Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of the Civil Service workforce in his Department dedicated to planning for (a) the UK leaving the EU and (b) projects relating to the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Philip Dunne
European Union Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning.
A central team within the Global and Public Health Directorate coordinates the provision of advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. All affected policy teams within the Department are involved with this work and they are assessing the implications of the United Kingdom leaving the EU on their policy area.
Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2017 to Question 8586, what additional resources have been set aside to fund the provision of mental health support and counselling for the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire and their families in (a) 2017 and (b) each of the next five years.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
We are informed by NHS England that there are about 160 National Health Service staff members providing support to people impacted by the Grenfell Tower Fire. Central and North West London NHS Foundation Ttust (CNWL) have 40 therapists providing trauma support, backed by the primary care liaison and school nursing team. There are also 67 members of staff providing outreach services, including knocking on people’s doors and visiting hotels. This work is supported by CNWL clinical management team.
CNWL are also working with a number of bereavement support organisations including CRUSE and Place2Be for children. Additional support is provided by general practitioners, nurses and existing mental health services with additional sessions from a range of mental health providers led by CNWL.
The NHS is continuing to respond to the needs of those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, and a substantial recruitment drive is underway for specialist therapy roles for individuals and families.
Additional capacity has been put in mental health crisis teams, general practice, and community teams. This enables Grenfell patients to be seen quickly and have longer appointment times to meet their complex needs. Bespoke services have also been put in place that are more intensive and accessible, specific to the needs resulting from the incident based on what residents have said.
NHS England is currently working with West London Clinical Commissioning Group to ensure that the funding is in place to cover cost pressures incurred to date and for additional services required in future years.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2017 to Question 8586, how many (a) mental health support workers, (b) trauma counsellors, (c) bereavement counsellors and (d) other mental health support professionals have been provided to support the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire and their families.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
We are informed by NHS England that there are about 160 National Health Service staff members providing support to people impacted by the Grenfell Tower Fire. Central and North West London NHS Foundation Ttust (CNWL) have 40 therapists providing trauma support, backed by the primary care liaison and school nursing team. There are also 67 members of staff providing outreach services, including knocking on people’s doors and visiting hotels. This work is supported by CNWL clinical management team.
CNWL are also working with a number of bereavement support organisations including CRUSE and Place2Be for children. Additional support is provided by general practitioners, nurses and existing mental health services with additional sessions from a range of mental health providers led by CNWL.
The NHS is continuing to respond to the needs of those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, and a substantial recruitment drive is underway for specialist therapy roles for individuals and families.
Additional capacity has been put in mental health crisis teams, general practice, and community teams. This enables Grenfell patients to be seen quickly and have longer appointment times to meet their complex needs. Bespoke services have also been put in place that are more intensive and accessible, specific to the needs resulting from the incident based on what residents have said.
NHS England is currently working with West London Clinical Commissioning Group to ensure that the funding is in place to cover cost pressures incurred to date and for additional services required in future years.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of provision of mental health support, trauma counselling and bereavement counselling for the survivors of Grenfell Tower and their families; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The Department is working closely with those responsible for co-ordinating the Grenfell Tower Mental Health response.
The National Health Service has had staff on the ground since day one, helping the people affected first with the immediate physical health emergency, and, as time has moved on, with developing psychological health and wellbeing needs. This was phase 1 of our response plan. We are now in phase 2.
Phase 1 comprised treating the physical symptoms, making sure patients are general practitioner (GP) registered and know where to go, putting resilient systems in place for when the psychological impact kicks in, planning ahead and ensuring adequate primary care and mental health resource is in place, and ensuring all NHS organisations are united and efficiently coordinated.
Phase 2 comprises implementing a ‘screen and treat’ programme to proactively contact people affected by the fire, beginning with those who also have a long-term health condition, and assess the psychological impact the fire has had on them. The first 1,200 screenings have begun. If a patient shows signs of trauma such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms they will be referred on to a mental health professional or appropriate wellbeing service. If they are not showing signs of trauma at this time, the GP will follow up with them again in a suitable period of time.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many members of staff who ceased to be employed by his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies in the last three years have subsequently been re-employed by his Department on a temporary basis or as a third-party contractor or consultant.
