Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued to (a) healthcare practitioners and (b) other relevant figures to support the transition from child to adult mental health support services.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
While the Department has not issued such guidance, in January 2015, NHS England published a model specification for transitions from child and adolescent mental health services, to support better planning and delivery by local providers.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
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 support elderly residents with the cost of domiciliary care.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
From October 2023 the Government will be introducing a far more generous means testing regime which will allow more people to be eligible for some state support towards the cost of their domiciliary care. In addition, there will be a new £86,000 cap on the amount required to pay towards the cost of care.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
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 reduce waiting lists for child and adolescent mental health services.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We are investing an additional £79 million in 2021/22 to significantly expand children’s and young people’s mental health services. This will allow approximately 22,500 more children and young people to access community health services and 2,000 more to access eating disorder services as well as accelerating the coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges.
We remain committed to the aim of the NHS Long Term Plan to invest at least a further £2.3 billion a year into mental health by 2023/24. This will see an additional 345,000 children and young people a year accessing National Health Service-funded mental health support. In addition, NHS England and NHS Improvement have consulted on the potential to introduce a new waiting time standard for children and young people presenting to community-based mental health services, to receive care within four weeks from referral. This consultation closed on 1 September 2021 and the outcomes will inform a recommendation to Government in due course on whether and how to implement this new access standard.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
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 ensure that patients and communities are involved with the work and governance of Integrated Care Systems.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The proposed Health and Care Bill places a duty on integrated care boards to promote the involvement of patients and their carers and representatives in decisions related to their care. The integrated care partnership will also be required to involve residents and local Healthwatch organisations when preparing integrated care strategies. The Department will issue guidance in relation to the partnerships to reinforce the importance of representation and engagement.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
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 scale up domestic manufacturing of (a) medicines and (b) covid-19 vaccines.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In April 2021, the Government launched the £20 million Medicines and Diagnostics Manufacturing Transformation Fund to incentivise companies to invest the United Kingdom. In addition we are working with industry on building robust and resilient UK supply chains for the future. We have invested over £350 million to secure and increase our capabilities to manufacture vaccines in order to respond to COVID-19 and future pandemics.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
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 help improve access to defibrillators in (a) schools and (b) the wider community.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since May 2019 new and refurbished schools are required to have at least one automated external defibrillators (AED) as part of the Schools Rebuilding Programme and Free Schools Programme. Schools outside that criteria are encouraged to purchase an AED, as part of their first aid equipment. The Government has published guidance on how schools can buy, install and maintain an AED at a reduced cost through the NHS Supply Chain’s defibs4schools programme.
The NHS Long Term Plan sets out an ambition to ensure fast and effective action that will help save lives of people suffering a cardiac arrest. A national network of community first responders and defibrillators will help save up to 4,000 lives each year by 2028. This will be supported by educating the general public, including young people of school age, about how to recognise and respond to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what financial support is available to help run day centre provision and other activities for elderly people.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Care Act 2014, decisions on how care is commissioned is devolved to local authorities, who are responsible for shaping their local markets to ensure that all people have a range of high-quality, person-centred care and support options available to them.
We are providing councils with access to over £1 billion of additional funding for social care in 2021-22. This will support local authorities to maintain care services, including day services, while keeping up with rising demand and recovering from the impact of COVID-19. We have provided over £2 billion for adult social care, in addition to over £6 billion which has been made available to local authorities to address pressures on their services. We have encouraged local authorities to allocate funding from the £1.49 billion Infection Control Fund to support the resumption of community and day support services.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of pharmacists who have become independent prescribers.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is the independent regulator of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacies in Great Britain. The GPhC’s register, which pharmacists must apply to for an annotation to be added to their register entry before practising as an independent prescriber, shows that as of June 2021 there are 9,252 independent pharmacist prescribers in England
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
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 ensure that integrated care systems are democratically accountable.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) will be democratically accountable for National Health Service spend and outcomes via NHS England to the Government and ultimately to Parliament. Both ICBs and integrated care partnerships (ICPs) will work to create a culture of ‘mutual accountability’ between partner organisations in healthcare, public health and social care, working closely with local government.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support for prescription costs is available to people with (a) Turner Syndrome and (b) other long-term medical conditions.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Approximately 89% of prescriptions are dispensed free of charge and extensive arrangements are in place to ensure that prescriptions are affordable for everyone. A broad range of prescription charge exemptions are in place, for which those with Turner Syndrome and other long-term conditions may qualify. To support those with the greatest need who do not qualify for a prescription charge exemption or the NHS Low Income Scheme, pre-payment certificates are available. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.