (ePrescribing or ePMA) systems, work has commenced to accelerate the uptake and implementation across the NHS. Funding was provided to 13 trusts in 2018/19 all of whom have now commenced work. Applications for the second wave of funding have been received – a total of 48 bids are currently being reviewed for 2019/20 funding. A further round of funding is also planned for 2020/21.
Additionally, the Global Digital Exemplar programme is providing funding to support the roll-out of new, integrated technologies including ePrescribing and closed loop medicines administration and will share their learning as they make progress.
The sites that have led the way with closed loop medicines administration have provided valuable learning for what is a relatively new approach to support this process in England. Early work is demonstrating a positive impact on medication related administration error.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what long term digital support his Department is providing for (a) people who are in remission from and (b) those at highest risk of type 2 diabetes.
Answered by Steve Brine
The NHS Long Term Plan published on 7 January 2019 outlines commitments to support individuals with type 2 diabetes through a number of digital and web-based approaches.
This includes:
- Plans to fund a doubling of the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme over the next five years, including a new digital option to widen patient choice and target inequality;
- Plans to support people who are newly diagnosed to manage their own health by further expanding provision of structured education and digital self-management support tools, including expanding access to HeLP Diabetes an online self-management tool for those with type 2 diabetes.
- Work with the wider National Health Service, the voluntary sector, developers, and individuals in creating a range of apps to support particular conditions; and
- People newly diagnosed with diabetes will be supported through expanded pilots for digital structured education.
Due to a limited evidence base for digital approaches, NHS England has been running a large scale real world evaluation of digital interventions. They have been working with five digital providers and currently over 4,000 people have registered to use these services. The evidence indicates positive rates of engagement, encouraging weight loss, and suggests a strong uptake amongst the working age population. The formal evaluation will be complete at the start of 2020, and if positive, will justify wide-scale roll-out of digital delivery, beyond the 20,000 per annum currently planned.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to ensure Clinical Commissioning Groups use consistent criteria in relation to the clinical effectiveness of low carbohydrate diets when making local commissioning decisions .
Answered by Steve Brine
In the United Kingdom, the Government recommends that most people should follow a healthy balanced diet based on fruit and vegetables and higher fibre starchy carbohydrates, as illustrated by the national Eatwell Guide, available to view at the following link:
Government advice on carbohydrates is based on recommendations made by Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition in its Carbohydrates and Health report. This report is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-carbohydrates-and-health-report.
Low carbohydrate diets appear to have an effect on weight loss in the short term, but there is no difference in weight after about 12 months, compared to losing weight through conventional weight loss diets. Further information on this can be viewed at the following links:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/obr.12405
The Department would expect clinical commissioning groups to take account of Government and Public Health England guidance.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
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 clinical effectiveness of low carbohydrate diets in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Answered by Steve Brine
A joint working group between the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, NHS England and Diabetes UK is currently reviewing the evidence on lower carbohydrate diets (alongside higher fat and/or higher protein) compared to current Government advice for adults with type 2 diabetes. The draft report will be published for consultation in 2019.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the potential effect of the £30,000 salary threshold on NHS and care services; and what plans he has to enable effective recruitment from abroad to meet demand for NHS staff after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has regular discussions with the Home Secretary on a range of subjects including the future immigration system and its impact on the health and social care sectors.
The NHS Long Term Plan sets out a vital strategic framework to ensure that over the next ten years the NHS will have the staff it needs so that nurses and doctors have the time they need to care, working in a supportive culture that allows them to provide the expert compassionate care they are committed to providing.
Alongside this, the upcoming Social Care Green Paper will set out the Department’s proposals for reform of the sector to put it on a more sustainable future footing. This will include a vision for its workforce and proposals to boost recruitment and retention in the longer term.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to provide community pharmacies with a multi-year funding settlement.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Department expects to begin negotiations on the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee shortly. The length of any settlement will form part of those negotiations.