1-20 of 46 results for primarymember:"Baroness Murphy"
Librarians' tools
- Search time
- 0.371 seconds
- Solr query time
- 0.002 seconds
- Search query
- primarymember:"Baroness Murphy"
- We searched for
- primaryMember_ses:302572
Type
House
Session
Year
Department
Member
Primary member
Answering member
Legislative stage
Legislation
Subject
More
Publisher
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to assess and prioritise investment in trials of new dementia treatments in the NHS.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to assess and prioritise investment in trials of new dementia treatments in the NHS.
My Lords, across the last five financial years, the Government have spent more than £555 million on dementia research, including into dementia diagnostics and trials of potential treatments. We are working for Britain to be at the forefront of transforming treatments and a world leader in dementia trials expertise. We are prioritising that through investment in the UK Dementia Trials Network and the Dementia Trials Accelerator.
I am very grateful to the Minister for that update. Dementia is now the most prevalent mental disorder in the country and the leading cause of death in women. I think she will agree with me that, at the moment, only 30% of dementia cases ever get diagnosed. If we are to benefit from some of the new developments in treatments, which I recognise are not yet as efficacious as we would like, there has to
be some more investment in ensuring that people get an early diagnosis, so that patients can not only be linked into trials as they come up but get the help and social support that they—and their families, of course—will need. Does the Minister have any plans to increase the dementia diagnosis rate?
I am very grateful to the Minister for that update. Dementia is now the most prevalent mental disorder in the country and the leading cause of death in women. I think she will agree with me that, at the moment, only 30% of dementia cases ever get diagnosed. If we are to benefit from some of the new developments in treatments, which I recognise are not yet as efficacious as we would like, there has to
be some more investment in ensuring that people get an early diagnosis, so that patients can not only be linked into trials as they come up but get the help and social support that they—and their families, of course—will need. Does the Minister have any plans to increase the dementia diagnosis rate?
We do indeed, and I certainly agree with the noble Baroness. A timely diagnosis is absolutely vital to make sure that people with dementia can access everything they need, live well and remain independent for as long as possible. We are committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national figure of 66.7%, and as of 31 March the figure stood at 66.3%. That is an increase from the time before and we will continue, through developing the modern service framework, to drive that upwards.
Does the Minister agree that while the current generation of drugs is not very efficacious—and, sadly, more research recently has demonstrated that it is not terribly good—the most important reason for early diagnosis, as we have said, is to get the services in that people need? We are talking about nearly 1 million people now, and usually the GP is not the person who diagnoses—it is usually the home help or the person next door. We need rapid access for people to be able to get assistance to get the diagnosis they need—otherwise, we will never get anywhere near medication.
Does the Minister agree that while the current generation of drugs is not very efficacious—and, sadly, more research recently has demonstrated that it is not terribly good—the most important reason for early diagnosis, as we have said, is to get the services in that people need? We are talking about nearly 1 million people now, and usually the GP is not the person who diagnoses—it is usually the home help or the person next door. We need rapid access for people to be able to get assistance to get the diagnosis they need—otherwise, we will never get anywhere near medication.
The noble Baroness is absolutely right and, if we stay as we are, the projected figures moving forward to 2040 are, frankly, terrifying. I recognise what she is saying. Do not forget that grandchildren spend so much time with their grandparents and often are the first to notice changing behaviour. I think that picks up on the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley, about an awareness
campaign so that when people pick up on the symptoms, they know where to go to get support. Early prevention and intervention have to be the key.
My Lords, would the Minister agree with me that, while it is 10 years since Alice Figueiredo died, we know that resources in mental health services in-patient units—in terms of human resources particularly, but the number of beds they have access to as well—have deteriorated dramatically? We heard very potent evidence during the passage of the Mental Health Bill this year of the serious consequences that have arisen from this. What are we going to do to improve the quality and quantity of resources available to mental health units, so that occurrences like this do not recur?
My Lords, would the Minister agree with me that, while it is 10 years since Alice Figueiredo died, we know that resources in mental health services in-patient units—in terms of human resources particularly, but the number of beds they have access to as well—have deteriorated dramatically? We heard very potent evidence during the passage of the Mental Health Bill this year of the serious consequences that have arisen from this. What are we going to do to improve the quality and quantity of resources available to mental health units, so that occurrences like this do not recur?
As the noble Baroness will be aware, I take a broader approach. The current in-patient model is totally outdated and cannot address adequately the inherent risks in the mental health in-patient system, so we have to move to new models of care which are integrated in the community. Those changes will be made as part of the 10-year plan. Importantly for me, that will mean a new era of transparency as well as that rigorous focus on patient safety and care and also hearing and acting on patient and staff voices.
My Lords, it may be an anomaly, but there are now 350 religious organisations in this country which are registered to conduct weddings. In 2013, an order was laid in Parliament that we could approve weddings for humanists. Why are we allowing this anomaly to continue? Is it not straight discrimination?
