Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are enough NHS healthcare professionals, including clinical psychologists and ADHD specialist nurses, to help the number of young people who are diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises concerns around the sufficiency of National Health Service professionals, including clinical psychologists and specialist staff, to meet rising demand for support, such as young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety. We have already delivered on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers, three years ahead of schedule, which is helping to expand capacity across a range of services and support earlier access to care.
However, we are clear that increasing the workforce alone is not enough to meet growing need. That is why we are transforming mental health services through the 10-Year Health Plan, shifting towards prevention and earlier intervention, expanding community-based support, and improving access for children and young people, including through mental health support teams in schools and colleges and wider service improvements.
We are also developing a new mental health strategy for England, which will set out how we will go further to improve access, reduce waiting times, and ensure services respond more effectively to rising demand.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the state of the UK's fleet of ambulances for use by (1) high dependency patients, and (2) non-high dependency patients.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has not undertaken a national assessment categorising the ambulance fleet specifically into vehicles for 'high dependency' and 'non-high dependency' patients, however NHS England routinely collects information from ambulance trusts on fleet composition, age, and utilisation to support national oversight, benchmarking, and fleet replacement planning.
Frontline emergency ambulances in England are built to a national specification and are equipped to assess, treat, and transport patients presenting with a wide range of clinical conditions, including those with complex or high-acuity needs. Patient transport services are designed to ensure patients receive a level of transport and support appropriate to their clinical and mobility needs, with national guidance supporting systems in matching patients to the most appropriate vehicle type and service.
These vehicles are staffed by appropriately trained clinicians and carry equipment designed to support the delivery of urgent and emergency care.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure growth and retention in the occupational therapy workforce across health, social care, community and specialist services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. While the scope of the 10 Year Workforce Plan is the NHS workforce, we understand the importance of effective integration across social care and community care.
We are working through how the 10 Year Workforce Plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 24 March (HL15558), what specific measures in the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan will address the shortage of occupational therapists; and when those measures will take effect.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. We are working through how the plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups. The specific measures which comprise the plan will be set out when it is published in spring this year.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are taking action to address the shortage of occupational therapists.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service trusts which manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.
The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. We are working through how the plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the delays faced by those ordering essential disability equipment from overseas.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made. At this time the Department is not centrally managing any shortages related to delayed overseas orders of disability equipment. We would encourage any specific detail of supply issues to be shared with the Department.
The Department's National Supply Disruption Response team works with system partners to help mitigate supply issues, including through the coordination of mutual aid, identifying alternative products or clinical practices, regulatory easements, and/or use of the Express Freight Service which can provide bespoke global logistics services in the event of critical supply disruption.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will take steps to enable specialist medical equipment to reach disabled people in the community following the liquidation of NRS Healthcare.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community equipment, such as wheelchairs, hoists, and other specialist medical equipment, forms an important part of many people’s health and care support package. Such equipment can be critical in supporting better care outcomes, can enable people to remain in or return to their homes as the primary setting for care, and can avoid unnecessary stays in hospital or care homes.
Local authorities have statutory duties under the Care Act 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014 to arrange for the provision of disability aids and community equipment to meet the assessed needs of individuals in their area. While some local authorities provide these services themselves, many have contracts with external suppliers, such as NRS Healthcare. The Department does not have a statutory role in the provision of community equipment.
However, as part of NRS Healthcare’s liquidation process, the Government made available short-term funding to the Official Receiver to cover the essential operating costs of NRS Healthcare and its affiliated companies. This funding ensured that trading was able to continue for a limited time, minimising disruption by providing crucial time for local authorities to put alternative supply in place. The Department continues to monitor the situation in affected local authorities through Partners in Care and Health, a Department funded programme run in partnership with the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they will give to recent research which has shown that a blood test can detect ovarian cancer.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving cancer care for patients across England, including those with ovarian cancer.
As the chances of survival are higher if a cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, early diagnosis is a key priority for the Government. Several tests are currently used to detect ovarian cancer including ultrasound scans, biopsies and blood tests.
The forthcoming National Cancer Plan, which will complement the 10-Year Health Plan, will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for all cancer patients including those with ovarian cancer. In addition to speeding up diagnosis and treatment it will aim to ensure that patients have access to the latest treatments and technology and to clinical and will ultimately bring this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world. The Department ran a Call for Evidence to inform the development of the national cancer plan, including a question on priorities for cancer research. Over 11,000 responses were received, and these responses have been analysed to prioritise recommendations in the Plan.
The Government recognises that investment is needed across the research pathway, from cellular biology and drug discovery through to translation and application. At the start of that pathway, the Government funds the Medical Research Council through UK Research and Innovation, which in turn works closely with the National Institute for Health and Care Research to identify emerging, viable prospects for translational research.
Alongside, the Government is supporting the Private Members Bill on rare cancers tabled by the Hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Scott Arthur MP). In developing the bill, a wide range of research and evidence has been considered. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials and research into rare cancers, such as ovarian cancer, to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers.
More generally, across the field of cancer research, the Department works with relevant bodies to consider the impact of emerging research and associated outcomes, where possible and appropriate. As the question does not name the specific research programme, it is not possible to provide any further detail about the Department’s or associated bodies’ consideration to the research to which the question refers.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that integrated care boards are providing sufficient suitable wheelchairs in all parts of the country to enable wheelchair users, particularly children, to access one without delay.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, including children’s wheelchair services, and the development of their local wheelchair service eligibility criteria, based on the needs of their local population. NHS England supports ICBs to commission effective, efficient, and personalised wheelchair services.
NHS England is taking a number of steps to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of National Health Service wheelchairs, and to support ICBs to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment. These include:
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with care providers following the abuse of patients with learning disabilities at Whorlton Hall hospital filmed by the BBC's Panorama programme, aired on 22 May.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Government has had no discussions on this matter with care providers directly. The Care Quality Commission, the independent inspectorate of hospitals and adult care homes, has commissioned an independent review of its inspection and regulatory approach to Whorlton Hall, which should inform work to ensure the appropriate oversight of care provided to people with a learning disability.
On 21 May 2019, I laid a written statement (HLWS1533) in which it was announced that the National Health Service would be strengthening its existing oversight arrangements. Where someone with a learning disability and/or autism is an inpatient out of area they will be visited every six weeks if they are a child and every eight weeks if they are an adult, on site. The host clinical commissioning group will also be given new responsibilities to oversee and monitor the quality of care for hospitals in their local areas.