Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department made an impact assessment of ending new registrations by secondary care staff to the NHS Practitioner Health Programme before taking that decision; and whether she plans to reinstate this support.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The mental health and wellbeing of the National Health Service workforce is of paramount importance. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Chief Executive of the NHS understand and sympathise with the concerns raised last month, in relation to the future of the NHS Practitioner Health service. They took swift action to ensure that it will continue to provide a full service to doctors and senior managers during 2023/24, whilst a review is carried out. This was confirmed by NHS England on 15 April 2024.
NHS England is reviewing the service as part of a wider review of its mental health and wellbeing offer to staff. They are working collaboratively with regions and integrated care systems to agree the best approach to providing mental health support for staff, including outreach for the workforce. They will confirm future arrangements once this review has been completed.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions she has had with the Chief Executive of NHS England on the renewal of funding for the NHS Practitioner Health Programme; and whether she plans to continue funding that programme beyond 31 March 2025.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The mental health and wellbeing of the National Health Service workforce is of paramount importance. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Chief Executive of the NHS understand and sympathise with the concerns raised last month, in relation to the future of the NHS Practitioner Health service. They took swift action to ensure that it will continue to provide a full service to doctors and senior managers during 2023/24, whilst a review is carried out. This was confirmed by NHS England on 15 April 2024.
NHS England is reviewing the service as part of a wider review of its mental health and wellbeing offer to staff. They are working collaboratively with regions and integrated care systems to agree the best approach to providing mental health support for staff, including outreach for the workforce. They will confirm future arrangements once this review has been completed.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the NHS Practitioner Health Service in safeguarding the mental health of NHS professionals.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The mental health and wellbeing of the National Health Service workforce is of paramount importance. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Chief Executive of the NHS understand and sympathise with the concerns raised last month, in relation to the future of the NHS Practitioner Health service. They took swift action to ensure that it will continue to provide a full service to doctors and senior managers during 2023/24, whilst a review is carried out. This was confirmed by NHS England on 15 April 2024.
NHS England is reviewing the service as part of a wider review of its mental health and wellbeing offer to staff. They are working collaboratively with regions and integrated care systems to agree the best approach to providing mental health support for staff, including outreach for the workforce. They will confirm future arrangements once this review has been completed.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the mental health of (a) doctors and (b) the wider NHS workforce.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The mental health and wellbeing of the National Health Service workforce is of paramount importance. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Chief Executive of the NHS understand and sympathise with the concerns raised last month, in relation to the future of the NHS Practitioner Health service. They took swift action to ensure that it will continue to provide a full service to doctors and senior managers during 2023/24, whilst a review is carried out. This was confirmed by NHS England on 15 April 2024.
NHS England is reviewing the service as part of a wider review of its mental health and wellbeing offer to staff. They are working collaboratively with regions and integrated care systems to agree the best approach to providing mental health support for staff, including outreach for the workforce. They will confirm future arrangements once this review has been completed.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an estimate of the cost to the public purse of a removing Value Added Tax on automatic external defibrillators.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government provides VAT reliefs to aid the purchase of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) through VAT refunds on purchases made by local authorities including parish councils, and VAT reliefs for purchases made through voluntary contributions where the AED is donated to eligible charities or the NHS.
The cost of relieving VAT on AEDs is uncertain owing to the lack of data on purchases of these devices. Businesses are not required to provide information at a product level in their VAT returns, as this may impose an excessive administrative burden.
The Government is currently inviting community organisations to bid for funding as part of a £1 million grant scheme that expands public access to AEDs, particularly in public places where they are most needed.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the humanitarian situation in Western Sahara.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to the promotion of respect for International Humanitarian Law worldwide. The UK continues to monitor the humanitarian situation in Western Sahara, and remains concerned about the humanitarian situation facing Sahrawi refugees in the camps in Tindouf, which the UK provides humanitarian assistance to via our contributions to UN bodies such as the World Food Programme. The UK has consistently supported Security Council Resolutions which note "with deep concern the continued hardships faced by Sahrawi refugees and their dependency on external humanitarian assistance, and further noting with deep concern insufficient funding for those living in Tindouf refugee camps and the risks associated with the reduction of food assistance".
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to increase the proportion of people who receive treatment for cancer within 31 days of a decision to begin that treatment.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is taking steps to reduce cancer diagnosis and treatment waiting times across England, including the time between an urgent general practice referral and the commencement of treatment for cancer for patients. The Government is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care, and plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity. Additionally, as outlined in the 2024/25 NHS England Planning Guidance, NHS England is providing over £266 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances, to support delivery of the operational priorities for cancer.
To help achieve the cancer waiting times standards, NHS England is streamlining cancer pathways. This includes implementing non-symptom specific pathways for patients who present with non-specific symptoms, as well as timed cancer pathways focused on the most challenged pathways, such as lower gastrointestinal and skin cancer. The pathways aim to support improvements in operational performance and patient experience, as well as providing models to support sustainable improvement.
