Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to alter the messaging provided on cervical screening leaflets to make clear it does not screen for (a) ovarian cancer and (b) other gynaecological cancers.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for delivering the NHS Cervical Screening Programme, and works to ensure that core public information on screening is easily accessible and understandable to the public. NHS England regularly reviews key public information across National Health Service screening programmes.
NHS England has advised that they are currently updating the Cervical screening: helping you decide leaflet, and that the draft update already addresses the concerns raised, making it clear that cervical screening does not screen for other cancers of the reproductive system. The final updated version is expected to be published in early 2025, and the current leaflet is available at the following link:
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to ensure adequate levels of funding for healthcare in Dartford.
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.
NHS Kent and Medway will in turn receive a share of this additional funding. NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards. This process is independent of the Government, and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formulae used to help determine allocations from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation.
The formulae are based on independent academic research and include factors statistically associated with higher or lower need per head for National Health Services. The formulae produce a target allocation, or ‘fair share’ for each area, based on a complex assessment of factors such as demography, morbidity, deprivation, and the unavoidable cost of providing services in different areas.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
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 access to NHS dentistry in Dartford constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Dartford constituency, this is the NHS Kent and Medway ICB.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many appointments were (a) cancelled and (b) missed at Darent Valley Hospital on 21 October 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data regarding cancelled and missed appointments at Darent Valley Hospital on 21 October 2024 is not currently available to the Department.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people over 70 years old have been hospitalised with respiratory issues at Darent Valley Hospital in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on the number of people hospitalised or admitted is not recorded. Finished Admission Episodes (FAE) are recorded, although these are not substitutions for counts of people, as the same person may have been admitted to hospital on more than one occasion within any given time period.
The following table shows a count of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of all respiratory conditions, for patients aged 70 years old or over, at Darent Valley Hospital for the period 2014/15 to 2023/24:
Year | Number of FAEs for patients over aged 70 years old |
2014/15 | 1,585 |
2015/16 | 1,610 |
2016/17 | 1,920 |
2017/18 | 2,150 |
2018/19 | 2,065 |
2019/20 | 2,075 |
2020/21 | 1,230 |
2021/22 | 1,740 |
2022/23 | 1,985 |
2023/24 | 2,075 |
The following table shows a count of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of asthma, for patients aged zero to 17 years old, at Darent Valley Hospital for the period 2014/15 to 2023/24:
Year | Number of FAEs for patients aged zero to 17 years old |
2014/15 | 130 |
2015/16 | 110 |
2016/17 | 95 |
2017/18 | 100 |
2018/19 | 100 |
2019/20 | 110 |
2020/21 | 65 |
2021/22 | 150 |
2022/23 | 100 |
2023/24 | 120 |
The following table shows a count of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of all respiratory conditions, for patients aged less than one years old, at Darent Valley Hospital for the period 2014/15 to 2023/24:
Year | Number of FAEs for patients aged under one years old |
2014/15 | 645 |
2015/16 | 795 |
2016/17 | 935 |
2017/18 | 915 |
2018/19 | 1,030 |
2019/20 | 1,155 |
2020/21 | 260 |
2021/22 | 1,465 |
2022/23 | 1,740 |
2023/24 | 1,715 |
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children under one year old were admitted to Darent Valley Hospital for respiratory issues in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on the number of people hospitalised or admitted is not recorded. Finished Admission Episodes (FAE) are recorded, although these are not substitutions for counts of people, as the same person may have been admitted to hospital on more than one occasion within any given time period.
The following table shows a count of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of all respiratory conditions, for patients aged 70 years old or over, at Darent Valley Hospital for the period 2014/15 to 2023/24:
Year | Number of FAEs for patients over aged 70 years old |
2014/15 | 1,585 |
2015/16 | 1,610 |
2016/17 | 1,920 |
2017/18 | 2,150 |
2018/19 | 2,065 |
2019/20 | 2,075 |
2020/21 | 1,230 |
2021/22 | 1,740 |
2022/23 | 1,985 |
2023/24 | 2,075 |
The following table shows a count of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of asthma, for patients aged zero to 17 years old, at Darent Valley Hospital for the period 2014/15 to 2023/24:
Year | Number of FAEs for patients aged zero to 17 years old |
2014/15 | 130 |
2015/16 | 110 |
2016/17 | 95 |
2017/18 | 100 |
2018/19 | 100 |
2019/20 | 110 |
2020/21 | 65 |
2021/22 | 150 |
2022/23 | 100 |
2023/24 | 120 |
The following table shows a count of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of all respiratory conditions, for patients aged less than one years old, at Darent Valley Hospital for the period 2014/15 to 2023/24:
Year | Number of FAEs for patients aged under one years old |
2014/15 | 645 |
2015/16 | 795 |
2016/17 | 935 |
2017/18 | 915 |
2018/19 | 1,030 |
2019/20 | 1,155 |
2020/21 | 260 |
2021/22 | 1,465 |
2022/23 | 1,740 |
2023/24 | 1,715 |
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children have been hospitalised for asthma in Darent Valley Hospital in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on the number of people hospitalised or admitted is not recorded. Finished Admission Episodes (FAE) are recorded, although these are not substitutions for counts of people, as the same person may have been admitted to hospital on more than one occasion within any given time period.
