Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 make it easier for patients in Broxbourne constituency to contact their GP practice to book appointments.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know patients are struggling to contact their general practices (GP), including in the Broxbourne constituency. That is why we have committed to eliminating the 8:00am scramble for appointments by implementing a modern appointment booking system.
The most recent data from the Health Insight Survey found that between July and August 2024, 78% of people had successfully contacted their GP on the same day, in the last 28 days. Of those who tried to contact their GP practice in the last 28 days, 72.6% of adults perceived their overall experience of their GP practice as either ‘Very Good’ or ‘Good’.
99.4% of the primary care estate are now live with digital telephony and 90% have been enrolled to use online registration systems.
We are determined to reduce bureaucracy, which is why the Government has launched a red tape challenge, ensuring GPs spend less time filling in forms and more time caring for patients.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to introduce mandatory dementia training for adult social care workers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Providers must provide sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled, and experienced staff to meet the needs of the people using the service. Staff must receive the support, training, professional development, supervision, and appraisals that are necessary for them to carry out their role.
We now have a national career framework for adult social car, the Care Workforce Pathway, which is linked to a number of existing competency frameworks, including the dementia training standards framework.
The Department has also launched a new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification which links to the outcomes in the Care Workforce Pathway. This contains the baseline knowledge required to provide quality care, and will make sure that those who are starting out their careers have an informed awareness of dementia.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of giving the responsibility for the allocation of GP surgeries to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently no plans for assessing whether the responsibility of the allocation of general practice surgeries should fall to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Upper-tier local authorities currently have a role in improving health and influencing health and care strategies through participation in integrated care partnerships (ICPs) and integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs are National Health Service organisations responsible for planning health services for their local population, including Primary Medical Services. ICBs are legally required to have local government representation on their board. Each integrated care system (ICS) includes an ICP, formed of NHS organisations and upper-tier local authorities, which is responsible for developing an integrated care strategy. The ICB works to deliver this through developing a joint plan with partner local authorities, managing the NHS budget, and arranging for the provision of health services in the ICS area.
The healthcare needs of local populations affect the funding which practices receive. Global sum payments for general practice contractors are based on a weighted sum for every person registered with the practice, using the Carr-Hill formula to estimate the practices’ workload.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the GP-to-patient ratio in Broxbourne constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In July 2024, the median number of full time equivalent (FTE) doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients in the Broxbourne constituency was 5.5. This was more than the median in England, of 5.4.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 improve infrastructure for general practices.
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 this means better utilising and expanding primary care infrastructure across the NHS estate. That is why we have set out our intention to fix the front door to the NHS and bring healthcare closer to home, and the local community.
At a local level, the relevant integrated care board is responsible for deciding how the NHS budget for its area is spent, and funding is allocated according to local priorities, such as new general practice surgeries, integrated care centres, or neighbourhood hubs. Any further support for NHS organisations delivering local and national priorities will be considered as part of the forthcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 adequacy of waiting times for GP surgeries in Broxbourne 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) and we are committed to fixing the the crisis in GPs to secure the long-term sustainability of the National Health Service.
Broxbourne sits within the NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board, where 82.7% of appointments were delivered within two weeks of booking, 0.4% lower than the national average.
Our plan to restore GPs and improve the waiting times to see a GP will require both investment and reform. We have committed to train thousands more GPs, end the 8:00am scramble for GP appointments by introducing a modern booking system, and trial new Neighborhood Health Centers to bring community health services together under one roof. Furthermore, the Government will also bring back the family doctor by incentivising GPs to see the same patient.