Answered by David Mowat
To retrieve and analyse the records of all leavers from the Department, its agencies and non-departmental bodies to determine the number of individuals re-engaged by the Department on a temporary basis or as a third-party contractor or consultant in the last three years, would incur disproportionate costs.
However, information from the ‘core’ Department’s Business Management system shows that five or fewer individuals who ceased employment with the ‘core’ Department in the past three years have returned to the ‘core’ Department on a temporary basis or as a third-party contractor or consultant.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the Minister for Public Health plans to meet the hon. Members for Tottenham, Enfield Southgate, Hornsey and Wood Green, Enfield North and Edmonton to discuss a new mental health hospital at St Ann's.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust has received approval from NHS Improvement of its Strategic Outline Case for the redevelopment of St Ann’s Hospital.
The Trust is now working on developing its Outline Business Case.
I am agreeable to a meeting to discuss the issue of the redevelopment of St Ann’s Hospital. It may be more useful to have a meeting later in the process of the redevelopment when more information is available.
The hon. Member is encouraged to continue to engage with the local National Health Service and NHS Improvement directly on this matter as this is the best avenue to address local concerns.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to send the written briefing on progress at St Ann's Hospital which was promised on 26 September and 2 December 2016 to the hon. Members for Tottenham, Enfield Southgate, Hornsey and Wood Green, Enfield North and Edmonton.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust has received approval from NHS Improvement of its Strategic Outline Case for the redevelopment of St Ann’s Hospital.
The Trust is now working on developing its Outline Business Case.
I am agreeable to a meeting to discuss the issue of the redevelopment of St Ann’s Hospital. It may be more useful to have a meeting later in the process of the redevelopment when more information is available.
The hon. Member is encouraged to continue to engage with the local National Health Service and NHS Improvement directly on this matter as this is the best avenue to address local concerns.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the potential effect of implementation of the North Central London Sustainability and Transformation Plan on Haringey Clinical Commissioning Group's budget deficit.
Answered by David Mowat
The process for Sustainability and Transformation Plans are developed by local areas to meet the needs of their population. It is for individual areas to assess the impact on clinical commissioning groups’ budgetary positions.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who was consulted during the development of NHS sustainability and transformation plans for (a) Haringey, (b) Enfield, (c) Barnet, (d) Camden, (e) Islington and (f) Hackney.
Answered by David Mowat
The five local authorities in North Central London (Haringey, Enfield, Barnet, Camden and Islington) are represented on the North Central London (NCL) Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) Transformation Board. The Board has overseen the development of the draft NCL STP which was submitted to NHS England on 21 October 2016.
The local authorities are represented on the Transformation Board by their chief executives (or nominees). In addition the Director of Health, Housing and Adult Social Care for Enfield Council, the Director of Children’s Services for Haringey Council and the joint Director of Public Health for Camden and Islington Councils also sit on the Transformation Board as professional leads within NCL. The Chief Executive of Camden Council is the overall Senior Responsible Officer for the STP on behalf of the five local authorities within NCL.
There has also been active local government input into the relevant workstreams within the STP such as prevention, care closer to home and workforce. These workstreams have developed the specific proposals which have been included within the overall draft STP.
Prior to submission of the draft STP, NCL STP ran public stakeholder engagement events in each of the boroughs in September 2016, with input from health and local government. These events were run in conjunction with the local Healthwatch organisations.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to publish the draft sustainability and transformation plans for (a) Haringey, (b) Enfield, (c) Barnet, (d) Camden, (e) Islington and (f) Hackney.
Answered by David Mowat
It is expected that most areas will publish their plans shortly, alongside plans for more formal engagement during this period – building on the engagement they have already done.
National health and care bodies have published guidance on the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) process. A copy of the guidance for STP areas can be found here:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/engag-local-people-stps.pdf