Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 improve levels of staff (a) recruitment and (b) retention in the NHS.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government is growing the National Health Service workforce. There are now over 42,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) more staff working in NHS provider trusts and commissioning bodies than a year ago, October 2021, including almost 4,700 more doctors and over 10,500 more nurses. We are working hard to deliver 50,000 nurses by the end of March 2024 and we are well on the way towards achieving this aim with over 36,000 more nurses working in the NHS now compared with September 2019.
The Government has funded 1,500 more medical school places each year for domestic students in England, a 25% increase over three years. This expansion was completed in September 2020 and has delivered five new medical schools in England. There are currently record numbers of medical students in training.
The NHS People Plan sets out a comprehensive range of actions to improve staff retention. Actions to improve the experience of staff outlined in the 2020 NHS People Plan and People Promise continue to be priorities, as outlined in the NHS national planning guidance in 2021/22 and 2022/23.
The NHS Retention Programme is continuously seeking to understand why staff leave, resulting in targeted interventions to support staff to stay whilst keeping them well. A staff retention guide has been updated and includes information on supporting staff in their late and early career with specific focus on induction, reward and recognition and menopause support.
We have has also commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan will look at the mix and number of staff required across all parts of the country and will set out the actions and reforms that will be needed to reduce supply gaps and improve retention.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 impact of (a) increasing funding for medical schools, (b) offering additional financial support to people training for medical careers and (c) increasing salaries for NHS workers on increasing the size of the NHS workforce.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government reviews funding arrangements for all healthcare students before the start of each academic year. Whilst we will attempt to address a variety of issues with the finite resources available to us, we must also strike a balance between ensuring students are financially supported during their studies and delivering maximum value for money for the taxpayer.
For 2023/24, we have asked the independent pay review bodies for pay recommendations for National Health Service staff not already in multi-year deals. This follows the acceptance in full of the 2022/23 financial year’s recommendations.
We have commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term plan for the NHS workforce for the next 15 years. The high-level long-term NHS workforce plan will look at the mix and number of staff required across all parts of the country and will set out the actions and reforms that will be needed to reduce supply gaps and improve retention. This plan will help ensure that we have the right numbers of staff, with the right skills to transform and deliver high quality services fit for the future.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 tackle workforce shortages in the social care sector.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In February 2022, we made care workers eligible for the Health and Care Visa and added them to the Shortage Occupation list. We are also investing £15 million to further boost overseas recruitment opportunities. We are running a national recruitment campaign, with continuous activity across jobs boards, video on demand, digital audio, radio and social media until 31 March. We are also making available £500 million to support safe and timely discharges from hospital. Where appropriate local areas can use this funding for measures related specifically to the recruitment and retention of care workers.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of deaths that would have been preventable if medical attention had been available sooner in Wansbeck constituency in each month since September 2022.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No specific estimate has been made.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 potential impact of the cost of living crisis on the nation's health.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No specific assessment has been made. However, this winter we are spending £55 billion to help households and businesses with their energy bills, amongst the largest support plans in Europe. A typical household will save around £900 this winter through the price guarantee in addition to the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme.
We are also spending £9.3 billion over the next five years on energy efficiency and clean heat, making homes easier and cheaper to heat. We will spend £26 billion in total on cost of living support next year, including the £900 cost of living payment for eight million poorer households.
We have also put in place the largest ever increase to the National Living Wage, for two million workers, taking it up to £10.42, which is worth over £1,600 a year to a full-time worker aged 23 and over.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of encouraging (a) elderly and (b) vulnerable people to find a warm space when unable to travel due to weather conditions.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Government published The Cold Weather Plan for England Protecting health and reducing harm from cold weather advising on steps individuals, including pensioners and other vulnerable populations, can take to stay safe and well during cold weather. Decisions on provision of warm spaces are taken at a local level. The local government financial settlement in England for 2022/2023 invested £3.7 billion to councils in England, the majority of which allowing councils to determine local priorities.
There is also guidance to help people make decisions on and plan for travel during bad weather published by the Meteorological Office.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to (a) develop test infrastructure and (b) recruit testing staff to test patients for Alzheimer's disease to allow early diagnosis and treatment with Lecanemab.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources.
NICE has been asked by the Department to conduct an appraisal of lecanemab for treating early Alzheimer’s disease. The appraisal is anticipated to begin in late August 2023.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Dementia Research Institute on the potential roll-out of Lecanemab to the NHS.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I have held no discussions.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources.
NICE has been asked by the Department to conduct an appraisal of lecanemab for treating early Alzheimer’s disease. The appraisal is anticipated to begin in late August 2023.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide funding for the creation of tier four young peoples' hospitals outside of the South of England.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We have confirmed funding to build 40 new hospitals, including two in Dorset which will deliver mental health services. We also launched a competition for a further eight hospitals, a proportion of which will be mental health hospitals. However, there are no plans for new hospitals specifically to deliver tier four children and adolescent mental health services.
NHS England commissions tier four children and adolescent mental health services from over 50 mental health providers, which operate within National Health Service and independent hospitals in England. There are no current plans to expand the provision of such services.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 trends in the level of diagnosis of personality disorders in (a) adults and (b) adolescents in the last five years.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
No specific assessment has been made. The ‘Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey: Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, England, 2014’ records the prevalence of and trends in personality disorders in those aged 18 to 64 years old. The Survey is available at the following link:
The next Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey is expected to commence in 2022, with the final report to be published in 2024.
The ‘Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2017’ survey provides estimates of the prevalence of specific disorders, including behavioural disorders for children and young people. These disorders are generally only diagnosed in children and young people and the presence in childhood is required for certain adult psychiatric diagnoses, such as antisocial personality disorder. The survey is available at the following link:
Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2017 [PAS] - NHS Digital