Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children under the age of (a) four and (b) 11 were admitted to hospital for a tooth extraction due to decay in Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough constituency in each of the last five years.
Answered by Will Quince
This information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of GP surgeries were rated as good by the Care Quality Commission in Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough constituency in 2010.
Answered by Will Quince
The Care Quality Commission did not rate providers in 2010 and began rating National Health Service trusts in 2013. This approach was extended to other parts of the health and care system in 2015.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of social care capacity in Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough Constituency.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No specific assessment has been made. Local authorities have a responsibility under the Care Act 2014 to ensure that the care needs of the local population are met.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
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 merits of offering a retrospective financial award to healthcare students who studied between 2017 and 2020 who did not receive a bursary during their time of study.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No recent assessment has been made and we have no plans to provide a retrospective financial award to healthcare students who did not receive the current grant offer during their studies.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
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 approved covid-19 vaccines delivered in Pakistan are recognised in the UK to allow fully vaccinated travellers from Pakistan to travel to the UK without the need for quarantine.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Since 9 January 2022, eligible fully vaccinated travellers from Pakistan can take a lateral flow device test on or before day two of their arrival in England, without the need to quarantine. Those who receive a positive result must self-isolate immediately and order a National Health Service polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test through GOV.UK. Positive PCR tests for these arrivals will be sequenced to understand the potential for variants of concern.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
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 merits of providing permanent Medical Exemption Certificates to those with verified lifelong chronic conditions.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No assessment has been made. We currently have no plans to expand the prescription charge medical exemption list to include all those with a verified lifelong condition or to provide those that currently qualify for a medical exemption with a permanent exemption. Medical exemption certificates are valid for a period of five years as although many of the conditions on the list are life-long, some can resolve over time and the patient’s entitlement should be reviewed by their clinician periodically.
For those ineligible for an exemption on medical grounds, arrangements are in place to assist with the affordability of National Health Service prescriptions, including exemptions for which people with life-long chronic conditions may already qualify. Approximately 89% of NHS prescription items are dispensed in the community free of charge. To support those who do not qualify for a medical exemption, the cost of prescriptions can be capped by purchasing a prescription pre-payment certificate, which can be paid for in instalments. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
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 merits of extending the temporary suspension of the NHS abatement rules past March 2022.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Pension abatement in the National Health Service applies to nurses, midwives, physiotherapists and mental health officers with a retained legacy right to retire at 55 years old without a reduction in their pension. Between the ages of 55 years old and 60 years old, these pensions plus earnings in NHS employment cannot exceed NHS earnings before retirement. The abatement recognises that this a significant benefit not available to other staff in the NHS, including many nurses. Other staff are not subject to abatement after taking their pension.
The Coronavirus Act 2020 suspended the rule to enable this group of staff to increase their work for the NHS should they wish. It is due to expire on 25 March with other provisions. The NHS Business Services Authority are writing to all pensioners under 60 years old in this group who may be affected, to advise how much they can earn before their pension is abated. These nurses and any who subsequently retire should continue to be able to work for the NHS. However, the Department will keep this under review.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
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 neuro-diverse people are treated fairly and equally in the NHS recruitment process.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Under the Equality Act 2010 it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against people because of a disability. Neuro-diverse people should receive fair and equal treatment as part of the National Health Service recruitment process, which includes making workplace adjustments.
The 2020 NHS People Plan includes commitments to increase the representation of colleagues with a disability and states that employers must overhaul recruitment practices by creating accountability, agreeing diversity targets and addressing bias. Senior leaders must be accountable for developing and delivering urgent plans to eliminate inequality in their organisations. The NHS Workforce Disability Equality Standard set out metrics to enable organisations to understand the experiences of disabled staff. This will ensure a more inclusive environment for disabled people seeking employment in the NHS. Disability and Wellbeing Networks in the NHS support the recruitment of people with disabilities and NHS Employers has created a toolkit to assist disabled individuals through the recruitment process.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
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 encourage NHS dentists to remain in the profession.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England and NHS Improvement and Health Education England are working on programmes to make National Health Service dentistry more attractive to the profession and retaining current dentists. Health Education England’s Advancing Dental Care Education and Training Review programme is exploring opportunities for flexible core and specialty training pathways to improve career progression and retention. The programme will also offer opportunity to develop new capabilities and competence, including in leadership, management and research.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing proposals for new NHS contractual arrangements, which will be designed with the support of the profession.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
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 recruit more GPs; and if he will publish an updated target on GP recruitment by 2024.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government remains committed to growing the number of doctors in general practice and is determined to deliver this as soon as possible. As such no revised target has been published. We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Health Education England and the profession to increase recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encourage them to return to practice.
The updated GP Contract Framework announced a number of new retention schemes alongside continued support for existing schemes for the general practice workforce. These include the GP Retention Scheme, the International Induction Programme, the Return to Practice Programme, the Fellowship Programme, the New to Partnership Payment and Supporting Mentors Scheme. We have also increased the number of general practitioner training places with 4,000 trainees this year, compared to 2,671 in 2014.