To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Midwives: Training
Wednesday 1st February 2023

Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people applied for undergraduate pre-registration midwifery courses in each year since 2015.

Answered by Will Quince

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) publish data on the number of applicants to midwifery courses in England. The number of applicants between 2018-19 and 2021-22 are shown in the table below.

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

Applicants

8,140

8,750

11,040

10,340

Source: UCAS end of cycle 2022, published at the following link:

https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-sector-level-end-cycle-data-resources-2022

Published UCAS data only covers the period from 2018-19 onwards.


Written Question
Health: Screening
Thursday 26th January 2023

Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of the adequacy of the number of scans and health checks completed by the NHS.

Answered by Will Quince

Diagnostic checks, including scans, are a key part of many elective care pathways. The Department’s ambition is that 95% of patients needing a diagnostic check receive it within six weeks by March 2025. According to data published in November 2022, approximately 73% are receiving a check within six weeks. Community Diagnostic Centres have delivered more than 2.7 million additional checks as of December 2022.

Delivery of the NHS Health Check programme, which is commissioned by local Government, was largely suspended between April 2020 and February 2022 due to the pandemic and in line with national guidance from NHS England. Data shows most local authorities have made positive steps to recover the service, reaching 81% of pre-pandemic activity between July and September 2022.


Written Question
Hospitals: Discharges
Thursday 26th January 2023

Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase the speed of hospital discharges.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 9 January 2023, the Government committed a further £200 million to fund short-term National Health Service step-down care packages. Integrated care boards, working closely with local authorities, will use this to purchase places in care homes and other settings, such as hospices, as well as to help fund wrap-around primary and community health services to support patients’ recovery. NHS England expect that this will allow an additional 2,500 – 3,000 patients to be discharged from hospital into other care settings, freeing up much needed acute beds and clinical capacity.

The Government has also provided an extra £50 million in capital funding to expand ambulance hubs and hospital discharge lounges to help improve the flow of patients through hospitals and the speed of hospital discharges. This complements and builds on the £500 million adult social care discharge fund announced in September 2022, which can be used to fund a much wider range of measures to support discharge, including domiciliary care packages and measures to boost workforce capacity.


Written Question
Midwives and Nurses: Training
Tuesday 24th January 2023

Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many students applied for (a) nursing and (b) midwifery undergraduate courses in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Will Quince

46,565 students applied for nursing courses and 10,340 students applied for midwifery courses at the end of the 2022 application cycle, according to data published by The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Disease Control
Wednesday 2nd March 2022

Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)

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 help protect the most clinically vulnerable from covid-19.

Answered by Maggie Throup

The shielding programme ended on 15 September 2021. People previously considered clinically extremely vulnerable are advised to follow general guidance, while considering additional precautions to reduce the risk of infection. On 24 December 2021, updated public health advice was issued, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19

In addition, updated public health advice was issued for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19. This is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-risk/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-risk

NHS England and NHS Improvement have written to general practices and hospital trusts in England to raise awareness of this new guidance.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Screening
Wednesday 2nd March 2022

Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)

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 capacity of the UK’s covid-19 testing infrastructure in comparison to other countries.

Answered by Maggie Throup

No specific assessment has been made as robust data on international capacity is not held.


Written Question
Hospitals: Coronavirus
Thursday 20th January 2022

Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)

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 covid-19 hospital admissions.

Answered by Maggie Throup

Measures including the mandatory use of face masks in most public indoor venues, the requirement to display the NHS COVID Pass in specific settings and advice to work from home where possible, will help to reduce the spread of the Omicron variant and pressure on the National Health Service. The booster vaccination campaign continues which will provide additional protection against hospitalisations, especially amongst older and more vulnerable populations. We are also increasing capacity in the NHS, deploying antiviral and monoclonal antibody treatments and providing free lateral flow device tests to 100,000 critical workers.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Thursday 20th January 2022

Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the progress of the covid-19 vaccination programme.

Answered by Maggie Throup

As of 12 January 2022, over 83% of those aged 12 years old and over in the United Kingdom have received two doses of the vaccine, with over 90% having received one dose. Over 36 million people in the UK have received a booster or third primary dose, with every eligible adult in England aged 18 years old and over offered a booster vaccination by the target of 31 December 2021.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Wednesday 19th January 2022

Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)

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 provide additional covid-19 vaccination sites.

Answered by Maggie Throup

There are now hundreds of walk-in sites and general practitioners and pharmacies have been asked to increase their vaccination services. Vaccination sites have been asked to operate 12 hours a day, seven days a week wherever possible, with some sites extending to 24-hour operation. Additional ‘pop-up’ sites will also be opening in local areas in convenient locations for communities.


Written Question
Hospitals: Coronavirus
Wednesday 19th January 2022

Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)

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 support the discharge of patients from hospital during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We have provided £3.3 billion to the National Health Service to facilitate timely hospital discharges during the pandemic, including £478 million for winter 2021/22. We have established a national discharge taskforce and systems are also using non-acute beds locally, including in hospices, community beds and the independent sector. To recruit and retain staff to support the discharge of patients, we are providing £462.5 million via local authorities for care providers to increase existing care support.