Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to educate current drug users on the risks of synthetic drugs.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is actively monitoring, and responding to, the continued threat posed by the growing levels of potent synthetic opioids in the United Kingdom. We are working to increase awareness of the dangers of synthetic opioids. The Government’s drug information and advice service, Talk to FRANK, aims to reduce drug misuse and its harms by increasing awareness among young people and parents. Information on synthetic opioids and the danger of their misuse is available at the following link:
https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/synthetic-opioids
Education on drug use is also a statutory component of relationships and sex education and health education in England. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Department for Education have commissioned lesson plans and other resources to support teachers in delivering quality drug prevention interventions. The lesson plans target primary and secondary students, teaching them how to manage influences and pressure, and keep themselves healthy and safe. These resources are being updated, and will have an increased emphasis on the risks of synthetic drugs.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to prevent increased synthetic drug use.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is actively monitoring, and responding to, the continued threat posed by the growing levels of potent synthetic opioids in the United Kingdom. We are working to increase awareness of the dangers of synthetic opioids. The Government’s drug information and advice service, Talk to FRANK, aims to reduce drug misuse and its harms by increasing awareness among young people and parents. Information on synthetic opioids and the danger of their misuse is available at the following link:
https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/synthetic-opioids
Education on drug use is also a statutory component of relationships and sex education and health education in England. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Department for Education have commissioned lesson plans and other resources to support teachers in delivering quality drug prevention interventions. The lesson plans target primary and secondary students, teaching them how to manage influences and pressure, and keep themselves healthy and safe. These resources are being updated, and will have an increased emphasis on the risks of synthetic drugs.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report Antibiotic underdosing and disposal in NHS organisations across Great Britain, published in November 2023; and what discussions they have had with the Care Quality Commission on integrating line flushing policies and practices into the assessment framework for care provided in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Officials are aware of, and have considered, the findings of the report Antibiotic underdosing and disposal in NHS organisations across Great Britain. Officials from the Department have not had any recent discussions with the Care Quality Commission on integrating line flushing policies and practices into the assessment framework for care provided in England.
General guidance on prescribing and the use of medicines is published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in an online-only format. Good clinical practice is to flush an intravenous line with saline after a medicine has been administered, to ensure the full dose is delivered to the patient. This is not unique to antibiotics.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to develop waiting time targets for receiving treatment in the eight new children and young people's gender services regional centres.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are no plans to develop tailored waiting time targets for receiving treatment in children and young people's gender services regional centres. NHS England has made significant progress on its overhaul of children’s gender identity services. NHS England closed the Tavistock Gender Clinic last month and opened two new, regional services operating under a fundamentally differing service model earlier this month. A third clinic is set to open in Bristol this Autumn, and NHS England has committed to a further three services by 2026. These new services will increase service capacity and reduce waiting lists.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the administration of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme cost the NHS Business Services Authority in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) administers the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, on behalf of the Department. Administration costs for the scheme were £600,000, £8.8 million, and £16.1 million for April 2021 to March 2022, April 2022 to March 2023, and April 2023 to March 2024, respectively. Payments made by the NHSBSA for the provision of medical records totalled £1,200, £72,000, and £73,100, for the same periods. The figures are provided to the nearest decimal place.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many adult mental health patients have been held in inappropriate out of area placements since March 2021.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
12,960 inappropriate out of area placements were started between April 2021 and 31 December 2023, although some patients may have had more than one placement within the reporting period.
Asked by: Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to strengthen the privacy and dignity of female patients in NHS hospitals.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to upholding the rights of women and girls and ensuring they are properly represented in healthcare services, communications, and guidance.
That is why we are currently consulting on updates to the NHS Constitution for England to shape the principles and values of the National Health Service and ensure the privacy, dignity and safety of all patients, including women, are embedded in how it operates.
Our proposed changes to the NHS Constitution reinforce the NHS’s commitment to providing single-sex wards and will empower patients to request that intimate care is carried out by someone of the same biological sex, where reasonably possible.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many NHS boards have included sustainability in their assurance framework.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is the legal duty for integrated care boards (ICBs) and their partner National Health Service foundation trusts under section 14Z44 of the NHS Act 2006 to consider sustainability when exercising their functions. ICBs and their partner NHS foundation trusts must consider section 1 of the Climate Change Act 2008, concerning United Kingdom net zero emission targets, and section 5 of the Environment Act 2021, concerning environmental targets. ICBs and their NHS foundation trusts must also adapt to any current or predicted impact of climate change identified in the most recent report under section 56 of the Climate Change Act 2008.
NHS England does not collect data on how many ICBs have included sustainability in their assurance framework.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department provides to NHS A&E departments to ensure staff are aware that A&E services are free of charge regardless of immigration status.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department issues guidance to the National Health Service on charging overseas visitors for some NHS services. This guidance is reviewed regularly and makes it clear that some services, including accident and emergency, are free at the point of delivery for everyone. NHS England works with Overseas Visitor Managers in NHS trusts to operationalise this guidance effectively.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to fund the national roll-out of mental health support teams across all schools and colleges in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Mental health support teams now cover approximately 44% of pupils in England and we are working to increase this coverage to 50% of pupils by March 2025. The further rollout of mental health support teams will be subject to future spending decisions.