Asked by: Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government's revised childhood obesity plan will make tackling noncommunicable diseases a priority.
Answered by Steve Brine
Obesity is a leading cause of serious non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. Many of the key measures in both chapters of our childhood obesity plan will have an impact on tackling obesity across all age groups. These include the soft drinks industry levy, sugar reduction and wider calorie reformulation programme, restricting promotions and calorie labelling in restaurants which will improve our eating habits and reduce the amount of sugar we consume.
Asked by: Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the way in which medical school places are allocated.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
500 medical school places have already been allocated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to established medical schools in England and will be available to students starting medical school from September 2018.
HEFCE and Health Education England (HEE) are currently undertaking a competitive bidding process for established and prospective new medical schools to bid for the remaining 1,000 places that will be available from September 2019. Amongst other criteria, bids will based on priorities such as widening participation in to the profession, a focus on priority specialties and geographical areas across England.
Bids are being assessed by an expert assessment panel and HEFCE and HEE are expected to confirm the allocation of the additional 1,000 places in March 2018.
The draft health and care workforce strategy that is currently out for consultation proposes that HEE will consider a periodic review of the number and allocation of medical school places.
Asked by: Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's news story of 9 August 2017, 1,500 extra medical undergraduate places confirmed, how those training places will be allocated.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
500 medical school places have already been allocated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to established medical schools in England and will be available to students starting medical school from September 2018.
HEFCE and Health Education England (HEE) are currently undertaking a competitive bidding process for established and prospective new medical schools to bid for the remaining 1,000 places that will be available from September 2019. Amongst other criteria, bids will based on priorities such as widening participation in to the profession, a focus on priority specialties and geographical areas across England.
Bids are being assessed by an expert assessment panel and HEFCE and HEE are expected to confirm the allocation of the additional 1,000 places in March 2018.
The draft health and care workforce strategy that is currently out for consultation proposes that HEE will consider a periodic review of the number and allocation of medical school places.
Asked by: Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance is issued to 999 call centre staff on how to respond to callers who are feeling suicidal.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
Data is not collected centrally.
Guidance for 999 call handlers on how to respond to callers who are feeling suicidal is developed and delivered by each local ambulance trust, informed by the Mental Health Care Crisis Concordat. This sets out the principles and good practice that should be followed by health staff, police officers and approved mental health professionals when working together to help people in a mental health crisis.
Asked by: Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of 999 calls received from or concerning a person who is feeling suicidal are responded to by (a) an ambulance, (b) the police, (c) the fire brigade and (d) other emergency services.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
Data is not collected centrally.
Guidance for 999 call handlers on how to respond to callers who are feeling suicidal is developed and delivered by each local ambulance trust, informed by the Mental Health Care Crisis Concordat. This sets out the principles and good practice that should be followed by health staff, police officers and approved mental health professionals when working together to help people in a mental health crisis.
Asked by: Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the number of 999 calls received each year from or concerning a person who is feeling suicidal.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
Data is not collected centrally.
Guidance for 999 call handlers on how to respond to callers who are feeling suicidal is developed and delivered by each local ambulance trust, informed by the Mental Health Care Crisis Concordat. This sets out the principles and good practice that should be followed by health staff, police officers and approved mental health professionals when working together to help people in a mental health crisis.
Asked by: Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the number and proportion of people presenting at A&E feeling suicidal who are (a) given treatment, (b) referred to another service and (c) given no treatment or referral.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
Data on the number and proportion of people presenting at accident and emergency (A&E) feeling suicidal who are given treatment, referred to another service and given no treatment or referral is not collected centrally. Through their A&E Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Digital are able to identify patients who are recorded for ‘self-harm’ and patients diagnosed as having ‘psychiatric conditions’, but these are not specific to ‘suicidal’.
Through the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, we are committed to roll-out liaison mental health teams in general hospitals by 2020/21 with 50% of them meeting the core 24 standard. This means that teams of specially trained mental health professionals will be able to support people who present at emergency departments with mental health issues, which would include providing assessments and referring on to specialist mental health services or community teams.