The suspension of non-urgent elective operations did not apply to emergency admissions, urgent cancer treatment and other clinically urgent care.<\/p>
As a result of the measures put in place to tackle COVID-19, we now appear to be passing the peak of new cases and it has been decided to release and redeploy some of the treatment capacity that could have been needed while the number of COVID-19 patients was rising sharply.<\/p>
All National Health Service organisations have therefore been asked to step-up non-COVID-19 services as soon as possible, starting with the most urgent.<\/p>
The NHS is running an \u2018Open for Business\u2019 media campaign, encouraging all patients in need of urgent or emergency medical care to seek appropriate treatment including, where appropriate, attendance at accident and emergency.<\/p>
<\/p>
This media campaign specifically targets heart attack patients, as well as anyone else with a potentially serious health condition.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4362", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Edward Argar"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Charnwood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Edward Argar"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-05-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "43957"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-05-12T12:03:29.977Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-05-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Heart Diseases: Health Services"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has made for heart failure patients to resume access to standard levels of care following a reduction in the level of covid-19 related cases.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4412", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dr Lisa Cameron"} ], "uin" : "43956"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1193733", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1193733/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The suspension of non-urgent elective operations did not apply to emergency admissions, urgent cancer treatment and other clinically urgent care.<\/p>
As a result of the measures put in place to tackle COVID-19, we now appear to be passing the peak of new cases and it has been decided to release and redeploy some of the treatment capacity that could have been needed while the number of COVID-19 patients was rising sharply.<\/p>
All National Health Service organisations have therefore been asked to step-up non-COVID-19 services as soon as possible, starting with the most urgent.<\/p>
The NHS is running an \u2018Open for Business\u2019 media campaign, encouraging all patients in need of urgent or emergency medical care to seek appropriate treatment including, where appropriate, attendance at accident and emergency.<\/p>
<\/p>
This media campaign specifically targets heart attack patients, as well as anyone else with a potentially serious health condition.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4362", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Edward Argar"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Charnwood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Edward Argar"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-05-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "43956"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-05-12T12:03:30.023Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-05-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Heart Diseases: Health Services"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that patients with heart and circulatory diseases are able to safely access (a) standard levels of care and (b) specialist services in the community during the covid-19 outbreak.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4412", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dr Lisa Cameron"} ], "uin" : "43957"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1193794", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1193794/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
We recognise the challenges that autistic people and neurodivergent people and their families face as a result of the response to COVID-19, and it is clear that we need to understand how the response will affect these groups of people in the longer term.<\/p>
The Department is currently exploring research opportunities to assess the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic response to vulnerable people such as those with learning disabilities and/or autism.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4527", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Helen Whately"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Faversham and Mid Kent"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Helen Whately"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-05-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-05-21T09:32:22.363Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-05-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Coronavirus: Autism"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the long-term effect of the covid-19 lockdown on (a) mental and (b) physical health inequalities among (i) autistic people and (ii) other neurodivergent groups.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4412", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dr Lisa Cameron"} ], "uin" : "43958"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1193795", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1193795/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Government is committed to reducing the disability employment gap and seeing one million more disabled people in work between 2017 and 2027. We continue to monitor employment of disabled people using the quarterly Labour Force Survey along with other relevant sources. Collection of this information is happening now but there will be a period until data needed to robustly assess the effects of the covid-19 outbreak on disabled people\u2019s employment is available.<\/p>
<\/p>
Labour Force Survey statistics for the first quarter of 2020, will be reported by the Office for National Statistics on 19 May 2020, covering the very start of the covid-19 outbreak in March. Statistics for the second quarter of 2020 will be available in August.<\/p>
<\/p>
The Office for National Statistics is producing a range of wider information about the social and economic impacts of covid-19 such as the Business Impact of Coronavirus (BIC) survey. Statistics from the ONS Omnibus survey for 3 April 2020 to 13 April 2020 show that a lower proportion of disabled people than non-disabled people were worried about aspects of work and household finances.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4105", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Justin Tomlinson"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North Swindon"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Justin Tomlinson"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-05-14", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-05-14T12:08:34.68Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-05-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Employment: Disability"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to monitor the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on its goal of supporting one million more disabled people into work.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4412", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dr Lisa Cameron"} ], "uin" : "43959"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1193799", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Home Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1193799/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
We recognise that there are greater risks to vulnerable groups during the lockdown period. That is why the Government has taken clear steps to address these risks and ensure that we continue to support some of the most vulnerable people in our society.<\/p>
In particular the Home Office response to vulnerable children in the COVID-19 epidemic has focused on:<\/p>
o Stepping up communications through schools, online guidance, the private sector and charities.<\/p>
o Addressing the hidden nature of abuse by identifying and mobilising protective \u201ceyes and ears\u201d within the community.<\/p>
o Reinforcing the importance of multi-agency working.<\/p>
o Working across government to support the charity sector.<\/p>
The Home Office is working closely with other government departments and the third sector to allocate some of the £750m funding for charities, announced by the Chancellor last month, to charities supporting vulnerable people, including:<\/p>
o £2 million for community-based services for victims of domestic abuse<\/p>
o £28 million to help survivors of domestic abuse and their children by providing more safe spaces, accommodation and access to support services during the coronavirus outbreak<\/p>
o £7.8 million for organisations supporting vulnerable children at risk of abuse, exploitation and other serious harms; and<\/p>
o £1.73 million to support adult victims of modern slavery through The Salvation Army and their thirteen sub-contractor charities.<\/p>
In addition, last month the Department of Education announced that more than £12 million will be spent on projects to tackle the increased risk some children and young people are facing as they stay at home to reduce the spread of Coronavirus.<\/p>
We are continuing to work closely with other government departments to ensure that the necessary support is in place to continue to support vulnerable people beyond lockdown. As an example, the Government are continuing the progression of the landmark Domestic Abuse Bill through Parliament to better protect victims and bring perpetrators to justice.<\/p>
We recognise the challenges that autistic people and people with neurodiverse conditions and their families face as a result of the response to COVID-19.<\/p>
We are working with stakeholders and charities to ensure that all people with neurodiverse conditions are supported appropriately during the pandemic and after. Our support includes, for example, the development of specific guidance and access to online support and social groups. Guidance for parents and carers on supporting children and young people\u2019s mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 outbreak is available at the following link:<\/p>