Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his oral statement of 20 January 2025 on New Hospital Programme Review, Official Report, columns 748-750, whether he considered (a) the remoteness of and (b) recent trends of deprivation in Torridge and Tavistock constituency when deciding which hospital redevelopment projects would be included in Waves (i), (ii) and (iii) of the new hospitals development programme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Rt. Hon. member to the answers I gave to Questions 34236 and 34237 on 7 March 2025.
Additionally, as set out in the Plan for Implementation, the New Hospital Programme (NHP) review used a range of data to assess in scope schemes including the North Devon District Hospital scheme. This included assessing each scheme under criteria for mitigated risk, including health deprivation, deliverability and transformation opportunity.
As part of this process, the review also used professional expertise and judgment of clinical, programme, construction and finance colleagues from within the NHP, the Department and NHS England to identify and overlay other factors of concern before the schemes were prioritised.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to ensure the provision of (a) safe and (b) effective care for patients in Torridge and North Devon, in the context of the new timetable for the redevelopment of North Devon District Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
An equality impact assessment was carried out for the review into the New Hospital Programme, which included assessing the extent to which service users might be impacted by these delivery proposals, with specific reference to the impact that these might have on relevant protected characteristics. This was laid in the House Library and published on 20 January, and is available at the following link:
We know that delivering high quality National Health Service healthcare services requires safe and effective infrastructure. That is why repairing and rebuilding our hospital estate is a vital part of our ambition to create an NHS that is fit for the future. The Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB), responsible for the North Devon District Hospital, has been allocated £104 million in operational capital for 2025/26 which will be managed locally, with funds allocated according to local priorities, including ensuring safety at hospital sites. Recently published NHS planning guidance set out a £750 million estates safety fund for 2025/26 to help ensure hospitals are safe and sustainable, £11 million of which has been provisionally allocated to the Devon ICB.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the new timetable for the redevelopment of North Devon District Hospital on (a) patient outcomes and (b) service capacity.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
An equality impact assessment was carried out for the review into the New Hospital Programme, which included assessing the extent to which service users might be impacted by these delivery proposals, with specific reference to the impact that these might have on relevant protected characteristics. This was laid in the House Library and published on 20 January, and is available at the following link:
We know that delivering high quality National Health Service healthcare services requires safe and effective infrastructure. That is why repairing and rebuilding our hospital estate is a vital part of our ambition to create an NHS that is fit for the future. The Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB), responsible for the North Devon District Hospital, has been allocated £104 million in operational capital for 2025/26 which will be managed locally, with funds allocated according to local priorities, including ensuring safety at hospital sites. Recently published NHS planning guidance set out a £750 million estates safety fund for 2025/26 to help ensure hospitals are safe and sustainable, £11 million of which has been provisionally allocated to the Devon ICB.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his oral statement of 20 January 2025 on New Hospital Programme Review, Official Report, column 750, if his Department will make short-term capital funding available to help ensure the safety of North Devon District Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The safety of National Health Service staff and patients is a top priority for the Government. That is why repairing and rebuilding our hospital estate is a vital part of our ambition to create an NHS that is fit for the future.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) will collectively receive over £4 billion in annual capital allocations in 2025/26, which will be managed locally, with funds allocated according to local priorities, including ensuring safety at New Hospital Programme sites. Devon ICB, responsible for North Devon District Hospital has been allocated £104 million in operational capital for 2025/26.
Recently published NHS planning guidance set out the NHS’s operational capital envelopes, national capital programmes and allocation processes for 2025/26. This includes a £750 million estates safety fund to help ensure hospitals are safe and sustainable, of which £11 million has been provisionally allocated to Devon ICB. I would encourage Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to discuss options with Devon ICB, to allocate operational capital and national capital programme allocations towards safety works at their sites.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
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 help support businesses that provide services to the NHS in rural areas, in the context of changes to the level of employer National Insurance contributions at the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have taken tough decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, and this enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26. The employer National Insurance rise will be implemented April 2025, the Department will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year in due course, including through NHS Planning Guidance, and the usual consultations.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
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 help support (a) GP surgeries, (b) dentists, (c) pharmacies and (d) care homes in rural areas to tackle workforce pressures, in the context of changes to the level of employer National Insurance contributions at the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, and this enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26. The employer National Insurance rise will be implemented April 2025, and the Department will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year in due course.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle (a) sexism, (b) racism and (c) bullying behaviour within the ambulance service; and if she will establish an independent body to review complaints made by ambulance workers.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Everyone working in the National Health Service must feel safe from any form of bullying, harassment, discrimination, or abuse, and feel confident that they can raise concerns, which will be taken seriously and acted on.
The Department welcomes the publication of the NHS England commissioned independent review into ambulance sector culture. NHS England has established a Delivery Board to deliver the review’s important recommendations. This includes actions led by the Office of the Chief Allied Health Professions at NHS England, and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, on stopping misogyny and improving sexual safety in the ambulance service. This programme of work will build on the work already underway through the NHS People Plan, and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Improvement Plan
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to (a) promote better awareness within the NHS of the symptoms of Lyme disease and (b) speed up (i) testing and (ii) analysis of test results for Lyme disease.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS) are specifically aimed at general practices (GPs), and cover the availability of testing services. The entomology group in the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also has a tick awareness scheme, which sends out information on avoiding tick bites in a spring campaign, and supports local authorities in areas with a high prevalence of Lyme disease. Further information on Lyme disease, access to testing, and the NICE’s CKS’ is available respectively at the links below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lyme-disease-guidance-data-and-analysis
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng95
https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/lyme-disease/management/management/
All confirmatory testing in England is performed by the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL). Delays may occur in the referring laboratory when submitting the sample, during testing at the RIPL, or when accessing the results, which are sent back electronically, before being passed onto GPs. Only the RIPL is within the UKHSA’s control, and the RIPL is planning to introduce new technology to speed up tests for neuroborreliosis.
National data analysis is released through the Fingertips system, which is regularly updated. The annual number of cases of Lyme disease varies from year to year, depending on weather conditions in the Lyme season, the effects of weather and human activities on animals that harbor the disease, and the tick population. Further information on the Fingertips system is available at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/health-protection/data
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the review of the contractual arrangements under which NHS dental treatment is carried out will be completed.
Answered by Will Quince
In July 2022, we announced measures to improve the National Health Service dental system and in ‘Our plan for patients’ published in September 2022. This aims to increase access for patients, including those with greater oral health needs and ensure that dentists are fairly rewarded for the delivery of NHS care. Further information on improving access for patients, including in the South West, will be available later in the autumn.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take urgent steps to improve the availability and quality of NHS dental treatment in Torridge and West Devon constituency.
Answered by Will Quince
In July 2022, we announced measures to improve the National Health Service dental system and in ‘Our plan for patients’ published in September 2022. This aims to increase access for patients, including those with greater oral health needs and ensure that dentists are fairly rewarded for the delivery of NHS care. Further information on improving access for patients, including in the South West, will be available later in the autumn.