The following table shows a count of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of all respiratory conditions, for patients aged 70 years old or over, at Darent Valley Hospital for the period 2014/15 to 2023/24:
Year | Number of FAEs for patients over aged 70 years old |
2014/15 | 1,585 |
2015/16 | 1,610 |
2016/17 | 1,920 |
2017/18 | 2,150 |
2018/19 | 2,065 |
2019/20 | 2,075 |
2020/21 | 1,230 |
2021/22 | 1,740 |
2022/23 | 1,985 |
2023/24 | 2,075 |
The following table shows a count of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of asthma, for patients aged zero to 17 years old, at Darent Valley Hospital for the period 2014/15 to 2023/24:
Year | Number of FAEs for patients aged zero to 17 years old |
2014/15 | 130 |
2015/16 | 110 |
2016/17 | 95 |
2017/18 | 100 |
2018/19 | 100 |
2019/20 | 110 |
2020/21 | 65 |
2021/22 | 150 |
2022/23 | 100 |
2023/24 | 120 |
The following table shows a count of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of all respiratory conditions, for patients aged less than one years old, at Darent Valley Hospital for the period 2014/15 to 2023/24:
Year | Number of FAEs for patients aged under one years old |
2014/15 | 645 |
2015/16 | 795 |
2016/17 | 935 |
2017/18 | 915 |
2018/19 | 1,030 |
2019/20 | 1,155 |
2020/21 | 260 |
2021/22 | 1,465 |
2022/23 | 1,740 |
2023/24 | 1,715 |
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
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 pollution on the number of admissions to Darent Valley Hospital.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Exposure to air pollution is associated with increased hospital admissions, particularly for respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. The UK Health Security Agency has not calculated the potential impact of air pollution on the number of admissions to the Darent Valley Hospital specifically.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on the potential merits of regulating the outdoor advertising of high fat, salt and sugar products.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Departmental officials engage with a range of external stakeholders on diet and obesity policies. Supporting people to stay healthier for longer is at the heart of the Government’s Health Mission which aims to reduce the amount of time spent in ill health, tackle health inequalities and drive economic growth. This includes taking bold action to tackle the childhood obesity crisis and create the healthiest generation of children ever.
The Government welcomes recent action at local level to ban junk food marketing across the public transport networks and public spaces that are controlled locally.
Whilst no assessment has been made on the potential impact of outdoor advertising of less healthy food and drink products on children's consumption of those products, the Government has committed to implementing the advertising restrictions set out in the Communications Act 2003 on less healthy food and drink products without further delay. The regulations introduce a 9pm watershed for the advertisement of less healthy food or drink products on television and a total restriction of paid-for advertising of these products online will come into force across the United Kingdom on 1 October 2025.
Evidence shows that these restrictions will have a direct impact on childhood obesity by reducing children’s exposure to advertising of less healthy products. We estimate that these restrictions will remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets per year in the UK and reduce the number of children living with obesity by 20,000.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
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 outdoor advertising of food and drink products that are high in fat, salt and sugar on children's consumption of those products.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Departmental officials engage with a range of external stakeholders on diet and obesity policies. Supporting people to stay healthier for longer is at the heart of the Government’s Health Mission which aims to reduce the amount of time spent in ill health, tackle health inequalities and drive economic growth. This includes taking bold action to tackle the childhood obesity crisis and create the healthiest generation of children ever.
The Government welcomes recent action at local level to ban junk food marketing across the public transport networks and public spaces that are controlled locally.
Whilst no assessment has been made on the potential impact of outdoor advertising of less healthy food and drink products on children's consumption of those products, the Government has committed to implementing the advertising restrictions set out in the Communications Act 2003 on less healthy food and drink products without further delay. The regulations introduce a 9pm watershed for the advertisement of less healthy food or drink products on television and a total restriction of paid-for advertising of these products online will come into force across the United Kingdom on 1 October 2025.
Evidence shows that these restrictions will have a direct impact on childhood obesity by reducing children’s exposure to advertising of less healthy products. We estimate that these restrictions will remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets per year in the UK and reduce the number of children living with obesity by 20,000.