Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the process of accreditation to enable (1) doctors, (2) nurses, and (3) other health professionals, from the EU and EEA to continue to practise in the UK post-Brexit.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
As set out within the joint report on progress by the United Kingdom Government and European Commission, published on 8 December, those healthcare professionals registered in the UK on the date of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union will retain their right to registration and may continue to practise in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the commitment made in <i>Transferring Care for People with Learning Disabilities - Next Steps</i>, published in January 2015, to establish a reconfiguration taskforce to support local leaders to reshape services in the north of England, what progress they have made in this regard.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Since January 2015 significant progress has been made against this commitment in the North of England.
Work was undertaken in in the summer of 2015 in designated ‘Fast Track’ areas, including in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Cumbria and the North East region. Funding was provided to these areas to pilot the transformation of services in line with the new Building the Right Support (BRS) service model. Each Fast Track area focussed on the development of different services elements, but all demonstrated the local leadership and governance required to reshape services in these areas. To support this work, additional resources were provided for dedicated NHS regional teams in both the North and Midlands and East regions. Learning from this work in 2015 informed the broader roll-out of the BRS strategy from April 2016.
Transforming Care Partnerships (TCPs) were rolled out from April 2016 nationally, with 10 being developed in the North. In the past 12 months, each TCP has developed a leadership and governance structure, set out a transformation plan, and begun developing services as part of a three year programme of delivery. At the regional level, a North Transforming Care Board is attended by all relevant TCP Senior Responsible Officers, with senior representation from all partnership bodies including NHS England, the Local Government Association, voluntary sector partners as well as people with lived experience. This Board is key for assuring and challenging the planning and delivery undertaken by TCPs. It also provides an opportunity for shared learning and development.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of (1) nursing home beds, and (2) residential care home beds, available in (a) 2005, (b) 2010, and (c) 2015.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The information requested is contained in the following table.
Date | Nursing Home Beds | Residential Home Beds | Non-medical care homes | Total beds |
31 March 2005 | 179,246 | 271,788 | 254 | 451,288 |
31 March 2010 | 202,654 | 256,616 | 178 | 459,448 |
1 April 2015 | 224,754 | 239,307 | NA | 464,061 |
Source: The 2010 and 2015 figures were produced by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and the 2005 figures were produced by one of the CQC’s predecessors, the Commission for Social Care Inspection.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of agency doctors and nurses on duty in hospitals (1) during the week, and (2) at the weekend.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
This information is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the cost to the NHS of opening hospitals seven days a week.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Spending Review provided the National Health Service in England with £10 billion in real terms additional funding by 2020-21. This fully funds the NHS’s Five Year Forward View, including delivering urgent and emergency hospital services which are of the same high quality at the weekend as during the week.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of medical and diagnostic staff working (1) Monday to Friday, and (2) Saturdays and Sundays.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department has not made an assessment of the number of medical and diagnostic staff working Monday to Friday; and Saturdays and Sundays. Information on numbers of staff by day of the week is held by individual trusts.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received on the proportion of Government funding which is allocated to health and social care.
Answered by Norman Lamb
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has frequent discussions about the proportion of Government funding allocated to health and social care, both internal and external, and receives a large amount of correspondence on the issue.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on the use of external consultants to advise on the governance of the NHS in the last 12 months.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Department does hold cost information on the amount spent with external consultants. However, the information captured by this central record does not enable us to readily identify the expenditure which relates specifically to governance of the National Health Service in the last 12 months. In order to gather all possible relevant information, we would need to contact each business area and Directorate in the Department requiring them to check their records. This undertaking would amount to a substantial effort across the Department and could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many referrals were made by GPs to hospitals in England in December (a) 2010, (b) 2012 and (c) 2014.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The numbers of referrals made by general practitioners (GPs) to hospitals in England in December 2010 and December 2012 are shown in the table below. The data for December 2014 will be available in February 2015.
Referrals made by GPs to all specialties, December 2010 and December 2012
| GP referrals made (all specialties) |
December 2010 | 757,046 |
December 2012 | 802,987 |
Source: Monthly Activity Return, NHS England
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England on the role of community hospitals.
Answered by Jane Ellison
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State meets with NHS England on a regular basis and discusses a range of issues, both formally and informally, including the role of community hospitals.