Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce the number of women waiting for gynaecological treatment in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients are treated within 18 weeks of referral to consultant-led care, including in gynaecology, by March 2029.
The Department only holds data at a trust and integrated care board level. Newcastle-under-Lyme is served by the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNB), and Staffordshire is served by the NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (SSOT ICB). Performance against this standard at the UHNB’s gynaecology service has improved by 7.6% since the Government came into office, to 55.5%, with a 16% reduction in the waiting list. At the SSOT ICB, performance for gynaecology services has improved by 6.9% to 55.2% over the same period, with a 15% reduction in waiting list size.
Our Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the reforms we are making to improve gynaecology waiting times, across England. This includes innovative models of care that offer care closer to home and in the community, piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres for patients with post-menopausal bleeding, and increasing the relative funding available to incentivise providers to take on more gynaecology procedures.
Wider elective reforms will help cut waiting times for gynaecology services in Staffordshire and across England. These include more consistent clinical triage, tackling missed appointments, delivering new and expanded surgical hubs, and scaling up remote monitoring and use of patient-initiated follow ups.
We also provided new funding for general practices (GPs) to expand Advice and Guidance (A&G) services. A&G helps to keep patients out of hospital and delivers more care closer to home, saving time, protecting capacity, and improving care experience. A&G for gynaecology is available in all GPs within the SSOT ICB.
We are also introducing an “online hospital” via NHS Online. From 2027, people on certain pathways, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis or fibroids, will have the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent engagement his Department has had with Action Bladder Cancer UK.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the Department’s engagement to inform the development of the forthcoming National Cancer Plan, officials from the Department’s cancer team have worked closely with patient organisations, clinicians, cancer partners and have considered over 11,000 responses to the call for evidence. These included submissions from organisations, such as Fight Bladder Cancer and Cancer52, of which Action Bladder Cancer UK is a member of, as well as from individuals.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will visit the North Staffordshire Branch of Parkinson's UK in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers regularly consider visits across the country to see the impact of their policy areas. Any plans to visit specific locations will be notified to the relevant Members of Parliament in advance.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to improve access to an NHS dentist for residents in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire constituency, this is the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB.
We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available since April 2025.
ICBs are recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, on 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on the quality and payment reforms to the NHS dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent engagement his Department has had with Parkinson’s UK.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has engaged with Parkinson’s UK on several occasions in recent months. On 30 October 2025, I hosted a roundtable with Parkinson’s UK, Cure Parkinson’s, and members of the Movers and Shakers group to discuss priorities for improving care and support for people living with Parkinson’s disease. This included discussions on workforce challenges, access to specialist nurses, and opportunities to strengthen community-based services.
Department officials also continue to meet representatives of Parkinson’s UK virtually in routine stakeholder catch‑up meetings, most recently on 19 November 2025. These discussions focus on ongoing collaboration to improve support for people living with Parkinson’s, including updates on policy priorities.
The Department values this ongoing engagement and remains committed to working closely with Parkinson’s UK and other stakeholders to ensure equitable access to high-quality care for everyone living with Parkinson’s.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many geriatricians have specialist training in treating Parkinson’s and working with Parkinson's patients.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While the Department does not hold data specifically on the number of Parkinson’s specialist staff in England, we do hold data on the number of doctors working in the wider specialities of neurology and geriatric medicine. As of August 2025, there were 2,010 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of neurology and 6,284 in geriatric medicine in National Health Service trusts and other organisations in England. This includes 1,025 FTE consultant neurologists and 1,687 FTE consultant geriatricians
These figures are based on NHS Digital’s workforce data and reflect staff employed by NHS trusts and other core NHS organisations in England. They do not include doctors working in private practice or outside NHS organisations.
The Department does not hold specific data on the number of specialist Parkinson’s nurses currently working in the NHS in England. These roles are commissioned and managed locally by NHS trusts and integrated care boards as part of neurology and movement disorder services.
NHS England has published a service specification for specialised adult neurology services, which includes Parkinson’s disease as part of its scope. This specification sets out requirements for multidisciplinary care, including access to Parkinson’s disease nurse specialists, consultant neurologists, and allied health professionals.
