Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to re-open the Abbotsbury Road GP surgery in Chickerell.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Abbotsbury Road Surgery closed to patients in March 2019 and the contract was returned. Registered patients were assigned to local practices to ensure the continuity of care. Since the closure of Abbotsbury Road surgery, there have been discussions on a potential new building at Chickerell, although this is currently on hold.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the capacity of the booster vaccination programme in West Dorset.
Answered by Maggie Throup
In Dorset, larger vaccination centres extended their opening hours to 8am to 8pm, including at Vespasian House in Dorchester and walk-in appointments have been available.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of number of NHS dentists required in West Dorset.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
As independent providers of NHS services, general dental practices are responsible for the recruitment of staff to meet the conditions of their National Health Service contract. No formal assessment has been made of the adequacy of the number of NHS dentists in West Dorset.
However, NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with Health Education England and Bristol and Peninsula Dental schools as part of the South West Dental Reform programme to address the challenges facing NHS dentistry in the region. The programme will be look at innovative ways to attract dental staff to areas including Dorset.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS dentists his Department plans to recruit in (a) England and (b) Dorset over the next 12 months.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
As independent providers of NHS services, general dental practices are responsible for the recruitment of staff to meet the conditions of their National Health Service contract. No formal assessment has been made of the adequacy of the number of NHS dentists in West Dorset.
However, NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with Health Education England and Bristol and Peninsula Dental schools as part of the South West Dental Reform programme to address the challenges facing NHS dentistry in the region. The programme will be look at innovative ways to attract dental staff to areas including Dorset.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
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 unpaid carers living in West Dorset.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The Department does not collect information about the number of unpaid carers, including those living in West Dorset.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits to SEND children from Integrated Care Systems under the proposed legislative framework of the Health and Care Bill.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The Health and Care Bill proposes to put integrated care systems on a statutory footing. This represents a significant opportunity to improve the local planning and provision of services to better meet the needs of babies, children, young people and families, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Statutory functions regarding children and young people with SEND would transfer from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to integrated care boards (ICBs) from April 2022. This would include a responsibility for the ICB to agree joint commissioning arrangements for the provision of education, health and social care required by children and young people with SEND. We are working with the Department for Education and NHS England and NHS Improvement on bespoke guidance for ICBs to clearly set out the statutory functions that will transfer from CCGs to ICBs on SEND.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the primary care networks in Dorset in delivering the booster vaccination programme.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement monitor the booster vaccine programme to ensure its effectiveness, including the Primary Care Networks (PCNs) delivering vaccinations in Dorset. There is a high demand for booster doses, with all 18 PCNs in Dorset delivering the service across 31 vaccinations sites. Additional provisions are also in place for those who are housebound, elderly, or in care, to ensure they can receive their booster dose.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are in receipt of state support for their social care costs in (a) Dorset and (b) West Dorset.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Data on the number of people receiving state support for their social care costs are collected at a local authority level by NHS Digital. At the end of 2020/21, there were 3,900 people in receipt of local authority supported long-term care in Dorset. Though an end of year figure for short-term care is not available, there were 1,855 people in receipt of local authority supported short-term care in Dorset during 2020/21.
The information requested is not available for West Dorset, as data is collected at local authority level.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that booster covid-19 vaccinations are accessible to eligible people in (a) West Dorset constituency and (b) Dorset.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The National Health Service is already contacting those who are eligible to receive a COVID-19 booster vaccine, including those in Dorset. Appointments are available via the National Booking System or alternatively through local community pharmacies. General practitioner practices in Dorset are also inviting patients for vaccination when they become eligible for a booster vaccination six months after their second dose.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS dentists there are in West Dorset.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
While data is not held specifically for West Dorset, there were 354 general dental practitioners delivering National Health Service care in Dorset in the 12-month period to 31 March 2021.