Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence entitled Integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness, published on 16 March 2022, what steps his Department is taking to implement these guidelines in health and social care settings.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines, and is working across the Government and the health system, and with local government, commissioners, and the voluntary sector, to continue to review and support implementation of the guidance Integrated health and social care for people experience homelessness (NG214), both nationally and locally. With the aim to include setting priority areas of focus and identifying and sharing best practice for implementation.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 ensure that home care workers are paid correctly for their travel time.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All workers, including social care workers, must be paid at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for the work that they do. Time spent travelling between appointments counts as working time for minimum wage purposes. If anyone thinks they are not receiving at least the minimum wage, they can contact the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service or submit a query directly to HM Revenue and Customs.
On 10 October 2024, recognising the central role of our amazing care workforce, we took a critical step, introducing the legislation that will establish the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for care professionals. Fair Pay Agreements will empower worker, employer, and other sector representatives to negotiate pay and terms and conditions in a regulated and responsible manner and will help to address the recruitment and retention crisis in the sector, in turn supporting the continued delivery of high-quality care.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department taking to use NHS dietitians to help reduce health inequalities.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Dietitians have an important contribution to reducing health inequalities. The Department published Addressing health inequalities across allied health professional (AHP) services: a guide for AHP system leaders in May 2024. The guide focuses on what AHP leaders need to know and what actions they can take at a system level to address health inequalities. This includes the utility of dietitians to reduce health inequalities. The guide is available at the following link:
We continue to promote the framework, My role in tackling health inequalities: a framework for allied health professionals, published in 2021. This work describes how allied health professionals (AHPs), including dietitians, can raise awareness, take action, and optimise advocacy through six lenses: self; patients; clinical teams, pathway and service groups; communities and networks; systems; and nurturing the future. The framework is designed to support AHPs to do whatever they can, large or small, to tackle health inequalities. Each section of the framework is accompanied by examples of AHP-led work already under way across England. The framework is available at the following link:
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include health outcomes of those who experience homelessness in the NHS ten year plan.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS 10-Year Plan will consider the change needed to meet the three health mission goals: a fairer system where everyone lives well for longer; a National Health Service that is there when people need it; and fewer lives lost to the biggest killers. Officials within the Department will work closely with partners across the health service and NHS England as the plan is developed to consider better health outcomes for socially excluded groups, including those experiencing homelessness.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 (a) access to and (b) engagement with health and social care services for those who experience homelessness.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of reducing barriers to services for those experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping. This is why we supported the development and implementation of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance, which provides recommendations on ways to improve access to, and engagement with, health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness. This guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng214
NHS England has also delivered the Inclusion Health Framework, which includes focus on the homeless population. Inclusion health is an umbrella term which includes homeless people and is used to describe people who are socially excluded, and who typically experience multiple interacting risk factors for poor health, such as stigma, discrimination, poverty, violence, and complex trauma.
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG214
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to utilise the expertise of (a) dietitians and (b) other allied health professionals to tackle long-term healthcare challenges.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Dietitians are essential to a range of pathways detailed within the NHS Long Term Plan, including diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke as part of the multi-disciplinary team which includes the other allied health professions (AHPs).
AHPs are critical to the delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan, and plans to recover core services including, urgent and emergency care, urgent community services, primary care and community care, elective care, cancer, and diagnostics pathways. This is underpinned by the Allied Health Profession (AHPs) Strategy for England 2022 to 2027 AHPS Deliver, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 the integration of (a) dietitians and (b) allied health professionals in the delivery of (i) public health and (ii) primary care.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is leading a collaboration between the nations of the United Kingdom, as well as 14 Allied Health Professional (AHP) bodies, including the British Dietetic Association, to refresh the UK Allied Health Professions Public Health Strategic Framework, which is available at the following link:
https://www.ahpf.org.uk/files/UK%20AHP%20Public%20Health%20Strategic%20Framework%202019-2024.pdf
Publication of the new strategic framework is planned for early 2025. It will include goals to increase the profile, capability, and leadership of AHPs, including dietitians, in public health, including how they integrate into the wider public health workforce.
The Department has also worked with the Council of Deans of Health to publish Public Health Curricula Guidance for Pre-Registration Education of AHPs, including dietitians, and with the Health and Care Professions Council to promote their revised standards of proficiency for public health.
The Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service (DES) was developed to support the establishment of primary care networks which would provide greater resilience for practices, and is available at the following link:
The Network Contract DES details that primary care networks are entitled to funding to support the recruitment of additional staff to deliver health services, which is referred to as the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). The ARRS includes first contact physiotherapists and paramedics and also dietitians, podiatrists, and occupational therapists. The inclusion of these AHP roles within primary care creates capacity within the system for the timely assessment and management of patients within the community, reducing the need for general practice (GP) intervention.
Together with existing GP staff, the new roles can help form a multidisciplinary team who can provide new services, better care for patients, and improve integration. GPs can refer to other AHPs not included in the ARRS as clinically indicated within the community.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Integrated Care Systems across England have policies targeted to better health outcomes for those that experience homelessness.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care systems and integrated care boards (ICBs) are expected to have a dedicated focus on tackling health inequalities. The Health and Care Act 2022 mandates that ICBs reduce inequalities in access to and outcomes from healthcare for the population they serve. This includes groups experiencing the poorest health outcomes, often referred to as inclusion health populations, such as people experiencing homelessness, vulnerable migrants, sex workers, and people with substance use issues. In addition, the Department has supported the development of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance which provides recommendations on ways to improve access to, and engagement with, health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness, and the Department is working across the health system to promote this guidance.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 provide Belzutifan to patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. The NICE has published final draft guidance that recommends belzutifan for treating tumours associated with von Hippel-Lindau disease subject to a managed access agreement. Belzutifan is now available to eligible patients through the Cancer Drugs Fund in line with the NICE’s final draft recommendations, ahead of the publication of the NICE’s final guidance.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 prevent street discharge from hospital settings for people rough sleeping.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to promoting safe and timely discharge for people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness to appropriate accommodation. Every acute hospital has access to a care transfer hub to manage discharge for people with more complex needs, who need extra support.
The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have published guidance and supporting materials for health and care staff on discharging people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. This guidance is available at the following link:
This ensures that every health and care interaction with a homeless person acts as an opportunity to provide support and signposting, with the aim of ending rough sleeping. The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the development of the Government’s plans for social and affordable housing.