Furthermore, to improve cancer treatment we are maximising the pace of the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity. We are currently delivering the second year of the three-year investment plan for establishing community diagnostic centres (CDCs). We are ensuring timely implementation of new CDC locations and upgrades to existing CDCs, with capacity prioritised for cancer diagnostics. As of April 2024, 160 CDCs are operational, and have delivered almost 8 million tests, checks, and scans since July 2021. Additionally, we are supporting advances in radiotherapy. Since 2016, we’ve invested £162 million into cutting-edge radiotherapy equipment to replace or upgrade over 100 radiotherapy treatment machines.
We are committed to delivering the best possible outcomes for patients, and our approach is seeing success. Almost 344,000 people received their first cancer treatment in the 12 months to March 2024. Further, 2023/24 is the best year so far for the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), with the latest performance data showing that NHS England hit the FDS target for the second month in a row at 77.3%, above the standard of 75%. We have also reduced the 62 day or over cancer referral to treatment backlog, to pre-pandemic levels.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to increase the proportion of people who are provided a cancer diagnosis within 28 days of their referral for testing.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is taking steps to reduce cancer diagnosis and treatment waiting times across England, including the time between an urgent general practice referral and the commencement of treatment for cancer for patients. The Government is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care, and plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity. Additionally, as outlined in the 2024/25 NHS England Planning Guidance, NHS England is providing over £266 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances, to support delivery of the operational priorities for cancer.
To help achieve the cancer waiting times standards, NHS England is streamlining cancer pathways. This includes implementing non-symptom specific pathways for patients who present with non-specific symptoms, as well as timed cancer pathways focused on the most challenged pathways, such as lower gastrointestinal and skin cancer. The pathways aim to support improvements in operational performance and patient experience, as well as providing models to support sustainable improvement.
Furthermore, to improve cancer treatment we are maximising the pace of the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity. We are currently delivering the second year of the three-year investment plan for establishing community diagnostic centres (CDCs). We are ensuring timely implementation of new CDC locations and upgrades to existing CDCs, with capacity prioritised for cancer diagnostics. As of April 2024, 160 CDCs are operational, and have delivered almost 8 million tests, checks, and scans since July 2021. Additionally, we are supporting advances in radiotherapy. Since 2016, we’ve invested £162 million into cutting-edge radiotherapy equipment to replace or upgrade over 100 radiotherapy treatment machines.
We are committed to delivering the best possible outcomes for patients, and our approach is seeing success. Almost 344,000 people received their first cancer treatment in the 12 months to March 2024. Further, 2023/24 is the best year so far for the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), with the latest performance data showing that NHS England hit the FDS target for the second month in a row at 77.3%, above the standard of 75%. We have also reduced the 62 day or over cancer referral to treatment backlog, to pre-pandemic levels.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to increase the proportion of people of people who are treated within 62 days of referral for cancer treatment.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is taking steps to reduce cancer diagnosis and treatment waiting times across England, including the time between an urgent general practice referral and the commencement of treatment for cancer for patients. The Government is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care, and plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity. Additionally, as outlined in the 2024/25 NHS England Planning Guidance, NHS England is providing over £266 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances, to support delivery of the operational priorities for cancer.
To help achieve the cancer waiting times standards, NHS England is streamlining cancer pathways. This includes implementing non-symptom specific pathways for patients who present with non-specific symptoms, as well as timed cancer pathways focused on the most challenged pathways, such as lower gastrointestinal and skin cancer. The pathways aim to support improvements in operational performance and patient experience, as well as providing models to support sustainable improvement.
Furthermore, to improve cancer treatment we are maximising the pace of the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity. We are currently delivering the second year of the three-year investment plan for establishing community diagnostic centres (CDCs). We are ensuring timely implementation of new CDC locations and upgrades to existing CDCs, with capacity prioritised for cancer diagnostics. As of April 2024, 160 CDCs are operational, and have delivered almost 8 million tests, checks, and scans since July 2021. Additionally, we are supporting advances in radiotherapy. Since 2016, we’ve invested £162 million into cutting-edge radiotherapy equipment to replace or upgrade over 100 radiotherapy treatment machines.
We are committed to delivering the best possible outcomes for patients, and our approach is seeing success. Almost 344,000 people received their first cancer treatment in the 12 months to March 2024. Further, 2023/24 is the best year so far for the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), with the latest performance data showing that NHS England hit the FDS target for the second month in a row at 77.3%, above the standard of 75%. We have also reduced the 62 day or over cancer referral to treatment backlog, to pre-pandemic levels.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for cancer (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment in Merseyside.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is taking steps to reduce cancer diagnosis and treatment waiting times across England, including Merseyside. The Government is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care, and plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity. Additionally, as outlined in the 2024/25 NHS England Planning Guidance, NHS England are providing over £266 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances to support delivery of the operational priorities for cancer.
The latest published cancer performance data for Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB) shows that in March 2024, 76% of patients referred met the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), which aims to ensure patients have cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days of referral from a general practice or screening services. This surpasses the 75% standard and shows an improvement of 5.8% since March 2023.
Similarly, the latest performance data for Cheshire and Merseyside ICB shows that of those referred for cancer treatment in in March 2024, 92.4% met the 31-day wait from a decision to treat to first or subsequent treatment of cancer combined standard, and 75.4% met the 62-day referral to first definitive treatment for cancer combined standard. According to data from NHS England, this is above national cancer performance for both treatment standards.