The National Health Service is working in partnership with private hospitals in the United Kingdom to combat the outbreak of COVID-19. The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the Independent Healthcare Providers Network and with independent sector providers themselves to secure all appropriate inpatient capacity and other resource across England.<\/p>
The addition of around 6,500 additional beds has increased NHS capacity and ensured that facilities are available for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 whilst ensuring continuity of service for non-COVID-19 patients requiring elective activity, including cancer and other urgent treatment.<\/p>
It is not possible to make an assessment of the impact since March of any underutilisation of independent sector capacity on postponed diagnoses or treatment.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4708", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Bethell"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Bethell"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-12-07", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-12-07T16:32:48.14Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-11-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Hospitals"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the impact since March of the under-utilisation of capacity in hospitals operated by the Independent Healthcare Providers Network under their partnership agreement with the NHSÂ on (1) postponed (a) diagnoses, and (b) treatment, and (2) costs to taxpayers.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/260", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Wills"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Wills"} ], "uin" : "HL9971"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/967478", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/967478/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Parliamentary under Secretary of State (Steve Brine MP) commissioned Public Health England (PHE) to review the evidence for dependence on, and withdrawal from, prescribed medicines. The review was launched in January 2018 and is due to report in spring 2019 and we await its findings. It is the responsibility of local authorities to commission services, such as the provision of withdrawal centres for addiction to prescribed medicines, to meet assessed local need. The Government currently has no plans to increase the number of these centres.<\/p>
The Government has no plans to introduce a separate national helpline to support people affected by prescribed drug dependence. Help and advice on prescribed drug dependence is already available from the 111 helpline or NHS Choices. People who feel that they might be dependent on either prescribed or over the counter medicines should seek help from a health professional in the first instance (such as a general practitioner or pharmacist).<\/p>
PHE\u2019s review includes prescribed benzodiazepine drug dependence but will not consider evidence further back than 10 years ago. There are no plans to establish a public inquiry into prescribed benzodiazepine drug dependence.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4545", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord O'Shaughnessy"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord O'Shaughnessy"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-09-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "HL9967"} , {"_value" : "HL9968"} , {"_value" : "HL9969"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-09-17T14:06:06.203Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-09-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Benzodiazepines: Misuse"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will establish a public inquiry into the harmful effects of prescribed benzodiazepine drug dependence over the last 50 years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/2024", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Hunt of Kings Heath"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Hunt of Kings Heath"} ], "uin" : "HL9971"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }