Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average (a) cost per adult and (b) length of stay was for an acute hospital bed day in the Suffolk and North East Essex integrated care system in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The average cost per adult for an acute hospital bed day by integrated care system, is not collected centrally by the Department. NHS England publishes a national cost collection which includes unit costs for non-elective inpatient stays. This data is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/costing-in-the-nhs/national-cost-collection/
The information on length of stay is not available in the format requested. NHS England publishes general and acute length of bed stay data, with data available at a trust level but not an integrated care system level. The trust level data is available at the following link:
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the establishment grant for pharmacies extending into Pharmacy First for (a) consulting and (b) waiting facilities.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacy First was launched on 31 January 2024, and as the service embeds, we will monitor and evaluate the service and keep the conditions covered by Pharmacy First under review, but it is too early to consider expanding the clinical pathways.
In the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we estimated that Pharmacy First, together with the expanded blood pressure check and contraception service, once fully scaled, could remove up to 10 million general practice (GP) appointments. We are monitoring the number of Pharmacy First consultations in community pharmacy but it is not possible to monitor the number of GP appointments Pharmacy First frees up. However, we know that Pharmacy First will enable GPs to see patients with more complex needs quicker.
Since 2019, GPs and their teams have already been referring patients to community pharmacies for minor illnesses and Pharmacy First builds on this. NHS England has engaged with GPs during the development and launch of Pharmacy First and Community Pharmacy England has launched a dedicated website for GPs supporting them with Pharmacy First referrals.
Pharmacies are not paid an establishment grant. Contractors who have signed up to deliver Pharmacy First received a £2,000 set-up fee, they receive £15 per consultation and £1,000 for each month they reach an agreed minimum number of consultations. Funding for community pharmacies, including the funding for Pharmacy First, is expected to pay for all their costs in providing the service. There are no delays to Pharmacy First payments. All payments are made in line with the usual schedule of payments.
The statutory National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage is based on advice of the Low Pay Commission, which takes into account the impact on business and the wider economy, as well as the living standards of workers.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance she issues tor GPs on working with Pharmacy First to reduce their workloads.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacy First was launched on 31 January 2024, and as the service embeds, we will monitor and evaluate the service and keep the conditions covered by Pharmacy First under review, but it is too early to consider expanding the clinical pathways.
In the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we estimated that Pharmacy First, together with the expanded blood pressure check and contraception service, once fully scaled, could remove up to 10 million general practice (GP) appointments. We are monitoring the number of Pharmacy First consultations in community pharmacy but it is not possible to monitor the number of GP appointments Pharmacy First frees up. However, we know that Pharmacy First will enable GPs to see patients with more complex needs quicker.
Since 2019, GPs and their teams have already been referring patients to community pharmacies for minor illnesses and Pharmacy First builds on this. NHS England has engaged with GPs during the development and launch of Pharmacy First and Community Pharmacy England has launched a dedicated website for GPs supporting them with Pharmacy First referrals.
Pharmacies are not paid an establishment grant. Contractors who have signed up to deliver Pharmacy First received a £2,000 set-up fee, they receive £15 per consultation and £1,000 for each month they reach an agreed minimum number of consultations. Funding for community pharmacies, including the funding for Pharmacy First, is expected to pay for all their costs in providing the service. There are no delays to Pharmacy First payments. All payments are made in line with the usual schedule of payments.
The statutory National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage is based on advice of the Low Pay Commission, which takes into account the impact on business and the wider economy, as well as the living standards of workers.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 potential impact of the new Living Wage rate on community pharmacies.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacy First was launched on 31 January 2024, and as the service embeds, we will monitor and evaluate the service and keep the conditions covered by Pharmacy First under review, but it is too early to consider expanding the clinical pathways.
In the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we estimated that Pharmacy First, together with the expanded blood pressure check and contraception service, once fully scaled, could remove up to 10 million general practice (GP) appointments. We are monitoring the number of Pharmacy First consultations in community pharmacy but it is not possible to monitor the number of GP appointments Pharmacy First frees up. However, we know that Pharmacy First will enable GPs to see patients with more complex needs quicker.
Since 2019, GPs and their teams have already been referring patients to community pharmacies for minor illnesses and Pharmacy First builds on this. NHS England has engaged with GPs during the development and launch of Pharmacy First and Community Pharmacy England has launched a dedicated website for GPs supporting them with Pharmacy First referrals.
Pharmacies are not paid an establishment grant. Contractors who have signed up to deliver Pharmacy First received a £2,000 set-up fee, they receive £15 per consultation and £1,000 for each month they reach an agreed minimum number of consultations. Funding for community pharmacies, including the funding for Pharmacy First, is expected to pay for all their costs in providing the service. There are no delays to Pharmacy First payments. All payments are made in line with the usual schedule of payments.
The statutory National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage is based on advice of the Low Pay Commission, which takes into account the impact on business and the wider economy, as well as the living standards of workers.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to tackle delays to payments to community pharmacies operating Pharmacy First.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacy First was launched on 31 January 2024, and as the service embeds, we will monitor and evaluate the service and keep the conditions covered by Pharmacy First under review, but it is too early to consider expanding the clinical pathways.
In the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we estimated that Pharmacy First, together with the expanded blood pressure check and contraception service, once fully scaled, could remove up to 10 million general practice (GP) appointments. We are monitoring the number of Pharmacy First consultations in community pharmacy but it is not possible to monitor the number of GP appointments Pharmacy First frees up. However, we know that Pharmacy First will enable GPs to see patients with more complex needs quicker.
Since 2019, GPs and their teams have already been referring patients to community pharmacies for minor illnesses and Pharmacy First builds on this. NHS England has engaged with GPs during the development and launch of Pharmacy First and Community Pharmacy England has launched a dedicated website for GPs supporting them with Pharmacy First referrals.
Pharmacies are not paid an establishment grant. Contractors who have signed up to deliver Pharmacy First received a £2,000 set-up fee, they receive £15 per consultation and £1,000 for each month they reach an agreed minimum number of consultations. Funding for community pharmacies, including the funding for Pharmacy First, is expected to pay for all their costs in providing the service. There are no delays to Pharmacy First payments. All payments are made in line with the usual schedule of payments.
The statutory National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage is based on advice of the Low Pay Commission, which takes into account the impact on business and the wider economy, as well as the living standards of workers.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to expand the number of clinical pathways under Pharmacy First services.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacy First was launched on 31 January 2024, and as the service embeds, we will monitor and evaluate the service and keep the conditions covered by Pharmacy First under review, but it is too early to consider expanding the clinical pathways.
In the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we estimated that Pharmacy First, together with the expanded blood pressure check and contraception service, once fully scaled, could remove up to 10 million general practice (GP) appointments. We are monitoring the number of Pharmacy First consultations in community pharmacy but it is not possible to monitor the number of GP appointments Pharmacy First frees up. However, we know that Pharmacy First will enable GPs to see patients with more complex needs quicker.
Since 2019, GPs and their teams have already been referring patients to community pharmacies for minor illnesses and Pharmacy First builds on this. NHS England has engaged with GPs during the development and launch of Pharmacy First and Community Pharmacy England has launched a dedicated website for GPs supporting them with Pharmacy First referrals.
Pharmacies are not paid an establishment grant. Contractors who have signed up to deliver Pharmacy First received a £2,000 set-up fee, they receive £15 per consultation and £1,000 for each month they reach an agreed minimum number of consultations. Funding for community pharmacies, including the funding for Pharmacy First, is expected to pay for all their costs in providing the service. There are no delays to Pharmacy First payments. All payments are made in line with the usual schedule of payments.
The statutory National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage is based on advice of the Low Pay Commission, which takes into account the impact on business and the wider economy, as well as the living standards of workers.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
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 Health and Safety Executive on monitoring public exposure to silica dust.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Responsibility for exposure to silica dust is led by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who are supported by a number of other governmental organisations, to minimise risks from exposure to silica.
The Environment Agency, or equivalent regulators in devolved administrations such as Natural Resources Wales, regulates activities that have the potential to harm the environment and people. The regulator decides if relevant environmental permits and other consents and licences should be issued and, if so, what conditions should be applied. Local authorities also enforce nuisance legislation which includes the control of dust emissions.
The UK Health Security Agency would expect any activities that generate dust, including silica, to be well managed and regulated and have clear plans in place for proper management and monitoring, in order to minimise any impact to the public.
The HSE’s advice states that no cases of silicosis have been documented among members of the general public in Great Britain, indicating that environmental exposures to silica dust are not sufficiently high to cause this occupational disease. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/quarries/silica.htm
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that health and social care professionals are trained in Parkinson’s-related dementia care.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The standard of training for health care professionals is the responsibility of the health care independent statutory regulatory bodies. They set the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approve courses and Higher Education Institutions to write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the regulators outcome standards.
Whilst not all curricula may necessarily highlight a specific condition, they all nevertheless emphasize the skills and approaches a health care practitioner must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients, including for dementia.
Individual employers across health and social care are responsible for ensuring their staff are trained and competent to carry out their role, and for investing in the future of their staff by providing continuing professional development (CPD) funding. The required training needs are set out in the Dementia Training Standards Framework, which is available at the following link:
https://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/info-hub/dementia-2015-updated-2018/
The framework was commissioned and funded by the Department, and developed in collaboration with the sector. It sets out the essential knowledge, skills, and expected learning outcomes applicable across the health and care spectrum.
It is applicable to health and social care staff who work with people living with dementia, staff providing direct care and support, and those who provide leadership in transforming care, including social care managers and leaders.
To supplement local National Health Service employer investment for CPD, the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June 2023, sets out NHS England’s commitment to continue national CPD funding for nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals. There are a variety of resources available on the NHS England e-learning for health platform, designed to enhance the training and education of the health and social care workforce. This includes a programme on dementia care, and modules in Parkinson’s disease in geriatric medicine.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
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 provide training in Parkinson’s-related dementia care for health and social care professionals.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The standard of training for health care professionals is the responsibility of the health care independent statutory regulatory bodies. They set the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approve courses and Higher Education Institutions to write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the regulators outcome standards.
Whilst not all curricula may necessarily highlight a specific condition, they all nevertheless emphasize the skills and approaches a health care practitioner must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients, including for dementia.
Individual employers across health and social care are responsible for ensuring their staff are trained and competent to carry out their role, and for investing in the future of their staff by providing continuing professional development (CPD) funding. The required training needs are set out in the Dementia Training Standards Framework, which is available at the following link:
https://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/info-hub/dementia-2015-updated-2018/
The framework was commissioned and funded by the Department, and developed in collaboration with the sector. It sets out the essential knowledge, skills, and expected learning outcomes applicable across the health and care spectrum.
It is applicable to health and social care staff who work with people living with dementia, staff providing direct care and support, and those who provide leadership in transforming care, including social care managers and leaders.
To supplement local National Health Service employer investment for CPD, the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June 2023, sets out NHS England’s commitment to continue national CPD funding for nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals. There are a variety of resources available on the NHS England e-learning for health platform, designed to enhance the training and education of the health and social care workforce. This includes a programme on dementia care, and modules in Parkinson’s disease in geriatric medicine.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to publish the next action plan for antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In 2019, the Government published the first of four five-year national action plans (NAP), aimed at tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within and beyond our own borders. This plan is available at the following link:
We are now in the process of developing the second five-year NAP, which will run from 2024 to 2029. It will be designed to ensure progress is maintained towards delivering our 20-year vision on AMR, in which resistance is effectively contained and controlled by 2040. Further information on the 20-year vision is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-20-year-vision-for-antimicrobial-resistance
The 2024 to 2029 AMR NAP is being co-developed across the Government, its agencies, and the administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with support from a wide range of external stakeholders, and informed by the responses to the Call for Evidence. The NAP is expected to be published in 2024.
The 2024 to 2029 AMR NAP will build on the achievements of the 2019 to 2024 NAP, whilst recognising where there is more to do, and will be aligned with global plans and frameworks for action.