Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many health visitors are employed by the NHS; and how many were employed on 1 September 2010.
Answered by Will Quince
The number of health visitors working in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England is published monthly by NHS England as part of their NHS Workforce Statistics Collection. The data can be found in the nurses by setting table at the following link:
The data includes staff employed by NHS trusts and commissioning bodies, but excludes staff directly employed by primary care, general practitioner surgeries, local authorities, and other providers such as community interest companies and private providers.
Local authorities have been responsible for commissioning health visiting services since 2015. These services may be commissioned from NHS trusts as well as other providers.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
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 adequacy of the extent of water testing for Covid in the last 12 months.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Wastewater monitoring for COVID-19 and its variants was stood down in April 2022 in response to the Government policy change to Living with COVID-19. Therefore, in England, there has been no wastewater testing for COVID-19 within the last 12 months. Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have their own programmes, run independently of the approach in England.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of unused equipment at the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory in Leamington Spa was repurposed for other uses in the NHS.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The United Kingdom’s polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing network for coronavirus (COVID-19) was scaled down in response to reduced demand and to ensure value for money for taxpayers. From 17 January 2023, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) laboratory network reduced from three labs to two, with the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory ceasing to process PCR tests. The laboratory has been mothballed rather than closed down; hence no closing down costs have been incurred.
For as long as the laboratory is mothballed, the equipment is being left in situ to minimise the time required to restart operations if needed. As such, none of the laboratory’s equipment has been repurposed for use by the National Health Service at this stage
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost of closing down cost of the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory in Leamington Spa.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The United Kingdom’s polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing network for coronavirus (COVID-19) was scaled down in response to reduced demand and to ensure value for money for taxpayers. From 17 January 2023, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) laboratory network reduced from three labs to two, with the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory ceasing to process PCR tests. The laboratory has been mothballed rather than closed down; hence no closing down costs have been incurred.
For as long as the laboratory is mothballed, the equipment is being left in situ to minimise the time required to restart operations if needed. As such, none of the laboratory’s equipment has been repurposed for use by the National Health Service at this stage
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS staff working in Warwick and Leamington constituency have left their post by job type in each year since 2010.
Answered by Will Quince
Data is not available by constituency; however, NHS England publishes the number of joiners and leavers by National Health Service trusts. The latest annual and monthly turnover data for South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust, which is the corresponding local trust, is available at the following link:
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether further hospitals listed under the New Hospital Programme may need to be deferred until after 2030 due to the potential impact of remediation works on hospitals constructed using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Will Quince
We announced on 25 May 2023 that the New Hospital Programme is now expected to be backed by over £20 billion of investment in hospital infrastructure. This announcement now brings more certainty at scheme level to enable them to progress with their plans. We are committed to delivering all schemes that have been announced as part of the New Hospital Programme.
Although we anticipate most schemes will be in construction by 2030, up to eight schemes are now expected to complete beyond this date, as the programme prioritises RAAC schemes due to their critical infrastructure risk.
These eight schemes are:
- St Mary's Hospital, Imperial;
- Charing Cross and Hammersmith Hospitals, Imperial;
- Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital;
- Royal Preston Hospital & Royal Lancaster Infirmary;
- Eastbourne District General, Conquest and Bexhill Community Hospitals;
- Hampshire Hospitals;
- Royal Berkshire Hospital; and
- North Devon District Hospital, Barnstaple.
We do not currently anticipate any further schemes being delayed post 2030. The programme has been transparent that timescales of individual schemes are subject to change in line with the developing programme.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list the eight new hospitals in Cohort 4 of the New Hospital Programme whose construction has been postponed beyond 2030.
Answered by Will Quince
We announced on 25 May 2023 that the New Hospital Programme is now expected to be backed by over £20 billion of investment in hospital infrastructure. This announcement now brings more certainty at scheme level to enable them to progress with their plans. We are committed to delivering all schemes that have been announced as part of the New Hospital Programme.
Although we anticipate most schemes will be in construction by 2030, up to eight schemes are now expected to complete beyond this date, as the programme prioritises RAAC schemes due to their critical infrastructure risk.
These eight schemes are:
- St Mary's Hospital, Imperial;
- Charing Cross and Hammersmith Hospitals, Imperial;
- Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital;
- Royal Preston Hospital & Royal Lancaster Infirmary;
- Eastbourne District General, Conquest and Bexhill Community Hospitals;
- Hampshire Hospitals;
- Royal Berkshire Hospital; and
- North Devon District Hospital, Barnstaple.
We do not currently anticipate any further schemes being delayed post 2030. The programme has been transparent that timescales of individual schemes are subject to change in line with the developing programme.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the Mental Health and Wellbeing Plan.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government announced on 24 January 2023 that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy. Increasing multimorbidity and complexity of conditions means it is important to ensure strategies are joined up, with care and support centred around people. A joined up Major Conditions Strategy instead of a standalone mental health strategy will ensure that mental ill health is also considered alongside other physical health conditions, meaning the interactions between them are reflected in the resulting plans. We know that many of the risk factors that contribute to mental ill-health are cross-society in nature, and we will therefore be working closely with departments across Government.
We are grateful to everyone who responded to our mental health call for evidence. The responses we received have been processed and will feed into the development of mental health and suicide prevention policies we include in the Major Conditions Strategy and the Suicide Prevention Strategy.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
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 rate of suicides amongst junior doctors.
Answered by Will Quince
The table below shows the number of suicides registered for all medical practitioners, aged between 20 and 64 years old, in England in the years 2011 to 2021. A breakdown for junior doctors is not available.
Year | Number of suicides |
2021 | 10 |
2020 | 20 |
2019 | 19 |
2018 | 17 |
2017 | 18 |
2016 | 13 |
2015 | 14 |
2014 | 18 |
2013 | 20 |
2012 | 16 |
2011 | 13 |
More information is available at the following link:
We are already investing an additional £57 million in suicide prevention by 2023/24 through the National Health Service Long Term Plan. Through this, all areas of the country are seeing investment to support local suicide prevention plans and the development of suicide bereavement services. Last year, we announced our intention to publish a new national suicide prevention strategy. Since then, we have been working to ensure this new strategy reflects the most up to date evidence and will address current challenges, risks, and opportunities to prevent suicide when it is published. We intend to publish the refreshed strategy this year.
We are committed to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of the NHS workforce. The NHS is providing ongoing physical and mental health support for staff. This includes NHS Practitioner Health, which provides free access to targeted psychological support and treatment for healthcare professionals.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
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 impact of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill on annual dismissal rates of NHS workers.
Answered by Will Quince
There is a clear and urgent need for this legislation. Recent strikes have demonstrated the disproportionate impacts strikes can have on the public. This legislation is about protecting the lives and livelihoods of the public by maintaining minimum levels of service on strike days. It is not about dismissing people from their jobs and so it is likely to have a negligible impact on rates of dismissal.
The impact assessment for the Strikes (Minimum Service Level) Bill has now been published. A final stage impact assessment on the secondary regulations will be published before any minimum service level regulations apply to National Health Service workers.