Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 access to degree apprenticeships in midwifery for (a) mature students, (b) career changers and (c) other people who face (i) financial and (ii) practical barriers to undertaking traditional university training routes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will publish a new workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and will treat patients on time again. This will include how we ensure we train healthcare staff, through all training routes including apprenticeships, to support patients in all of our communities.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 raise public awareness of the symptoms of chronic urinary tract infections.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service provides information on the symptoms of urinary tract infections (UTIs), including chronic UTIs, at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/urinary-tract-infections-utis/
The Department currently has no plans to raise public awareness of the symptoms of chronic UTIs. However, the Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is funding research to improve the diagnosis and treatment of UTIs, including chronic UTIs. This research includes the development of antimicrobial-impregnated catheters to reduce episodes of catheter-associated UTIs as well as the TOUCAN study, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.phctrials.ox.ac.uk/recruiting-trials/toucan-platform-for-uti-diagnostic-evaluation
This study is evaluating rapid point of care UTI diagnostic tests in general practice surgeries that not only enable faster detection of UTIs but also provide real-time information on antibiotic resistance, ensuring patients receive the correct treatment.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 adolescent mental health services in Berkshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need and that waits for mental health services are too long across England, including Berkshire. We are determined to change that as part of our shift to prevention and earlier intervention and in line with our Plan for Change.
The Department’s Spending Review settlement means that annual National Health Service day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, representing a £53 billion cash uplift, by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24.
In the Spending Review announcement, we have confirmed that we will fulfil the Government’s commitments to recruit an additional 8,500 additional mental health staff by the end of the Parliament and expand mental health support teams in schools in England to cover 100% of pupils by 2029/30.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's planned timetable is for publishing its plans to reduce the time taken for patients to receive mental health treatment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Long waits for mental health services are being driven by increasing demand to a system in desperate need of change. The Government is already responding by delivering new and innovative models of care in the community. We are piloting innovative models of care in the community, including six neighbourhood adult mental health centres that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care.
NHS England Planning Guidance for 2025/26 makes clear that for this year, to support reform and improvements, we expect all providers to reduce the variation in children and young people accessing services and improve productivity. We are also improving data quality so we can support providers to understand demand across their areas. Since July 2023, NHS England has included waiting times metrics for referrals to urgent and community-based mental health services in its monthly mental health statistics publication to help services to target the longest waits.
It is important that mental health services within the National Health Service work closely with the voluntary sector to deliver new models of care. The 10-Year Health Plan will be published shortly, and this will set out how the overall health system will run.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a seven-day Community Diagnostic Centre at St Mark's Hospital in Maidenhead.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Slough Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) is currently delivering temporary activity at St Mark’s Hospital in Maidenhead, and has done so since January 2024, in addition to activity at the permanent site at Upton Community Hospital, whilst the new facility is being completed. Once the new facility at Upton Community Hospital is completed later in 2025, all diagnostic activity will move to Upton Community Hospital, where it is expected that Slough CDC will be open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Elective Reform Plan, published on 6 January 2025, sets out that we will increase the number of CDCs offering services 12 hours a day, seven days a week, as well as delivering additional CDC capacity in 2025/26 by expanding a number of existing CDCs and building up to five new ones.
NHS England is working with local National Health Service systems to identify the most appropriate locations for investments, including new CDCs. A key factor they will consider is that new CDCs are positioned in a location which addresses local need and will address health inequalities. Details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 accelerate the uptake of non-animal New Approach Methodologies in (a) regulatory testing and (b) scientific research.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funding is focused on translational, clinical, and applied health and care research. We therefore do not fund basic research or work involving animals, animal tissue, or both. However, the NIHR does work in close partnership with the Medical Research Council, which funds animal research in carefully defined circumstances and recognises the need for the robust application of the 3Rs, the replacement, reduction, and refinement of animal use in research.
The Government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation, and uptake of alternative methods in basic, applied, translational, and regulatory research and testing later this year.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 NHS dental services in Maidenhead.
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 from April 2025 and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, 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 the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Maidenhead constituency, this is the NHS Frimley ICB.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 support GP practices to (a) recruit and (b) retain skilled practitioners.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.
Under recently announced changes to the GP Contract in 2025/26, the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) will become more flexible to allow primary care networks (PCNs) to respond better to local workforce needs. The two ARRS pots will be combined to create a single pot for reimbursement of patient facing staff costs. There will be no restrictions on the number or type of staff covered, including GPs and practice nurses.
In a drive to recruit GPs via the ARRS and to bring back the family doctor, the salary element of the maximum reimbursement amount that PCNs can claim for GPs will be increased from £73,113 in 2024/25, the bottom of the salaried GP pay range, to £82,418, an uplift of £9,305, representing the lower quartile of the salaried GP pay range, as some GPs will be entering their second year in the scheme. Proportionate employer on-costs will also be included within the overall maximum reimbursement amount which PCNs will be able to claim.
Our commitment to growing the GP workforce includes addressing the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encouraging them to return to practice. We know that high workloads can be a key driver for GPs reducing their contracted hours or leaving the profession altogether. That’s why we are tackling morale through drivers such as growing the workforce and reducing bureaucracy through our Red Tape Challenge, to improve job satisfaction and reduce the risk of burnout.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 reduce levels of GP unemployment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.
Under recently announced changes to the GP Contract in 2025/26, the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) will become more flexible to allow primary care networks (PCNs) to respond better to local workforce needs. The two ARRS pots will be combined to create a single pot for reimbursement of patient facing staff costs. There will be no restrictions on the number or type of staff covered, including GPs and practice nurses.
In a drive to recruit GPs via the ARRS and to bring back the family doctor, the salary element of the maximum reimbursement amount that PCNs can claim for GPs will be increased from £73,113 in 2024/25, the bottom of the salaried GP pay range, to £82,418, an uplift of £9,305, representing the lower quartile of the salaried GP pay range, as some GPs will be entering their second year in the scheme. Proportionate employer on-costs will also be included within the overall maximum reimbursement amount which PCNs will be able to claim.
Our commitment to growing the GP workforce includes addressing the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encouraging them to return to practice. We know that high workloads can be a key driver for GPs reducing their contracted hours or leaving the profession altogether. That’s why we are tackling morale through drivers such as growing the workforce and reducing bureaucracy through our Red Tape Challenge, to improve job satisfaction and reduce the risk of burnout.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.
Under recently announced changes to the GP Contract in 2025/26, the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) will become more flexible to allow primary care networks (PCNs) to respond better to local workforce needs. The two ARRS pots will be combined to create a single pot for reimbursement of patient facing staff costs. There will be no restrictions on the number or type of staff covered, including GPs and practice nurses.
In a drive to recruit GPs via the ARRS and to bring back the family doctor, the salary element of the maximum reimbursement amount that PCNs can claim for GPs will be increased from £73,113 in 2024/25, the bottom of the salaried GP pay range, to £82,418, an uplift of £9,305, representing the lower quartile of the salaried GP pay range, as some GPs will be entering their second year in the scheme. Proportionate employer on-costs will also be included within the overall maximum reimbursement amount which PCNs will be able to claim.
Our commitment to growing the GP workforce includes addressing the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encouraging them to return to practice. We know that high workloads can be a key driver for GPs reducing their contracted hours or leaving the profession altogether. That’s why we are tackling morale through drivers such as growing the workforce and reducing bureaucracy through our Red Tape Challenge, to improve job satisfaction and reduce the risk of burnout.