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Written Question
Suicide: Mental Health Services
Monday 10th January 2022

Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many NHS patients present as a suicide risk; and what steps they are taking in response.

Answered by Lord Kamall

The information requested is not collected centrally. There is no national standardised assessment of suicide risk against which to measure the number of people nationally who present as a suicide risk.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends against using risk assessment tools to predict future suicide or repetition of self-harm, although such tools may be considered to help structure risk assessments. National Health Service organisations use a range of tools to assist clinicians in assessing a patient’s individual risk. However, these should be used to support the assessment process and should not replace clinical judgement.

The National Suicide Prevention Strategy identifies groups known to be at higher risk of suicide than the general population, including those in the care of mental health services. We continue to work with the National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group to monitor and understand suicide risk in different groups. We are investing an additional £57 million by 2023/24 to support local suicide prevention plans and the development of suicide bereavement services. The Mental Health Safety Improvement Programme also aims to reduce the number of suicides that occur across inpatient mental health and learning disability services.

NHS England and NHS Improvement is establishing 24 hours a day, seven days a week liaison mental health teams in every acute hospital to ensure that those presenting at hospital with mental health needs receive the appropriate care and treatment. By 2023/24, 70% of liaison services are expected to have met the ‘core 24’ service standard, working towards 100% coverage. NHS England and NHS Improvement will be supporting mental health trusts to refresh their Suicide Safety Plans to include both inpatient and community settings in 2021/22.


Written Question
Suicide: Children
Monday 13th December 2021

Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they provide to the NHS on contacting (1) a parent, (2) a family member, or (3) a carer, in cases of young people under the age of 18 who are considered to be a suicide risk by (a) the NHS, or (b) another health professional.

Answered by Lord Kamall

The Department has developed an online only information sharing and suicide prevention consensus statement with input from leading mental health organisations, which aims to improve information and support for families and carers who are concerned about someone who may be at risk of suicide and to better support those who have been bereaved by suicide.

Through its contract with the Department, the Zero Suicide Alliance has developed SHARE: Consent, confidentiality & information Sharing in mental healthcare & suicide prevention on using the consensus statement for information sharing and suicide prevention and how to engage with patients when discussing confidentiality and consent to share information where this may help to prevent suicide. A copy is attached.

Practitioners should also refer to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s quality standard Suicide prevention, which includes a section on involving family, carers or friends. A copy is attached.


Written Question
Suicide: Mental Health Services
Monday 13th December 2021

Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued for health professionals regarding patients who are at risk of suicide.

Answered by Lord Kamall

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidance for the National Health Service, social care, local authorities, emergency services, the criminal justice system and other services to identify those most at risk. Copies of Preventing suicide in community and custodial settings and a quality standard Suicide prevention are attached.


Written Question
Suicide: Mental Health Services
Monday 13th December 2021

Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what immediate NHS provision is available to those at risk of suicide.

Answered by Lord Kamall

There is no defined pathway for those deemed at risk of suicide, as provision should be determined locally, based on a clinical assessment of the person’s individual situation and needs. However, we are expanding a number of other pathways to support people deemed at risk of suicide, including making 24 hours a day, seven days a week community-based mental health crisis response services available across England, with intensive home treatment available as an alternative to an acute inpatient admission. We are increasing alternative forms of provision, such as sanctuaries, safe havens, and crisis cafés, for those in crisis where appropriate and ensuring acute hospitals have a mental health liaison service in accident and emergency departments and inpatient wards.

We have committed that every integrated care system in the country will receive funding from £57 million identified for suicide prevention and bereavement services by 2023/24. This investment will allow integrated care systems to deliver multi-agency plans for suicide prevention activities, initiatives to improve care for those who self-harm and bereavement support.


Written Question
Suicide: Children
Monday 13th December 2021

Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what NHS guidance exists for parents of children who are at risk of suicide.

Answered by Lord Kamall

No specific guidance has been issued. However, the National Health Service has published a number of online only resources for parents on mental health issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic including advice for parents, guardians and carers on how to support a child or young person if they are concerned about their mental health or that they may have an eating disorder.

The NHS has also established 24 hours a day, seven days a week urgent mental health helplines and parents can access other online resources and support through schools, colleges, charities and the voluntary sector.


Written Question
Mental Health Services
Monday 30th November 2020

Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of the budget in each Clinical Commissioning Groups’ area is allocated to mental health, excluding dementia services.

Answered by Lord Bethell

The information is not collected centrally. It is for clinical commissioning groups to allocate funding to meet the needs of the local population.


Written Question
Health Services and Social Services: Protective Clothing
Thursday 4th June 2020

Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 14 May (HL3356), on what date in 2020 ministers ordered a reassessment of personal protective equipment requirements across the NHS and the care services sector; and when the results of that reassessment were communicated to ministers.

Answered by Lord Bethell

While the United Kingdom entered the current situation with a stockpile designed to respond to a pandemic influenza and a no-deal exit from the European Union, the supply chain for personal protective equipment (PPE) was designed to accommodate delivering to 226 National Health Service trusts.

We published the ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): personal protective equipment (PPE) plan’ on 10 April, and since that week, we have massively scaled this up, providing essential PPE supplies to 58,000 different providers including care homes, general practitioner surgeries, hospices and community care organisations.


Written Question
Ambulance Services: South East
Monday 27th November 2017

Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government on how many occasions no ambulance or paramedic attended an incident reported by a 999 call in each month of the last year in (1) Sussex, and (2) London.

Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy

This information is not collected centrally.

Not all 999 calls require a face-to-face response to be dispatched. Such calls may include incidents where the ambulance service receives multiple calls about the same incident, abandoned calls, calls resolved by providing telephone advice, calls to check on estimated time of arrival of an ambulance, calls to say an ambulance is no longer required, calls to update the service on the patient’s condition, hoax calls, and calls from frequent callers where no clinical assessment is required.


Written Question
Primary Health Care: Sussex
Tuesday 7th November 2017

Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much investment has been made by NHS Property Services in Sussex for primary care infrastructure, in each year since 2013.

Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy

The table below sets out the capital expenditure by NHS Property Services (NHSPS) on health centres and primary care facilities owned by NHSPS in Sussex and Essex since the establishment of NHSPS in April 2013. The figures exclude hospital buildings from which primary care services may be provided.

2013/14
£000s

2014/15
£000s

2015/16
£000s

2016/17
£000s

TOTAL
£000s

Sussex

27

961

146

25

1,159

Essex

448

873

427

-

1,748

Total

475

1,834

573

25

2,907

There has been no such investment in Basildon Borough since the inception of NHSPS in 2013.


Written Question
Primary Health Care: Essex
Tuesday 7th November 2017

Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much investment has been made by NHS Property Services in Essex for primary care infrastructure, in each year since 2013.

Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy

The table below sets out the capital expenditure by NHS Property Services (NHSPS) on health centres and primary care facilities owned by NHSPS in Sussex and Essex since the establishment of NHSPS in April 2013. The figures exclude hospital buildings from which primary care services may be provided.

2013/14
£000s

2014/15
£000s

2015/16
£000s

2016/17
£000s

TOTAL
£000s

Sussex

27

961

146

25

1,159

Essex

448

873

427

-

1,748

Total

475

1,834

573

25

2,907

There has been no such investment in Basildon Borough since the inception of NHSPS in 2013.