Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 adequacy of NHS mental health support available to trans patients under the age of 18.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The independent Darzi investigation of the NHS in England found that NHS waiting lists for mental health services have surged, and that by April 2024, about 1 million people were waiting for mental health services. The Cass review also noted the unacceptable waiting times across Children and Young People’s Gender Services. The government and NHS England are working to improve Children and Young People’s Gender Services in a variety of ways, including expanding the number of services offered. The Government and NHS England are committed to implementing the recommendations from the Cass Review to ensure children and young people with gender incongruence get the holistic care they need. In line with NHS England’s ambitious two-year implementation plan, three new services in the North-West, London, and South West have now opened. A fourth service in the East of England will open in spring of next year. NHS England is advancing towards meeting its commitment for there to be a specialist children’s gender service in every region by 2026.
NHS England has rolled out an improved referral pathway into Children and Young People’s gender services, which ensures that children are assessed more holistically through referral via paediatrics or children’s mental health services. These services have been given detailed guidance, aligned to findings and recommendations from the Cass Review, on how to support this group of young people and their families. NHS England has also written to all children and young people on the waiting list to offer them a mental health assessment.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 adequacy of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has funded, via the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) a project to look at the impact of non-GP staff in practices on patient care.
Through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and practices have recruited over 37,000 additional staff including Pharmacists, Physiotherapists, and social prescribing link workers. These roles are in place to assist doctors in general practice in reducing their workload, assisting patients directly with their needs, allowing doctors to focus on more complex patients and other priorities, including continuity of care.
From October, PCNs have also been able to recruit newly qualified GPs through the scheme with an additional £82m of funding. Roles employed through the scheme increase capacity and improve access to appointments.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 mental health services in (a) Cannock Chase constituency and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
People with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they deserve, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health.
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, which will also help ease pressure on busy mental health services.
NHS Talking Therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, provide treatment to adults, including in the Cannock Chase constituency and Staffordshire, with common mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. People can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies services or be referred by their general practitioner.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 increase the number of mental health practitioners working in the NHS.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To help address the chronic workforce shortages in the mental health workforce we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services, to reduce waiting times and provide faster treatment. We are currently working with colleagues at NHS England to consider options to deliver this commitment.
NHS England is also working to improve the retention of mental health workers through clearer career progression pathways.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much was lost to fraud 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 fraud losses in the National Health Service in England, for each of the last five years:
Year | Fraud loss |
2019/20 | £17,400,000 |
2020/21 | £12,400,000 |
2021/22 | £20,700,000 |
2022/23 | £26,400,000 |
2023/24 | £24,200,000 |
Source: NHS Counter Fraud Authority Consolidated Data Report.
Notes:
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of funding available through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme has been spent on mental health practitioners since 2019.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Funding available through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) for mental health practitioners accounts for 50% of the costs of these roles, with the other 50% provided by mental health trusts. Mental health practitioners were not introduced into the ARRS until 2021/22. The following table shows the spend on mental health practitioners through the ARRS, and that spend as a proportion of overall ARRS funding, for 2021/22 to 2023/24:
Year | Mental health practitioner spend through the ARRS | Proportion of overall ARRS funding |
2021/22 | £3,402,000 | 0.5% |
2022/23 | £18,281,000 | 1.8% |
2023/24 | £31,000,000 | 2.2% |
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 the number of qualified pharmacists working in (a) community pharmacy, (b) general practice, (c) hospitals and (d) mental health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will make sure the National Health Service has the staff it needs to be there for all of us when we need it and reform the way we deliver care, so more care is delivered in the community.
NHS England and the General Pharmaceutical Council have been working with education providers to increase pharmacy training places. Recent announcements include the establishment of new schools of pharmacy at Plymouth University, Teesside University, and the University of Leicester, which will improve training opportunities and build resilience across all pharmacy settings.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 adequacy of general practice capacity in the Cannock Chase constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that patients are finding it harder than ever to see a general practitioner (GP). This was highlighted in Lord Darzi’s review, and we are committed to fixing this crisis in GPs.
Our plan to increase the number of GP appointments delivered will require both investment and reform. We have already invested £82 million to recruit over 1,000 newly qualified GPs through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. This will increase the number of appointments delivered in GPs and take pressure off those currently working in the system. We will also train thousands more GPs, securing the future of the workforce, and will end the 8:00am scramble for GP appointments by introducing a modern booking system.
Cannock Chase sits within the NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board, where 486,000 appointments were delivered in August 2024. In August 2023, they delivered 507,000 appointments. This is a decrease of 4.3%.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 help ensure empty clinical space in hospitals is put to use.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and we recognise that delivering high quality NHS healthcare services requires a safe, resilient, and effective hospital estate. This means not only upgrading, but better utilising infrastructure to reduce unused spaces and increase efficiency.
Managing the local capital budget for its area, reconfiguring services, including to address estates issues, and allocating funds according to local priorities, including any necessary investment to bring empty clinical space back into use, are matters for the local integrated care board (ICB). All ICBs are currently developing locally led 10-year infrastructure strategies with support from NHS England, these strategies should consider opportunities to better use space and drive improved efficiency and productivity from existing estates. Any future national capital programmes to support NHS organisations delivering local and national priorities will also be considered as part of the Spending Review process.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 the number of single-use items used by the National Health Service.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Delivering a Net Zero National Health Service report, published in October 2020, the NHS is committed to reducing its environmental impact, including by increasing the reuse and recycling of medical equipment. This report is available at the following link:
In October 2024, the Government published the Design for Life roadmap, a new strategy to transition away from all avoidable single-use medical technology products towards a functioning circular system by 2045. This roadmap is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/design-for-life-roadmap
The programme is expected to support the NHS by improving resilience, reducing waste, delivering cost savings, and achieving the NHS commitment to be net zero by 2045. The Design for Life roadmap provides examples of where NHS organisations are already achieving cost, waste, and carbon savings through reusing, remanufacturing, and recycling medical devices and equipment, in line with their local Green Plans.
In addition, NHS England collaborates with NHS Supply Chain to increase the availability of reusable products, and supports local NHS organisations to use more reusable medical devices and products, where it is safe to do so. For example, NHS England supported the Royal Surgical Colleges to develop the evidence-based Green Theatre Checklist to encourage sustainable theatre approaches, including promoting the use of reusable or remanufactured equipment, where appropriate. Further information on the checklist is available at the following link:
Additionally, NHS England is supporting innovation through the Small Business Research Initiative Healthcare programme, which has funded a project to support reuse of surgical textiles, with further information available at the following link:
https://sbrihealthcare.co.uk/impact-case-studies/case-studies/revolution-zero