Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer 30 June 2025 of Question 58911 on Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme: Coronavirus, if he will set out a timetable for completion of the (a) consideration of options and (b) recommendations for change.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I reiterate my sincere condolences to individuals, and their families, who have experienced harm following vaccination.
At this stage, I am not in a position to comment on timelines for the consideration of options for reform or recommendations for change. Ministers continue to consider options covering both potential reforms to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, and the situation of those who have suffered harm following COVID-19 vaccination.
In parallel, the Department has been working with the NHS Business Services Authority, the administrators of the scheme, to take steps to improve the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme and process claims at a faster rate.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2025 to Question 58911 on Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme: Coronavirus, if he will set out whether the options for reform to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme include the (a) limitation period for court claims, (b) maximum award, and (c) disability threshold.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I would like to express my sincerest sympathies to those individuals who have experienced harm following vaccination, and to their families. At this stage, I am not in a position to comment further on the details of the options being considered, and will update Parliament in due course, as needed.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's of 3 June 2025, what options his Department is considering for (a) reform of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme reform and (b) the situation of those (i) injured or (ii) bereaved as a result of Covid-19 vaccines.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises how difficult it is for those individuals who have sadly experienced harm following vaccination. Ministers are considering several options covering both potential reforms to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, and the situation of those who have suffered harm following COVID-19 vaccination.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the letter of 16 May 2025 from NHS England to ICBs on referrals for elective surgery, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reducing the rate of referrals for elective surgery on waiting times for NHS operations in Dorset.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made of the potential impact of reducing the rate of referrals for elective surgery on waiting times for operations in Dorset.
Actions to ensure care is delivered in the most appropriate clinical setting, to reduce unnecessary demand on elective care, are set out in the Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, which also details all the reform efforts needed to deliver our commitment that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by March 2029.
The Government has set out expectations that integrated care boards (ICBs) should focus on strategic commissioning, by planning services that meet the needs of local populations. In this regard, NHS England’s letter of 16 May 2025 calls on ICBs to implement strategies to reduce unwarranted demand for all elective care, including surgery. By reducing unnecessary appointments and tests, these interventions will free up clinical time and resources for patients who do require elective surgery and other forms of elective care, and will reduce the time these patients wait for their care.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a comparative estimate of the number of people who underwent NHS elective care in Dorset in the (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 financial years; and how many people were forecast to undergo elective care in the 2025-26 financial year (i) with and (ii) without elective Care demand management.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the financial year 2023/24, there were 17,411,620 completed Referral-to-Treatment (RTT) pathways in the NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board. In the financial year 2024/25, there were 18,116,099 completed pathways. Please note that patients may be on more than one RTT pathway. These figures exclude non-consultant led care, and the subsequent care or monitoring that occurs after a patient has had their first definitive treatment.
Forecasts of those who will undergo elective care in 2025/26, with and without elective care demand management, are not available.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) face-to-face and (b) other GP appointments conducted at (i) Highcliffe Medical Centre, (ii) Christchurch Medical Centre, (iii) Burton Branch Surgery (iv) The Stour Surgery and (v) The Grove Surgery in (A) 2022-23, (B) 2023-24 and (C) 2024-25.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A table showing the number of face-to-face and other general practice appointments conducted for the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Centre, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Surgery is attached. Data for the Burton Medical Centre is not available as it was a branch of the Christchurch Medical Practice. The Burton Medical Centre became a branch practice in October 2017, and was subsequently closed in October 2024.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of new patients registered at (a) Highcliffe Medical Centre, (b) Christchurch Medical Centre, (c) Burton Brunch Surgery, (d) The Stour Surgery and (e) The Grove Surgery in the (i) 2023-24 and (ii) 2024-25 financial years; and how much was paid to each practice for those additional patients.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Changes in the number of registered patients reflects both new registrations as well as existing patients being taken off a practice’s list, such as where they have moved practice or have died. As a result, it is not possible to identify the number of new registrations from the published data, and it is not possible to determine the additional funding practices have received from new registrations.
Practices receive global sum payments based on their registered patient list, which are weighted using the Carr-Hill formula. This takes into consideration factors such as the age and sex of patients, and additional pressures generated by factors such as geographical location and patient turnover.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients were registered at (a) Highcliffe Medical Centre, (b) Christchurch Medical Centre, (c) Burton Brunch Surgery, (d) Stour Surgery and (e) The Grove Surgery on (i) 1 June 2024 and (ii) 14 May 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data below shows the number of registered patients at the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Practice, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Medical Centre as of 31 March 2025, as this is the most recent available data, and as of 31 March 2024, to align with the most recent data.
Data for the Burton Medical Centre is not available as it was a branch of the Christchurch Medical Practice. The Burton Medical Centre became a branch practice in October 2017 and was subsequently closed in October 2024. The following table shows the number of registered patients at the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Practice, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Medical Centre as of 31 March 2025:
Practice name | Total patients |
Highcliffe Medical Centre | 15,308 |
Christchurch Medical Practice | 16,303 |
Stour Surgery | 10,684 |
The Grove Medical Centre | 12,978 |
In addition, the following table shows the number of registered patients at the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Practice, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Medical Centre as of 31 March 2024:
Practice name | Total patients |
Highcliffe Medical Centre | 15,153 |
Christchurch Medical Practice | 16,938 |
Stour Surgery | 10,399 |
The Grove Medical Centre | 13,016 |
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much was spent on GP services by Dorset Integrated Care Board in Christchurch in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-2024 and (c) 2024-25; and what the budget is for 2025-2026.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2022/23, total National Health Service payments to general practices in the Christchurch constituency, including COVID-19 and primary care network payments, were £17,452,214, including any deductions for Pensions, Levies and Prescription Charge Income. Data for the years after 2022/23 has not been published yet.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full-time equivalent (a) GPs and (b) other clinical practitioners were employed at (i) Highcliffe Medical Centre, (ii) Christchurch Medical Centre, (iii) Burton Brunch Surgery, (iv) Stour Surgery and (v) The Grove Surgery on (A) 1 June 2024 and (B) 14 May 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Figures are provided in the tables below on full time equivalent (FTE) general practitioners (GPs) and other clinical practitioners employed at the practices for which the Department holds data. We have provided the most recent data available, which captures staff employed on 31 March 2025, and compared this to 31 March 2024.
Data for the Burton Medical Centre is not available as it was a branch of the Christchurch Medical Practice. The Burton Medical Centre became a branch practice in October 2017, and was subsequently closed in October 2024.
The following table shows the number of FTE GP doctors and other clinical staff in the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Centre, the Burton Brunch Surgery, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Surgery, as of 31 March 2025:
Practice name | GP doctors | Other clinical staff |
Highcliffe Medical Centre | 9.9 | 11.4 |
Christchurch Medical Practice | 10.2 | 21.7 |
Stour Surgery | 4.7 | 7.1 |
The Grove Medical Centre | 11.1 | 16.2 |
In addition, the following table shows the number of FTE GP doctors and other clinical staff in the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Centre, the Burton Brunch Surgery, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Surgery, as of 31 March 2024:
Practice name | GP doctors | Other clinical staff |
Highcliffe Medical Centre | 8.7 | 11.4 |
Christchurch Medical Practice | 10.7 | 23.0 |
Stour Surgery | 4.9 | 7.1 |
The Grove Medical Centre | 12 | 17.3 |
Notes: