Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will he make an assessment of the adequacy of NHS employment opportunities for newly qualified GPs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has made a number of recruitment and retention schemes available to boost the general practice (GP) workforce. While many newly qualified practitioners will subsequently take roles in GPs, others will contribute to the National Health Service in different ways or may choose to work elsewhere.
The Government recently announced changes to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme which allows primary care networks to recruit GPs through the scheme for 2024/25. This is an emergency measure for 2024/25 whilst the Government works with the profession to identify a longer term solution.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 provision of dentistry in Halton in the last (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) 12 months and (d) two years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government plans to tackle the challenges patients face when trying to access National Health Service 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.
From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. The NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB is responsible for having local processes in place to identify areas of need, and determine the priorities for investment across the ICB area. NHS Dental Statistics, published by NHS Digital, provides data on dental activity in England. The latest annual report is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statistics
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 using Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme funding to employ GPs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme is subject to annual review as part of the consultation on the GP Contract, with both professional and patient representatives. NHS England works closely with the Department to implement any changes identified as part of this process.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of when Halton Hospital Campus will be completed.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is concerned by the condition of healthcare infrastructure at Halton Hospital, and across the National Health Service estate. We recognise that change is desperately needed to tackle unsuitable facilities, and to deliver an NHS that is fit for the future.
We recognise that strategic, value for money investments in capital projects are critical to providing good quality care. In line with the Government’s plans to deliver an NHS fit for the future, and as part of our internal Spending Review preparations, the Department is reviewing capital requirements. Timescales associated with the Spending Review are yet to be confirmed.
However, Warrington and Halton Hospitals have received funding through NHS England’s Targeted Investment Fund for the reconfiguration of theatres, wards, and the endoscopy unit, to deliver additional capacity and provide patients with the care they deserve.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans she has to (a) review and (b) expand the criteria for the vaccine damage payment scheme.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
All routine policy, including the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), is reviewed on a regular basis. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is currently considering aspects of the scheme, following recent meetings with interested stakeholders.
Separately, work is underway with the scheme’s administrator, the NHS Business Service Authority, to review processes and make administrative changes to improve the scheme within the current legislative framework. Formal consideration of whether any reforms of the VDPS are necessary will form part of Module 4 of the COVID-19 Inquiry, chaired by the Rt Hon Baroness Heather Carol Hallett DBE.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medication in Weaver Vale constituency.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department has been working hard with industry to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. This has involved asking that suppliers expedite deliveries to boost supplies of these important medicines, and address regulatory issues to ensure continuity of supply. As a result of our ongoing activity and intensive work, some issues have been resolved. Many strengths of lisdexamphetamine and all strengths of atomoxetine capsules and guanfacine are now available, although medicine supply issues remain for some strengths of lisdexamphetamine and methylphenidate. We continue to escalate these issues with manufacturers to ensure that they are taking responsibility for resolving them as quickly as possible, and to drive and monitor progress.
We monitor and manage medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. The Department does not hold information on stockholdings at a local level.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the independent report by Carlo Breen into the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust’s historic management of concerns in relation to a Consultant Spinal Surgeon, published on 7 March 2024.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust commissioned the Spinal Patient Safety Look Back review in 2021. A report detailing the findings was published in July 2023. A second report was commissioned by the trust to review the historic management of concerns raised in relation to a particular surgeon. The findings of this report were published on 7 March 2024, and relate to issues that include bullying, speaking up, the duty of candour, governance, and the quality of disciplinary investigations at the trust.
The Government is already taking action in relation to policies relevant to the report’s findings. This includes strengthening leadership, the statutory duty of candour, and speaking up to promote an open and transparent learning culture in the National Health Service. We also expect NHS organisations to have robust policies in place to tackle bullying and harassment.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the role of safe spaces for play in the healthy development of children; and if she will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on steps his Department is taking to help ensure that children have access to such spaces.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
In January 2024, the Department published the guidance Improving the mental health of babies, children and young people. This recognises that outdoor learning can provide the building blocks for successful learning and attainment of engagement, enjoyment, social skills and self-regulated behaviour, experiencing success, and wellbeing and confidence.
The Government has put policies in place to require local authorities to provide access to open spaces for sport and physical activity, which is important for the health and well-being of communities. Officials in the Department are engaging across the Government on this, and a wide range of issues, to promote healthier places.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will (a) make it her policy to introduce mandatory dental checks for children under 11 in educational settings and (b) make an estimate of the cost of such checks.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
National Health Service dental treatment for children is free if you are under 18. Dental access for children has increased since the end of the pandemic. 6.4 million children were seen by an NHS dentist in the 12 months up to 30 June 2023 which compares to 3.6 million children seen during the 12 months up to 31 December 2020. No assessments have been made on the cost of mandatory dental checks for children under 11 in educational settings.
NHS England is leading on the next stage of dental contract reform to address the challenges facing the delivery of NHS dentistry and to improve oral health outcomes. The changes announced by NHS England on 19 July 2022 include improving care to high needs patients, supporting practices to deliver more NHS care, and improving information for patients. The next steps in reform will consider what more can be done to move to a preventative approach and an overall improvement of the nation’s oral health.
The Department has published a toolkit to support the commissioning of supervised tooth brushing programmes in early years settings and schools with several local authorities already having schemes in place, funded via the Public Health Grant.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make (a) an assessment of the potential merits of ring-fencing NHS dentistry funding and (b) an estimate of the potential impact of such ringfencing on the NHS budget.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
National Health Service dentistry receives £3 billion of funding each year. We want to protect dental resources for dental care and prioritise access for patients, and have taken action, starting with our contract changes announced in July 2022 to ensure that the full dental budget made available each year is spent on delivering dental care.
From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England, along with the transfer of all funding. ICBs are responsible for having local processes in place to involve patient groups, and for undertaking oral health needs assessments, to identify areas of need and determine the priorities for investment.
NHS England provided guidance for the ICBs that requires dental allocations to be ringfenced in 2023/24, with any unused resources being re-directed to improve NHS dental access in the first instance, rather than being spent on other services. In November 2023, NHS England confirmed that where ICBs had not spent all of their allocation on improving access to dentistry, they would be able to retain any underspend and use this to balance their bottom line and any other pressures. ICBs will decide how to use any forecast underspend in line with this guidance. We are currently considering arrangements for 2024/25.