Live webchat with Health Secretary Andy Burnham today (Weds 22 July) 2.30-3.30pm

[HelenMumsnet]

We're delighted to announce that Andy Burnham, Secretary of State for Health, will be joining us on Mumsnet tomorrow (Wednesday 22 July) between 2.30pm and 3.30pm for a live webchat, during which he's promised to answer your questions about swine flu (and anything else you'd like to know).

Andy has been Health Secretary since June this year. He is also MP for Leigh in Greater Manchester, was born in Liverpool, has three children, supports Everton and, apparently, plays a mean riff on the guitar.

Because of the last-minute scheduling of this webchat, we're NOT taking advance questions, so stand by your keyboards at 2.30pm tomorrow (or get someone else to ask your question if you can't be there)!

Hi

I am concerned about a few aspects of the just released NICE guidence on when to suspect maltreatment or neglect of children.

As already mentioned there are many people who will be worried that they will be put under pressure by the section about engaging with child health and immunisation services.

I am equally concerned by the entry about school attendence as it refers to home education unless 'formally approved' as a flag. Were the people who wrote the guidence aware that currently there is no such thing as 'formally approved home education', although LAs can and do make enquiries and take action if children are not being educated suitably it is not within their remit, nor are there formal processes for approval of education. Perhaps they have inside information on the result of the current home education consultation, which would also be concerning as public consultation does not end until October and the potential legislation will not be debated until then. Perhaps this is something that needs to be looked into further? Would that be something you could do as it is included in health guidence?

Thank you

And will the vaccine that you want our children to have be fully tested and licensed?

The child who died with tonsillitis went into septic shock according to the news.

I can't see any MP being able to answer questions on a chat to be honest as they are always going to be many questions without answers immediately available.

Having a typist just makes things take twice as long.

(Justine, I'm sure that he has advisors that could have pre-answered a lot of these questions but I'm very glad that he has come on. Thank you.)

The government aims for people with possible cancer to be seen by a specialist within two weeks. But what is being done to reduce the time taken for investigations to be completed and cancer treatment started? Surely reducing the time from diagnosis to treatment will improve cancer survival rates.

My questions:

1. why don't you get Sister's back on wards. When I was a hospital cleaner, the sister would inspect my work and make me do anything again that she wasnt impressed with.

(I was in hope hospital a year a go and it was shocking)

1. We need cheaper denists, my mum. a pensioner had to pay £430 for a crown yesterday. I know people who don't ever go now.

1. Put out adverts about when to call an ambulance. My DH is a paramedic and they get so many timewasters. Make it so that they are able to tell people to get a taxi , who don't need emergency without fear of losing their jobs if they get sued. Last night he someone with ear ache and some one who had a back ache (that they had for 2 days)

1. Do more for mental health services. People need counselling and support more often than they need drugs. And those that do need drugs need to be much more closely monitored to ensure that levels are right and that they can get off them. Make use of alternatives such as mediation (speak to the Mindfulness research centre attached to Warneford hospital and Oxford university...they are getting amazing clinical results on the effectiveness of mediation on depression, Mediation is free, train someone how to do it and they have a skill for life)

1. Same with insomnia - no less drugs more relaxation programmes (my fab GP sent me on a course 15 years ago and I still use the techniques now, never needed meds though have lots of sleep problems) - cheap long term innovative solution.

thank you for reading

also why u are here what about the amount of research into congentital heart defects its the most common killer in kids under 1 but there is no awareness????

Would you honestly give your own children the Sf vaccine when it becomes available?

I have to agree with the smear tests being reduced back to 20. I was discovered to have CIN 3 level cells at the age of 24. had i left it a few more months I would have had CIN 4, which would have been cancer. My cells returned within a year. I am lucky i got tested early before this new ridiculous change in law. Why are women under 25 being denied this procedure when this country openly admits that we have a teenage pregnancy and early sexual activity 'problem' and yet people who are sexually active are being denied a simple test to check that they do not havea disease that is transmitted sexually until they are mid-20's?

how safe is the vaccine?

Ok, last try....Critical care beds for this winter...have you any plans for increasing capacity?

On critical care beds its important to say that the NHS is wonderfully resilient and has long experience of dealing with the extra pressure that comes with any flu season or outbreak of flu. In the winter of 1999/2000 there were very high levels of seasonal flu, much above current levels that we are seeing and as always, the NHS rose to the challenge and sufficient capacity were available. People should take comfort from the fact that our health care system is nationally organised and that capacity can be planned centrally to meet demand. On paediatric intensive care I would want people to be reassured that there are contingency plans in place in all English regions to meet increased levels of demands. We issued planning guidance to the NHS last week with worse case scenarios. Whilst this produced some awkward headlines for us, we think it was the right thing to do, so that the NHS was clear about the extra pressure it could face in the most extreme scenario.

Another person has died of SF.

31 now.

I saw this Fab

Yes, Vaccine questions are important - who will it be recommended for (eg. under 5s), and will it have been fully tested?!?

yup dont say if they had any problems though

will my 2 year old be able to get the vacinne and how do we know it won't affect unborn children? Didn't they say that about thalidomide?

Mr Burnham - The underlying causes theme seems to be one of the most dominant discussion threads here. If these details were released it would be helpful on a number of levels.
One - to help individuals assess their own relative degree of risk with regard to swine flu and promptness of treatment.
Two - it would help dispel rumours that the underlying causes is all a government cover up story to avert panic.
There seems to be real concern that almost anyone could be made retrospectively to fit into an underlying causes scenario and I am not altogether convinced by the tonsillitis story by the way!!

With regards to vaccines, yes I would give it to my children but I would want to be sure that it had been properly tested so, you can all take heart that I won't be taking any risks there. On the timing we have contracts in place to see the first doses arrive at the end of next month and then build up significantly over the autumn. 60 million doses are contracted to arrive in 2009. Enough to vaccinate half of the population. Overall we have an order placed for 130 million does (people may need two doses). Because we had advanced purchased agreements, we are at the front of the queue for vaccines. I will say more on vaccines in a minute.

I am unsure whether to give my 2 yr old the SF vaccine,can you honestly say you would give it to your own children & is it 100% safe?

Thanyou for answering, although I must disagree. We get by..just. On Millenium eve I travelled with a seriously ill patient from hertfordshire to derbyshire..this was the last ITU bed in England at that time. We will not get by this winter with current numbers.

So are you sure it will be properly tested?

if people already had the virus what the point in gettin vaccine?

Thankyou X posted there, so who decides who gets the vacinne & who doesnt get it?