Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to improve the communication of the real-time availability of ADHD medications in pharmacies to patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information on stock levels within individual pharmacies is not held centrally.
To aid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) service providers, prescribers, and pharmacies, we have widely disseminated our communications and continually update a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website, helping ensure that those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/prescribing-available-medicines-to-treat-adhd/
The team also regularly engages with patient groups to provide information on supply issues pertinent to them and their patients, and supports them with any patient communications they may wish to develop.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 waiting lists for talking therapies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The latest data for July 2024 show 90.7% of people completing treatment for talking therapies waited less than 6 weeks for their first appointment, against a target of 75%.
More broadly people with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health and that people can be confident of accessing high quality mental health support when they need it.
We will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment.
By cutting mental health waiting lists and intervening earlier with more timely mental health support, we can get this country back to health and back to work, helping to grow the economy.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 9455 on Air Pollution: Poverty, if he will take steps to help tackle the impact of air pollution on people with a low income.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Chief Medical Officers Annual report on Air Pollution (2022) demonstrated the increased health risks associated with exposure to air pollution among those living in areas of higher socio-economic deprivation. The Government are committed to reducing health inequalities and DHSC are supporting Defra to deliver their comprehensive and ambitious Clean Air Strategy which will include a series of interventions to reduce emissions so that everyone’s exposure to air pollution is reduced.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 9455 on Air Pollution: Poverty, if he will take steps to reduce the number of schools in England that are in areas exceeding World Health Organisation guidelines for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to improve air quality and protect children from the harms of pollution, and is committed to meeting the legal targets for air quality, including the targets recently set under the Environment Act 2021. The Department of Health and Social Care is working across Government to achieve this, including with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs on their Clean Air Strategy to reduce emissions and reduce harms associated with air pollution.
Local air quality is the responsibility of local authorities, who should prepare air quality action plans to ensure the level of pollutants is reduced, if it is not compliant with relevant limits. Local authorities are responsible for monitoring air quality in their areas and will decide where to undertake their monitoring, which may be around schools. The Government will continue to work with local authorities to support their work on improving air quality. Active Travel England and the Department for Transport are working on guidance for local authorities to help them implement School Streets vehicle access restrictions effectively.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of air pollution on neighbourhoods with high levels of poverty.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Although air pollution can be harmful to everyone, some people are more affected because they live in a polluted area, are exposed to higher levels of air pollution in their day-to-day lives, or are more susceptible to health problems caused by air pollution, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and a shortened life expectancy.
There is clear evidence that people with a low income are affected by air pollution in a number of different ways. The disadvantages that come about as a result of poor income add up, with deprived populations who are more likely to be in poor health, and are at greater risk from air pollution and its adverse health impacts. These inequalities can affect people throughout their lives, from the prenatal stage through to old age, particularly as deprived communities often have limited opportunities to improve their environment. Further information on pollution is available at the following link:
A 2021 study by the UK Health Security Agency found that one-third of the schools in England were in areas exceeding World Health Organisation guidelines for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations. Schools with higher annual mean PM2.5 concentrations are more likely to have a high deprived pupil intake and be in neighbourhoods with high levels of child income deprivation compounding existing socioeconomic disadvantages.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 LGBTQ+ mental health.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
People with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, including those within the LGBTQ+ community, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health. We also want people to be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it.
We will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, which will also help ease pressure on hospitals. By cutting mental health waiting lists and intervening earlier with more timely mental health support, we can get this country back to health and back to work, helping to grow the economy.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 people with alcohol dependence.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A vital part of delivering the Health Mission shift to prevention will be action to reduce the harms from excess alcohol consumption. The Department is continuing to invest in improvements to local alcohol treatment services to ensure that those in need can access high quality help and support.
Funding for alcohol treatment services is provided through the public health grant. In addition, local authorities have received a further £267 million from the Department this year to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery, alongside £105 million made available by the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to improve treatment pathways and recovery, housing, and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. This additional investment is improving the quality and capacity of alcohol treatment services in England, which includes action to expand the alcohol treatment and recovery workforce.
As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, over £30 million of national funding has been invested between 2019 and 2025, on an ambitious programme to establish new, or to optimise existing, Alcohol Care Teams in the 25% hospitals with the highest need, which are 47 out of the 188 eligible sites in England. This is estimated to prevent 50,000 avoidable admissions over five years.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities published a Commissioning Quality Standard providing guidance for local authorities to support them in commissioning effective alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services in their areas. This guide is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-quality-standard-alcohol-and-drug-services
The UK clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment are expected to be published later this year, and will include recommendations to promote good practice.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to conduct further public consultation on the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is currently considering what steps may need to be taken in relation to the safety of the non-surgical cosmetics sector. The Government will set out its position at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 2899 on Nurses: Training, what steps he is taking to promote the merits of nursing as a career.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To remove the barriers to training in clinical roles, eligible students receive a non-repayable grant of £5,000 a year, with additional incentives for priority specialisms, such as mental health nursing.
The National Health Service has a long-established campaign process for promoting NHS careers, including nursing, both locally and nationally. NHS Health Careers, as part of NHS England, provides support to people in education and at different stages of their career, to learn more about all the career opportunities available in the NHS.
NHS England is expanding routes into healthcare professions through apprenticeships and blended learning programmes, allowing students to choose to study in a flexible way that reflects their needs.
To ensure nursing remains an attractive career, the Government will also make sure that staff are treated with the respect they deserve, improve their working conditions, and reform the way they deliver care.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 increasing the NHS Learning Support Fund.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare students under close review. At all times the Government must strike a balance between the level of support students receive, and the need to make best use of public funds to deliver value for money. There are no immediate plans to make changes to the levels of funding provided by the scheme.