Tag: healthcare

Bishop of London speaks on health inequalities and community engagement in a post-COVID world

The Bishop of London took part in a debate on health and wellbeing in a post-COVID-19 world on 29th November 2023, raising the issue of health inequalities and opportunities for faith groups to aid in promoting local community health and resilience:

The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register. First, it is a pleasure to be participating in an important debate on this report. I thank all those involved in the committee, particularly the chair, for all the work they have done. This report rightly encourages us to increase our understanding of the lessons we can learn from the pandemic and to act on them in having a long-term view of the future.

This is a crucial topic. I support the noble Baroness, Lady Lane-Fox, in her view that our electoral system does not naturally lend itself to having a long-term view of the future. I shall focus today on recommendations 1 and 2. They are, in fact, interconnected. Those topics are first, inequalities, following the noble Lord, Lord Patel, particularly in health, and, secondly, community engagement.

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Bishop of London asks about healthcare apprenticeships

The Bishop of London asked a question on funding to backfill roles left open by uptake of apprenticeships by those working in the healthcare sector on 27th November 2023:

The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, I welcome both the Government’s efforts to make apprenticeships more accessible to ensure that people can be supported into key occupations and the expansion of this into the health service, especially with the recent NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. In healthcare professions, cover is required for apprentices’ roles when they are studying. Those apprentices are often on full-time salaries, so backfilled funding will have to be found to ensure that those workplaces can cope. As this cannot be covered by the apprenticeship levy, what support are the Government offering to ensure that those apprenticeship routes can be successful?

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Bishop of Durham asks about delivering health services in disadvantaged communities

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 22nd November 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to use schools and nurseries as hubs for delivering health services to support families and meet the health needs of children and young people, especially within disadvantaged communities.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about numbers of doctors coming to the UK from overseas

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the number of doctors coming to work in the UK from other countries in the last year on 20th November 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, how many doctors, including GPs, have come from outside the UK in the last year for which we have records? What long-term plan is there to stop us relying on having to bring in doctors from countries that need them far more than we do because they are much poorer than here in the UK?

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Bishop of Worcester asks about children’s hospices

The Bishop of Worcester asked a question on the work of hospices caring for children with terminal and long term conditions during a discussion on hospice funding on 14th November 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Worcester: My Lords, I am grateful for this announcement. We have a wonderful hospice in Worcester, the Acorns Children’s Hospice, which does extraordinary work with young people. Does the Minister accept that, although a minority of children die in hospices, the number of children cared for by them greatly exceeds that. Their work is invaluable.

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King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of London speaks on health & social care

During a debate on the King’s Speech on 9th October 2023, the Bishop of London gave a speech focusing on issues of health and social care:

The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, it is a pleasure to participate in this debate on the gracious Speech. I declare my interests as recorded in the register.

I begin by joining noble Lords across the House in welcoming the indication in the Speech that the Government will legislate for a ban on smoking. As we have heard, smoking is the single biggest preventable killer in the UK, but it is also an example of pronounced health inequality. The Chief Medical Officer gave this evidence to the Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee:

“Smoking is usually twice as high in people with lower incomes and more than twice as high in people living with mental health issues”.

He went on to say:

“The cigarette industry goes absolutely unerringly for the most vulnerable in society”.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about access to medication to treat neurological conditions

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 25th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Servier to expand access to vorasidenib for patients that might benefit by including it in the early access to medicines scheme, or by any other means.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about UK rare diseases framework

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 21st September 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK Rare Diseases Framework on international collaboration since January 2021.

Lord Markham (Con, Department of Health & Social Care): Whilst no assessment has been made, international collaboration is an underpinning theme of the UK Rare Diseases Framework.

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Bishop of Durham asks about healthcare provision for migrants in detention

The Bishop of Durham asked a question on healthcare provision at Ministry of Defence sites housing migrants and asylum seekers on 20th September 2023, during a debate on the outbreak of illness among migrants on the Bibby Stockholm barge:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, the barge is only one solution to the growing numbers who need to be accommodated. What provision of healthcare is being considered at MoD sites such as Wethersfield and, potentially, Scampton? Will GPs be on site and what all-round healthcare will there be to ensure that those resident there are kept safe?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about rare disease treatments and services

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 20th September 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what service the NHS provides for people with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva.

Lord Markham (Con, Department of Health & Social Care): While there is no specific prescribed service for fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), children with the condition are cared for by National Health Service paediatric rheumatologists and/or geneticists with input from other clinicians as required. For patients with rare diseases such as FOP, expert centres provide clinical guidance, support and advice to patients, their families, and carers.

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