NHS England is also implementing initiatives such as the Neurology Transformation Programme and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, which aim to improve access to specialist care, reduce variation, and develop integrated models of service delivery for conditions including Parkinson’s disease. These programmes align with the National Institute for Care Excellence guidance on Parkinson’s disease, reference code NG71, which recommends that people with Parkinson’s have regular access to specialist staff with expertise in the condition.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses have specialist training in treating Parkinson’s and working with Parkinson's patients.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While the Department does not hold data specifically on the number of Parkinson’s specialist staff in England, we do hold data on the number of doctors working in the wider specialities of neurology and geriatric medicine. As of August 2025, there were 2,010 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of neurology and 6,284 in geriatric medicine in National Health Service trusts and other organisations in England. This includes 1,025 FTE consultant neurologists and 1,687 FTE consultant geriatricians
These figures are based on NHS Digital’s workforce data and reflect staff employed by NHS trusts and other core NHS organisations in England. They do not include doctors working in private practice or outside NHS organisations.
The Department does not hold specific data on the number of specialist Parkinson’s nurses currently working in the NHS in England. These roles are commissioned and managed locally by NHS trusts and integrated care boards as part of neurology and movement disorder services.
NHS England has published a service specification for specialised adult neurology services, which includes Parkinson’s disease as part of its scope. This specification sets out requirements for multidisciplinary care, including access to Parkinson’s disease nurse specialists, consultant neurologists, and allied health professionals.
NHS England is also implementing initiatives such as the Neurology Transformation Programme and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, which aim to improve access to specialist care, reduce variation, and develop integrated models of service delivery for conditions including Parkinson’s disease. These programmes align with the National Institute for Care Excellence guidance on Parkinson’s disease, reference code NG71, which recommends that people with Parkinson’s have regular access to specialist staff with expertise in the condition.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many neurologists have specialist training in treating Parkinson’s and working with Parkinson's patients.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While the Department does not hold data specifically on the number of Parkinson’s specialist staff in England, we do hold data on the number of doctors working in the wider specialities of neurology and geriatric medicine. As of August 2025, there were 2,010 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of neurology and 6,284 in geriatric medicine in National Health Service trusts and other organisations in England. This includes 1,025 FTE consultant neurologists and 1,687 FTE consultant geriatricians
These figures are based on NHS Digital’s workforce data and reflect staff employed by NHS trusts and other core NHS organisations in England. They do not include doctors working in private practice or outside NHS organisations.
The Department does not hold specific data on the number of specialist Parkinson’s nurses currently working in the NHS in England. These roles are commissioned and managed locally by NHS trusts and integrated care boards as part of neurology and movement disorder services.
NHS England has published a service specification for specialised adult neurology services, which includes Parkinson’s disease as part of its scope. This specification sets out requirements for multidisciplinary care, including access to Parkinson’s disease nurse specialists, consultant neurologists, and allied health professionals.
NHS England is also implementing initiatives such as the Neurology Transformation Programme and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, which aim to improve access to specialist care, reduce variation, and develop integrated models of service delivery for conditions including Parkinson’s disease. These programmes align with the National Institute for Care Excellence guidance on Parkinson’s disease, reference code NG71, which recommends that people with Parkinson’s have regular access to specialist staff with expertise in the condition.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many civil servants in his Department, beyond the Bill team, are working on the a) passage and b) preparation for the implementation of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Bill officials are currently working to fulfil the Government’s duty to the statute book, including providing technical workability advice on the bill. No officials are working on the implementation of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life Act).
We are unable to quantify how many civil servants in the Department outside the bill team have provided input to the bill process. Officials in the bill team have sought input from the teams with relevant expertise on specific issues on an ad-hoc basis. None of these civil servants are working full-time on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people with Parkinson's disease who have access to a Parkinson’s nurse in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No estimate has been made of the number of people with Parkinson's disease who have access to a Parkinson’s nurse in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire. The Department does not hold data on how many hospitals have staff who are members of the Parkinson’s UK Excellence Network.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities to meet the care and support needs of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Patients living in the Surrey Heath constituency would be covered by either the NHS Frimley ICB or the NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB. ICBs are responsible for commissioning services to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations and, in doing so, we expect them to have regard to best practice guidance, such as that published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
This Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan which 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.
The new NHS App will end the 8am rush by providing more flexibility in the way that people contact their general practitioner (GP), enabling better GP appointment booking as long as GPs make appointments available in the App. It will also help people to get care quicker without seeing their GP, for example improved self-care by going to a pharmacy or by self-referring into a specialist pathway or by providing remote consultations with specialists.