Asked by: Ian Byrne (Independent - Liverpool West Derby)
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 new born babies losing their sight in one eye as a result of insufficient staffing levels at the hospital where they were born in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There has been no specific estimate made regarding the number of newborn babies losing their sight in one eye due to insufficient staffing levels. As per the National Health Service newborn and infant physical examination (NIPE) screening programme, the vision of newborn babies must be assessed within 72 hours of birth, and at the six-to-eight-week checkup. Further information on the NIPE is available at the following link:
We recognise the concerns around workforce shortages. Whilst change will not happen overnight, we are committed to training thousands more midwives to better support women and babies throughout pregnancy and beyond.
The responsibility for staffing levels should remain with clinical and other leaders at a local level, responding to local needs, supported by national and professional bodies’ guidelines, and regulated by the Care Quality Commission.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Independent - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress NHS England has made on developing a mechanism to track, monitor and evaluate independent sector’s impact on the long-term NHS capacity landscape in accordance with the Elective Recovery Taskforce implementation plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is working closely with the Independent Healthcare Providers Network and the wider sector to ensure we have appropriate mechanisms to track and monitor the independent sector’s impact on the long-term National Health Service capacity landscape. From October 2024, NHS England will be reporting independent sector activity data based on the Secondary Uses Service data submissions, to which a large number of independent sector provider sites currently report. This will therefore enable us to more fully capture the sector’s activity.
NHS England continues to explore opportunities for the independent sector to support the NHS in the areas of greatest need, including in diagnostics and the most challenged specialties, while ensuring that NHS care remains free at the point of use. NHS England meets regularly with all independent sector providers to encourage this collaborative working.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Independent - Liverpool West Derby)
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 help GPs meet the needs of patients.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is providing £82 million to fund the recruitment of more than 1,000 newly qualified general practitioners, via the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS), so patients can get the care they need.
The ARRS provides funding for several additional roles to help create bespoke, multi-disciplinary teams. All these roles are in place to assist general practice doctors in reducing their workload and assisting patients directly with their needs, allowing doctors to focus on more complex patients and other priorities, including continuity of care.
This government will bring back the family doctor for those who would benefit from seeing the same clinician regularly, for example, those living with chronic illness. This will improve continuity of care, which is associated with better health outcomes and fewer accident and emergency attendances.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Independent - Liverpool West Derby)
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 patients waiting longer than 18 weeks for treatment for (a) wet macular degeneration and (b) glaucoma in (i) England, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) Liverpool.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The classification codes required to identify pathways where patients may have glaucoma or macular degeneration do not allow for distinction between the two conditions.
The following table provides an estimate of the number of patients who have been waiting longer than 18 weeks for treatment specifically for wet macular degeneration and glaucoma in England, Merseyside, and Liverpool, via the latter’s integrated care boards (ICBs), as a snapshot for the week ending 10 November 2024, extracted on 15 November 2024:
| Number of pathways greater than 18 weeks | ||
England | Cheshire and Merseyside ICB | NHS Liverpool Sub ICB | |
Glaucoma or macular degeneration | 765 | 61 | 7 |
Source: Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLMDS), NHS England.
However, these figures may include patients that also have other conditions, as full coding for glaucoma and macular degeneration procedures requires diagnostic codes that are not available in the WLMDS.
The WLMDS is weekly management information that is subject to less validation than the monthly official statistics. There may be issues regarding the quality and completeness of the recorded data, which is not routinely reviewed centrally.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Independent - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will eliminate parking fees at NHS hospitals for NHS staff and patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessments have been made of the potential merits of eliminating car-parking charges for National Health Service patients and staff, the adequacy of Blue Badge parking spaces, or the effectiveness of the private companies that manage NHS car parks.
All NHS trusts that charge for hospital car parking provide free parking for those in the greatest need, which includes NHS staff working overnight, frequent outpatient attenders, disabled people, and parents of children staying overnight in hospital.
All NHS trusts are expected to follow the Department’s published NHS Car Parking guidance. This sets out that where car parking charges exist, they should be reasonable for the area. This guidance is available at the following link:
NHS organisations decide locally on the provision, management, and charging for their car parking, within the policy set out by the Department, and including the provision of Blue Badge parking spaces.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Independent - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many training places there were for ophthalmology in the NHS in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of doctors in training in the ophthalmology specialty in England, in each of the last five years:
Year | Numbers of doctors in training in the ophthalmology specialty group |
2019 | 558 |
2020 | 563 |
2021 | 563 |
2022 | 583 |
2023 | 592 |
2024 | 610 |
Source: General Medical Council, National Training Survey, via Data Explorer, available at the following link:
https://gde.gmc-uk.org/postgraduate-training/postgraduate-trainees/postgraduate-trainees-summary-data
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Independent - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of Blue Badge parking spaces at NHS facilities.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessments have been made of the potential merits of eliminating car-parking charges for National Health Service patients and staff, the adequacy of Blue Badge parking spaces, or the effectiveness of the private companies that manage NHS car parks.
All NHS trusts that charge for hospital car parking provide free parking for those in the greatest need, which includes NHS staff working overnight, frequent outpatient attenders, disabled people, and parents of children staying overnight in hospital.
All NHS trusts are expected to follow the Department’s published NHS Car Parking guidance. This sets out that where car parking charges exist, they should be reasonable for the area. This guidance is available at the following link:
NHS organisations decide locally on the provision, management, and charging for their car parking, within the policy set out by the Department, and including the provision of Blue Badge parking spaces.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Independent - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of private companies that manage NHS car parks.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessments have been made of the potential merits of eliminating car-parking charges for National Health Service patients and staff, the adequacy of Blue Badge parking spaces, or the effectiveness of the private companies that manage NHS car parks.
All NHS trusts that charge for hospital car parking provide free parking for those in the greatest need, which includes NHS staff working overnight, frequent outpatient attenders, disabled people, and parents of children staying overnight in hospital.
All NHS trusts are expected to follow the Department’s published NHS Car Parking guidance. This sets out that where car parking charges exist, they should be reasonable for the area. This guidance is available at the following link:
NHS organisations decide locally on the provision, management, and charging for their car parking, within the policy set out by the Department, and including the provision of Blue Badge parking spaces.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Independent - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to review the prescription charge exemption list.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to review the list of prescription charge exemptions.
Approximately 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in the community in England, and there are a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place, for which those with the greatest need may be eligible. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.
People on low incomes can apply for help with their health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme. Prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) are also available. PPCs allow people to claim as many prescriptions as they need for a set cost, with three-month and 12-month certificates available. The 12-month PPC can be paid for in instalments.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Independent - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of (a) removing Value Added Tax on defibrillators and (b) other fiscal steps to encourage provision of automatic external defibrillators.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
No recent discussions have been held regarding removing Value Added Tax on defibrillators or other fiscal steps to encourage provision of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs).
As of 22 September 2023, community organisations had been able to apply for a grant to fund a life-saving defibrillator for their local area. An initial estimate of 1,000 new defibrillators were to be provided by the fund, with the potential for this to double as successful applicants will be asked to match the funding they receive partially or fully.
Smarter Society received applications for 4,773 AEDs and has delivered 2,000 AEDs. This means that due to the high level of demand, Smarter Society has successfully delivered the fund and further applications are not being accepted at this time. The Department is considering how best to continue supporting organisations that want to obtain an AED in the future.