Asked by: Kirstene Hair (Conservative - Angus)
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 outcomes for people suffering with eating disorders following the reduction in the waiting time target from 18 weeks to four weeks in England.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The waiting time standard for children and young people to start treatment for a routine eating disorder within four weeks is not currently applicable for adults.
The Government is aware of the importance of early intervention when treating people with an eating disorder and we recognise that the earlier treatment is provided, the greater the chance of recovery.
The Government set up the first ever waiting time standards to improve access to eating disorder services for children and young people, supported by £30 million a year to develop 70 new or extended community eating disorder services across the country. These have improved access to effective eating disorder treatment in the community, with the number of children and young people accessing treatment increasing from 5,243 in 2016/17 to 6,867 in 2017/18.
Asked by: Kirstene Hair (Conservative - Angus)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with eating disorders clinicians on how to improve (a) treatment wait times, (b) inpatient care, (c) outpatient care and (d) post-treatment support.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
It is the role of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to provide evidence and guidance to the National Health Service on healthcare. NICE has published guidance on the recognition and treatment of people with eating disorders. NICE guidelines are based on the best available evidence, with recommendations put together by clinical experts, people using services, carers and the public.
The ‘eating disorders: recognition and treatment guideline’ (NG 69) was published in 2004 and revised in 2017. It includes information on inpatient and day patient treatment, and monitoring people not in treatment. It is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG69
For waiting times, NHS England commissioned the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH) to develop the ‘Access and Waiting Time Standard for Children and Young People with an Eating Disorder’ Commissioning Guide. The guidance sets out how commissioners and providers should improve treatment pathways to meet the access and waiting time standard.
To inform the work of the team that drafted the guide, the NCCMH set up an Expert Reference Group made up of professionals and clinicians from specialist and technical areas. The guide therefore builds on views from over 700 professionals and 1,700 children and young people.
The guidance was published in 2015 and is available at the following link:
The ‘Clinically-led Review of NHS Access Standards’ Interim Report, published in March, states that NHS England will test four-week waiting times for adult and older adult community mental health and it is expected that eating disorders will be included in this. The proposals will be field tested at a selection of pilot sites across England, before wider implementation. Alongside the field testing, engagement will take place across the health service before making recommendations to the Government and full implementation beginning spring 2020.
Asked by: Kirstene Hair (Conservative - Angus)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government is going to meet the targets for referral to treatment of individuals with eating disorders of (a) four weeks for under-19s and (b) one week for the most severe cases.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The National Health Service is making good progress towards the children and young people’s eating disorder waiting time target, with latest data for Quarter 3 2018/19 (October – December 2018) showing that 80.7% of young people started treatment for an urgent case within one week against a target of 95% by 2020/21. This report also showed that 86.8% of young people started treatment for a routine case within four weeks against a target of 95% by 2020/21.
This data is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cyped-waiting-times/
Asked by: Kirstene Hair (Conservative - Angus)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to provide further support for veterans with mental health issues.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
In England, the National Health Service has announced that an extra £10 million will be invested into a new NHS dedicated crisis service that will expand the current bespoke veteran mental health services and provide intensive support to veterans battling alcohol, drugs and mental health problems, capturing those individuals nearing crisis.
The extra funding will also enable a roll out of veteran-friendly general practitioner surgeries and hospitals as part of efforts to make sure those who have served their country get specialist help they deserve in every part of the health service.
Asked by: Kirstene Hair (Conservative - Angus)
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 on the effect of junk food advertising on childhood obesity.
Answered by Steve Brine
Evidence shows that children’s exposure to high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) product advertising can affect what children want to eat and what they choose to eat. This can happen both in the short term, increasing the amount of food children eat immediately after being exposed to a HFSS advert and in the longer term by shaping children’s food preferences from a young age.
In the second chapter of our childhood obesity plan, launched in June 2018, we have committed to consult on introducing further advertising restrictions, including a 9pm watershed on TV advertising of HFSS products and similar protection for children viewing adverts online, with the aim of limiting children’s exposure to HFSS advertising, and incentivising sugar and calorie reduction. Further details about the consultation will be available later this year.
Officials in the Department have regular discussions with their counterparts in the devolved administrations on improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people, including on tackling obesity. Discussions include domestic strategies and the delivery of United Kingdom-wide measures in our childhood obesity plan, such as advertising restrictions.
‘Childhood obesity: a plan for action, chapter 2’ is available at the following link:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-obesity-a-plan-for-action-chapter-2
Asked by: Kirstene Hair (Conservative - Angus)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on his Department's research into the link between junk food advertising and childhood obesity.
Answered by Steve Brine
Evidence shows that children’s exposure to high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) product advertising can affect what children want to eat and what they choose to eat. This can happen both in the short term, increasing the amount of food children eat immediately after being exposed to a HFSS advert and in the longer term by shaping children’s food preferences from a young age.
In the second chapter of our childhood obesity plan, launched in June 2018, we have committed to consult on introducing further advertising restrictions, including a 9pm watershed on TV advertising of HFSS products and similar protection for children viewing adverts online, with the aim of limiting children’s exposure to HFSS advertising, and incentivising sugar and calorie reduction. Further details about the consultation will be available later this year.
Officials in the Department have regular discussions with their counterparts in the devolved administrations on improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people, including on tackling obesity. Discussions include domestic strategies and the delivery of United Kingdom-wide measures in our childhood obesity plan, such as advertising restrictions.
‘Childhood obesity: a plan for action, chapter 2’ is available at the following link:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-obesity-a-plan-for-action-chapter-2