Contributions
1,737 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDMedical Devices (Amendment) (Great Britain) Regulations 2023I absolutely agree. To clarify—I may have used the terms interchangeably—I am talking here about the Great Britain market. It is a great British market as well but we are talking…05 Jun 2023HANSARDNHS GP Surgeries: Purchase by US CompaniesWhat the centre is most interested in is quality of the service; that is exactly what we do. As for Operose, which the noble Lord mentioned, 97% of its surgeries are rated by CQC…05 Jun 2023HANSARDNHS GP Surgeries: Purchase by US CompaniesMy noble friend is correct, of course. GPs have always been independent businesses, and that is the backbone of the service. We have managed to increase the number of GPs by 2000…05 Jun 2023HANSARDNHS GP Surgeries: Purchase by US CompaniesI think it was the noble Lord opposite who introduced patient choice. That looked to the independent sector to increase supply, which is what we care most about. I do not believe…05 Jun 2023HANSARDNHS GP Surgeries: Purchase by US CompaniesI am not aware of any correlation between the type of ownership and the quality of the services from it. If there is one, then we can look at that, but we are focusing resources…05 Jun 2023HANSARDNHS GP Surgeries: Purchase by US CompaniesThis information is not held centrally because local commissioners arrange appropriate services for their populations by contracting with providers. Commissioners do not normally…05 Jun 2023HANSARDNHS GP Surgeries: Purchase by US CompaniesThis is absolutely the work that the Treasury is doing at the moment. Noble Lords have asked, many a time, when it is coming out. I think people will understand that part of the…05 Jun 2023HANSARDNHS GP Surgeries: Purchase by US CompaniesI totally agree with my noble friend. I like to think that we will take advice from whoever is best placed to give it, whether they are public sector, private sector, UK or…05 Jun 2023HANSARDNHS GP Surgeries: Purchase by US CompaniesThe noble Lord is absolutely correct that it is all about supply and the quality of that supply. That is why, again, I am pleased to say that we have a record number of GPs in…05 Jun 2023HANSARDNHS GP Surgeries: Purchase by US CompaniesMy understanding is that it is a range of issues, clearly including workload, pay and conditions. We are trying to address those; I think the change in the pensions rule has been…05 Jun 2023HANSARDNHS GP Surgeries: Purchase by US CompaniesMy understanding on this is that actually it is not a massively profitable area at the moment. The biggest provider in this area, Babylon Health, as we all know, did not manage to…05 Jun 2023HANSARDNHS GP Surgeries: Purchase by US CompaniesClearly, we have our targets in terms of making sure that people can see a GP. I am glad to say that 70% of appointments are now face to face, and we are on target to hit our 50…05 Jun 2023HANSARDSodium ValproateOur aim is to reduce and finally eliminate the harms of valproate in pregnancy. In December, we announced additional measures to protect women and families through a requirement…05 Jun 2023HANSARDSodium ValproateFirst, I thank my noble friend for all the vital work that she has done in this space. She is absolutely correct. The key thing is that there are circumstances where sodium…05 Jun 2023HANSARDSodium ValproateThe regulatory authorities absolutely work closely here. It is my understanding that it is the intent of all the devolved Administrations to make sure that while there are…05 Jun 2023HANSARDSodium ValproateThe noble Baroness is correct. In terms of data, it is vital: first, that we have a register of all the people who are taking valproate so that we can be sure that the information…05 Jun 2023HANSARDSodium ValproateThe noble Lord is absolutely correct. Everyone taking sodium valproate who is of childbearing age should be on a pregnancy prevention programme to make sure that those sorts of…05 Jun 2023HANSARDSodium ValproateI thank my noble friend. Yes, the number of cases of people of childbearing age—this is a key criterion—taking sodium valproate has reduced by 33% over the past five years. The…05 Jun 2023HANSARDMedical Devices (Amendment) (Great Britain) Regulations 2023My Lords, I am grateful to be here to debate these important regulations. Plasters for a scraped knee, blood tests that detect cancer, pacemakers, pregnancy tests and software…05 Jun 2023HANSARDMedical Devices (Amendment) (Great Britain) Regulations 2023I thank noble Lords for their valuable interventions; I will try to answer a lot of their points as far as is possible. First, I completely agree that clarity is vital in this…05 Jun 2023