Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 help increase the recruitment of midwives for Cheltenham General Hospital’s Aveta Birth Centre.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on local plans is not collected centrally by the Department. National Health Service organisations are responsible for their own recruitment, and for developing their own workforce plans based on local service needs. At a national level, we are committed to training the staff the NHS needs, and will work closely with partners in education to do this.
NHS England continues to lead on a range of initiatives to boost retention of existing staff and ensure that the NHS remains an attractive career choice for new recruits. This includes a strong focus on improving organisational culture, supporting staff health and wellbeing, and promoting flexible working opportunities. It is continually reviewing the effectiveness of these and their impact on the workforce.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 potential impact of poor access to NHS dental services on health outcomes in Gloucestershire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Dental Statistics - England 2023/24, published by the NHS Business Services Authority on 22 August 2024, is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324
The data for the Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, which includes the Cheltenham constituency, shows that 29% of adults were seen by a National Health Service dentist in the previous 24 months, compared to 40% in England, and 51% of children were seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 12 months, compared to 56% in England.
The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 improve the retention of midwives.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to tackling the retention and recruitment challenges that face the National Health Service. NHS England is leading a range of initiatives to boost retention of existing staff and ensure that the NHS remains an attractive career choice for new recruits. This includes building a compassionate and inclusive culture, supporting staff wellbeing, and promoting flexible working opportunities.
Targeted retention work for midwives is being undertaken by NHS England and led by the Chief Nursing Officer. This includes a midwifery and nursing retention self-assessment tool, mentoring schemes, strengthened advice and support on pensions and flexible retirement options, and the publication of menopause policies and guidance. NHS England has also invested in unit-based retention leads who focus on retention and provide pastoral support to midwives. This initiative, alongside investment in workforce capacity, has seen a reduction in vacancy, leavers, and turnover rates.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 A&E Departments in Gloucestershire in winter 2024-25.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local winter resilience plans and resourcing are operational matters for the National Health Service. The national approach on priorities for winter planning was issued by NHS England on 16 September, setting out the key steps to be taken to support the delivery of high-quality care for patients this winter.
The NHS is managing extra demand over the winter period, by strengthening same day emergency care, offering more fall services for older people, and with upgraded 24-hour live data centres. I also made a statement on winter preparedness in the House of Commons on 18 December 2024.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to publish A&E waiting times by department rather than by Trust.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on accident and emergency waiting times is published at a provider level, and is also disaggregated by the type of accident and emergency department, for instance type 1, 2, or 3.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 undertake a national audit of care needs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. Where individuals do not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authority to make their own arrangements for care services, as set out in the Care Act 2014.
The Government is committed to building a consensus on the long-term reform needed to build a National Care Service that meets the needs of older people and working age disabled adults.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 waiting times for accessing services through the NHS Continuing healthcare programme on patient outcomes; what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Liaison Care on those waiting times; and what further steps his Department is taking to improve waiting times for the NHS Continuing healthcare programme.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Statutory guidance and assurance regimes are in place so that people are assessed and receive care in a timely way. For example, NHS England’s assurance standard requires that integrated care boards (ICBs) must ensure that in more than 80% of cases proceeding to a full assessment of eligibility, the eligibility decision should be made within 28 days of being notified of potential NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) eligibility. Nationally, 72% of referrals were completed within 28 days during July to September 2024.
Once an individual has been referred for a full assessment of NHS CHC eligibility, the ICB is responsible for coordinating the process until the eligibility decision has been made. The ICB should identify a coordinator who may be either from the ICB or an external organisation. An individual should not be left without appropriate support while they await the outcome of the assessment and decision-making process.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the accident and emergency department in Cheltenham General Hospital will continue to be a Type 1 consultant-led A&E department between 8am and 8pm, in the context of proposed changes to the provision of acute medical take in that hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Gloucestershire health system carried out public consultation in 2020, as well as further engagement between 2022 and 2023, on shaping the future of hospital services. As set out in the proposals, Cheltenham General Hospital will continue to provide a consultant-led emergency department from 8:00am to 8:00pm, and a nurse-led minor injuries and illness unit from 8:00pm to 8:00am, with an intensive care service for critically unwell patients.