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Written Question
Patients: Homelessness
Thursday 24th October 2024

Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people facing homelessness are discharged safely from hospital.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to promoting safe and timely discharge for people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness to appropriate accommodation. Every acute hospital has access to a care transfer hub to manage discharge for people with more complex needs, who need extra support.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have published guidance and supporting materials for health and care staff on discharging people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness. This ensures that every health and care interaction with a homeless person acts as an opportunity to provide support and signposting, with the aim of ending rough sleeping. This joint guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/discharging-people-at-risk-of-or-experiencing-homelessness/discharging-people-at-risk-of-or-experiencing-homelessness

The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the development of the Government’s plans for social and affordable housing.


Written Question
Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Diagnosis
Monday 2nd September 2024

Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting times were for (a) ADHD and (b) autism assessments in each year since 2010.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for the assessment or treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) nationally. The National Institute for Health and Care Research has commissioned a research project to provide initial insights into local ADHD diagnosis waiting times data collection. We are also supporting a taskforce that NHS England is establishing to look at ADHD service provision, announced in March 2024. The taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD. NHS England is also working to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan.

In regard to autism, waiting times are published quarterly by NHS England, and include information about the waiting time from referral to a first care contact, since 2019. Further information is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/autism-statistics

The following table shows the number of people with an open referral, the number of people with an open referral and a care contact, and the median waiting time in days of patients with an open suspected autism referral, where their first care contact was within the year, for each of the last five years:

Year

People with an open referral

People with an open referral and a care contact

Median waiting time between referral and first contact in days

2019/20

53,857

12,602

128

2020/21

87,654

15,540

226

2021/22

130,060

22,608

214

2022/23

199,975

31,463

210

2023/24

280,338

39,371

296

Source: Mental Health Services Dataset.
Notes:

  1. care contact is used as a proxy for an assessment, and data could only be provided from 2019/20 as this is the first full year in which the methodology was agreed, and the data quality of the fields used in the autism pathway was sufficient; and
  2. given autism data has only been published since 2019/20, it should be expected that data quality would improve over time, and as such, some of the change seen will be the result of data quality improvements.

Written Question
Neurodiversity: Mental Health Services
Tuesday 30th July 2024

Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many families of children (a) have applied, (b) are waiting and (c) have been issued with a neurodevelopmental services assessment in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The information is not available in the format requested.