Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
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 expand Fracture Liaison Services in England.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
More than 500,000 fragility fractures occur every year, and up to 40% of fracture patients will suffer another fracture. I am pleased to reiterate the Government’s commitment to expanding access to Fracture Liaison Services.
The Department is working closely with NHS England to develop plans to ensure better quality and access to these important preventive services. This includes exploring ways to best support systems, as Fracture Liaison Services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which make decisions according to local need.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
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 assessment of the potential merits of introducing a new provisional registration status for overseas-qualified dentists whose qualifications are not automatically recognised by General Dental Council.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to rebuild National Health Service dentistry, and strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions. Dentists that meet our high standards should be able to enter the workforce efficiently, and we are exploring the best ways to achieve this, including whether there is merit to the introduction of a provisional registration status for overseas-qualified dentists.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
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 reduce the time taken to process applications to the dental performers list.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In May 2023, changes were made to the Performers List Regulations for England to accelerate the process for domestic and overseas dentists joining the Dental Performers List to be able to practise in the National Health Service. Further changes came into force in September 2023.
The Government is determined to rebuild NHS dentistry, and strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions. Dentists that meet our high standards should be able to enter the workforce efficiently, and we are exploring the best ways to achieve this.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
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 assessment of the potential economic benefit for the (a) NHS and (b) wider economy of investment in training the public sector workforce to increase access to Auditory Verbal therapy for young deaf children.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Washington and Gateshead South on 14 October 2024 to Question 5963.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
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 increase access to (a) Auditory Verbal therapy for deaf children whose families want them to learn to listen and speak and (b) other early and effective support to develop language and communication for deaf children.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Audiology services, including support for non-hearing children, are locally commissioned, and the responsibility for meeting the needs of non-hearing children lies with local National Health Service commissioners.
NHS England is supporting the integrated care boards (ICBs) to make informed decisions about the provision of audiology services so that they can provide consistent, high quality, and integrated care to non-hearing children. In 2019, NHS England, with input from the National Deaf Children’s Society, produced a guide for commissioners and health and local authority providers which supports non-hearing children and young people, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/what-works-chswg-guide.pdf
The Department recognises the need to improve access to therapies generally. Since September 2020, all eligible allied health profession students have received a non-repayable training grant of a minimum of £5,000 per academic year. NHS England and the Department for Education are also working in partnership to co-fund £10 million for nine Early Language Support for Every Child pathfinder sites over two years, starting from September 2023, to provide early identification, targeted, and universal support for children with speech, language, and communication needs in both early years and primary school settings, and more timely referrals for specialist support if required.
NHS England met with Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) last year and discussed the need for more higher-level research evidence for the intervention and to develop evaluations of impact. AVUK was also invited to join the Chief Scientific Officer’s Audiology stakeholder group.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
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 ensure adequate numbers of (a) auditory verbal therapists and (b) other specialist workers for babies, children and young people with speech, language, and communication needs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Audiology services, including support for non-hearing children, are locally commissioned, and the responsibility for meeting the needs of non-hearing children lies with local National Health Service commissioners.
NHS England is supporting the integrated care boards (ICBs) to make informed decisions about the provision of audiology services so that they can provide consistent, high quality, and integrated care to non-hearing children. In 2019, NHS England, with input from the National Deaf Children’s Society, produced a guide for commissioners and health and local authority providers which supports non-hearing children and young people, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/what-works-chswg-guide.pdf
The Department recognises the need to improve access to therapies generally. Since September 2020, all eligible allied health profession students have received a non-repayable training grant of a minimum of £5,000 per academic year. NHS England and the Department for Education are also working in partnership to co-fund £10 million for nine Early Language Support for Every Child pathfinder sites over two years, starting from September 2023, to provide early identification, targeted, and universal support for children with speech, language, and communication needs in both early years and primary school settings, and more timely referrals for specialist support if required.
NHS England met with Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) last year and discussed the need for more higher-level research evidence for the intervention and to develop evaluations of impact. AVUK was also invited to join the Chief Scientific Officer’s Audiology stakeholder group.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for North West Norfolk of (a) 9 and (b) 31 July 2024 on the New Hospitals Programme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have received the hon. Member’s correspondence of 9 and 31 July 2024, and we will respond shortly.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
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 increase the level of funding for neurodevelopmental services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently considering the next steps to improve diagnostic assessments and support for autistic people and people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism and ADHD services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and adults referred to an autism assessment service. The guidance also sets out what support should be available before an assessment and what support should follow a recent diagnosis of autism. In 2024/25, £4.3 million is available nationally to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services.
In respect of ADHD, we are supporting a cross-sector taskforce that NHS England has launched into challenges in ADHD service provision, to help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
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 reduce waiting times for neurodevelopmental services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently considering the next steps to improve diagnostic assessments and support for autistic people and people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism and ADHD services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and adults referred to an autism assessment service. The guidance also sets out what support should be available before an assessment and what support should follow a recent diagnosis of autism. In 2024/25, £4.3 million is available nationally to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services.
In respect of ADHD, we are supporting a cross-sector taskforce that NHS England has launched into challenges in ADHD service provision, to help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
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 improve access to neurodevelopmental assessments.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently considering the next steps to improve diagnostic assessments and support for autistic people and people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism and ADHD services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and adults referred to an autism assessment service. The guidance also sets out what support should be available before an assessment and what support should follow a recent diagnosis of autism. In 2024/25, £4.3 million is available nationally to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services.
In respect of ADHD, we are supporting a cross-sector taskforce that NHS England has launched into challenges in ADHD service provision, to help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand.