Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it remains his Department's policy to increase the total sum of money eligible per person via the disabled facilities grant.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local areas already have the discretion to make grants above the current upper limit on a case-by-case basis, or in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. As with all aspects of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), the Government will continue to keep the upper limit under review.
The Next steps to put People at the Heart of Care plan announced a further £102 million for housing adaptation support, £50 million in 2023/24 and £52 million in 2024/25. This is in addition to the £573 million per year which is already available for the DFG. The increase will enable local areas to fund minor home adaptations and other supplementary services that will help people stay independent, and support hospital discharge.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
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 time between an urgent GP referral and the commencement of treatment for cancer for patients in Blackburn constituency.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department is already taking steps to reduce cancer treatment waiting times across England. Reducing the time between an urgent general practitioner referral and the commencement of treatment for cancer for patients is a priority for this Government. The Department is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care’. The Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity.
In the 2023/24 Operational Planning Guidance, NHS England announced that it is providing over £390 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances in each of the next two years to support delivery of the strategy and the operational priorities for cancer, which includes increasing and prioritising diagnostic and treatment capacity for cancer.
Additionally, the Government recently published the ‘Major conditions strategy: case for change and our strategic framework’ on 14 August 2023, which sets out our approach to making the choices over the next five years that will deliver the most value in facing the health challenges of today and of the decades ahead, including cancer.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of radiotherapy linear accelerator (LINAC) machines will be over their recommended lifespan by the end of (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025.
Answered by Will Quince
Since April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines sits with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 Spending Review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the NHS (2022-25).
Recent Capital Planning Guidance sets out the expectation that the majority of radiotherapy equipment, particularly linear accelerator (LINAC) machines, will need to be replaced at ten years of age, to make progress on Long Term Plan priorities. The guidance states that Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) need to develop replacement plans as part of their multi-year capital plans, in partnership with specialised commissioners, Cancer Alliances and Radiotherapy Operational Delivery Networks, based on an assessment of equipment age, capacity and demand, opportunities to improve access, and service risk.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP practices were open in Blackburn in September 2022; and how many there were in September 2013.
Answered by Will Quince
In September 2013 there were 23 practices registered in Blackburn, with 18 practices registered in September 2022.
Practices close for a variety of reasons, including practice mergers or retirement. A reduction in practice numbers does not mean a reduction in the quality of care. When a practice does close, patients are informed and advised to register at another local practice of their choice. Practices and commissioners must put in place appropriate measures to ensure that the affected patients have access to general practice services.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full time equivalent fully qualified GPs (excluding GPs in training grade) were practicing in Blackburn in September 2022; and how many there were in September 2013.
Answered by Will Quince
The information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP Speciality Trainees have been recruited in East Lancashire as part of Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme 2021-2022 and what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the numbers recruited to that scheme to meet local demand.
Answered by Will Quince
No trainees were recruited as part of the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme in 2021/2022 in East Lancashire. In the 2022/2023 scheme, 38 training places have been offered in East Lancashire.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of GPs in Blackburn.
Answered by Will Quince
We are working with NHS England, Health Education England and the profession to increase the general practice workforce in England, including in Blackburn. This includes measures to improve recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encourage them to return to practice.
The updated GP Contract Framework announced a number of new schemes, alongside continued support for existing recruitment and retention schemes for the general practice workforce. This includes the GP Retention Scheme, the GP Retention Fund, the National GP Induction and Refresher, the Locum Support Scheme, the New to Partnership Payment and the Supporting Mentors Scheme. General practitioners in Lancashire and South Cumbria also have access to the national GP Career Support Hub. It provides information, guidance and support on career development, learning, mentoring, appraisals, career options and flexibility, wellbeing, pay and pensions.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) financial and (b) other steps her Department is taking to help tackle NHS workforce shortages in Blackburn constituency.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan will consider the number of staff and the roles required and will set out the actions and reforms needed to improve workforce supply and retention, including in Blackburn.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made on (a) podiatry vacancy rates in the NHS in Blackburn constituency and (b) the impact these vacancies will have on patient treatment for diabetic foot complications.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to ensure adequate support is provided to people who live with severe chronic pain.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The majority of routine treatment and support for people with chronic pain is provided by local primary, community and secondary care services and commissioned via clinical commissioning groups. For patients with severe and complex pain, NHS England commissions specialised care. Upon referral to specialist centres, patients can access a range of health professionals, including consultant specialists, clinical nurse specialists, psychologists and physiotherapists and receive specialised treatment.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published its guidance on chronic pain in April 2021, which includes recommendations on how chronic pain can be managed through pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches, such as exercise programmes, acupuncture and psychological therapy. NHS England has established a task and finish group to produce guidance on the provision of high-quality services for people living with long-term pain conditions by September 2022. The guidance is aimed at integrated care systems, to provide core principles which can be used to inform the development of local models of care to support people living with chronic pain.