My Lords, it may be an anomaly, but there are now 350 religious organisations in this country which are registered to conduct weddings. In 2013, an order was laid in Parliament that we could approve weddings for humanists. Why are we allowing this anomaly to continue? Is it not straight discrimination?
My Lords, my answer is the same as that given to the previous questions, which is that there are indeed anomalies in weddings law within England and Wales; they cut across many religious and non-religious groups, and we want to look at the question in the round.
My Lords, does the Minister not agree that, while the increase of 70,000 people is very welcome, it is in the context of a turnover of nearly 400,000 every year in care because of the poor career structure? I understand and appreciate that £70 million has been put into training and a care workforce pathway, but does he not agree that it is profoundly inadequate compared with the £11 million a day that is put into NHS nurse training?
My Lords, does the Minister not agree that, while the increase of 70,000 people is very welcome, it is in the context of a turnover of nearly 400,000 every year in care because of the poor career structure? I understand and appreciate that £70 million has been put into training and a care workforce pathway, but does he not agree that it is profoundly inadequate compared with the £11 million a day that is put into NHS nurse training?
The 70,000 increase is a net increase, so it takes into account the turnover of staff, many of whom rejoin somewhere else in a social care setting. Notwithstanding that, I agree with the noble Baroness that a turnover rate of around 28% is too high in any sector. For about 20% of employers the turnover is only 10%, so clearly some know how to develop a career structure and have motivated staff who will stay there. The intention behind the programme and the career pathway we are trying to set up is to try to get more of that across the system, because retention is key.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to testing care and nursing home residents for COVID-19 (1) before, (2) upon, and (3) three days after, admission so as to allow for a seven day quarantine period; and what assessment they have made of the impact of any...
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to testing care and nursing home residents for COVID-19 (1) before, (2) upon, and (3) three days after, admission so as to allow for a seven day quarantine period; and what assessment they have made of the impact of any...
To provide a more comprehensive response to a number of outstanding Written Questions this has been answered by an information factsheet Testing – note for House of Lords which is attached, due to the size of the data. A copy has also been placed in the Library.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the 14-day quarantine period required to be undertaken upon arrival by all new care home residents on the mental health of residents, in particular those with dementia.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the 14-day quarantine period required to be undertaken upon arrival by all new care home residents on the mental health of residents, in particular those with dementia.
Keeping people safe throughout this period is the Government’s top priority. We have been working closely with the sector and public health experts to put in place guidance and support for adult social care and we will continue to ensure they have what they need to respond.
Due to evidence of asymptomatic spread, during periods of sustained transmission we recommend that all residents being discharged from hospital or interim care facilities to the care home and new residents admitted from the community should be isolated for 14 days within their own room.
The steps we have taken have been designed with care users in mind, to ensure that individuals are treated with dignity and respect and that their particular needs are addressed.
We know that the measures put in place to protect care home residents can be challenging for residents, staff and their families. We always seek to balance the impact that these measures may have, considering the physical and mental wellbeing of individuals alongside risks around transmission and the need to safeguard those living and working in care homes.
Does the Minister agree that the inequity of allocations to CCGs is reflected and made worse in allocations on mental health which, for historical reasons, are very skewed to where there are large hospitals? Not only that, but at the moment it seems that CCGs are not even spending the money that is allocated to them for mental health on mental health but are diverting it to other areas. What is going to be done about this in terms of the fairness of the allocations and the insistence that the money should be spent on what it is intended for?
Does the Minister agree that the inequity of allocations to CCGs is reflected and made worse in allocations on mental health which, for historical reasons, are very skewed to where there are large hospitals? Not only that, but at the moment it seems that CCGs are not even spending the money that is allocated to them for mental health on mental health but are diverting it to other areas. What is going to be done about this in terms of the fairness of the allocations and the insistence that the money should be spent on what it is intended for?
My Lords, I am not convinced that the method of allocation is unfair. ACRA will soon be reviewing its method of allocation for 2016-17. I repeat that it is an independent process. How CCGs allocate the money they receive to mental health, physical health, public health or anything else is up to them. With the King’s Fund, we are introducing a range of measures to enable us to see how individual GGCs are performing.
Lords question for short debate on what plans they have to implement their new mental health strategy.
Lords question for short debate on what plans they have to implement their new mental health strategy.
To ask the Leader of the House whether he intends to timetable a debate in Parliament on the forthcoming mental health strategy once it is published.
To ask the Leader of the House whether he intends to timetable a debate in Parliament on the forthcoming mental health strategy once it is published.
Lords question for short debate on what action they are taking to eliminate age discrimination in mental health services for older people.
Lords question for short debate on what action they are taking to eliminate age discrimination in mental health services for older people.