Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 effectiveness of the BALM programme.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is currently undertaking a review of how health and wellbeing support could be delivered more effectively. As part of this review, the team will: assess NHS England’s current contracts; work with integrated care boards, National Health Service trusts, and primary care organisations to understand the scale and impact of locally provided provision; and work with system partners and stakeholders including royal colleges, the voluntary sector, and the independent sector to understand how demand for these services has changed over recent years.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to take steps to use technology to help improve (a) boys' and (b) men's mental health.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Digitally enabled therapies and other technological innovations are already used in the provision of mental health support in England. We are building on the progress made by services in using digital approaches and remote delivery during the pandemic, to give people a greater choice in the way they access care, and to enable services to be more productive. For many people, digitally enabled support through apps or online will mean that they might receive help earlier, or in a way that is easier for them to fit into their lives.
The NHS Long Term Plan included several commitments on the use of technology in mental health, including that: 100% of mental health providers will meet required levels of digitisation; local systems will offer a range of self-management apps, digital consultations, and digitally enabled models of therapy; and that systems utilise digital clinical decision-making tools.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help men identify poor mental health symptoms.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Between 2018/19 and 2023/24, National Health Service spending on mental health has increased by £4.7 billion in cash terms, as compared to the target of £3.4 billion in cash terms set out at the time of the Long Term Plan. Almost £16 billion was invested into mental health in 2022/23, enabling 3.6 million people, including men, to be in contact with mental health services, a 10% increase on the previous year.
In addition, our campaign on dealing with loneliness as part of the Better Health: Every Mind Matters campaign, encouraged people, including men, to reach out and support others who may be feeling lonely, helping themselves to also feel more connected. We will continue to work across the Government and with our Tackling Loneliness Network to explore how we can support further action to tackle men’s loneliness.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help improve men's mental health services.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Between 2018/19 and 2023/24, National Health Service spending on mental health has increased by £4.7 billion in cash terms, as compared to the target of £3.4 billion in cash terms set out at the time of the Long Term Plan. Almost £16 billion was invested into mental health in 2022/23, enabling 3.6 million people, including men, to be in contact with mental health services, a 10% increase on the previous year.
In addition, our campaign on dealing with loneliness as part of the Better Health: Every Mind Matters campaign, encouraged people, including men, to reach out and support others who may be feeling lonely, helping themselves to also feel more connected. We will continue to work across the Government and with our Tackling Loneliness Network to explore how we can support further action to tackle men’s loneliness.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 potential impact of the new Living Wage rate on community pharmacies.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacy First was launched on 31 January 2024, and as the service embeds, we will monitor and evaluate the service and keep the conditions covered by Pharmacy First under review, but it is too early to consider expanding the clinical pathways.
In the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we estimated that Pharmacy First, together with the expanded blood pressure check and contraception service, once fully scaled, could remove up to 10 million general practice (GP) appointments. We are monitoring the number of Pharmacy First consultations in community pharmacy but it is not possible to monitor the number of GP appointments Pharmacy First frees up. However, we know that Pharmacy First will enable GPs to see patients with more complex needs quicker.
Since 2019, GPs and their teams have already been referring patients to community pharmacies for minor illnesses and Pharmacy First builds on this. NHS England has engaged with GPs during the development and launch of Pharmacy First and Community Pharmacy England has launched a dedicated website for GPs supporting them with Pharmacy First referrals.
Pharmacies are not paid an establishment grant. Contractors who have signed up to deliver Pharmacy First received a £2,000 set-up fee, they receive £15 per consultation and £1,000 for each month they reach an agreed minimum number of consultations. Funding for community pharmacies, including the funding for Pharmacy First, is expected to pay for all their costs in providing the service. There are no delays to Pharmacy First payments. All payments are made in line with the usual schedule of payments.
The statutory National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage is based on advice of the Low Pay Commission, which takes into account the impact on business and the wider economy, as well as the living standards of workers.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to tackle delays to payments to community pharmacies operating Pharmacy First.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacy First was launched on 31 January 2024, and as the service embeds, we will monitor and evaluate the service and keep the conditions covered by Pharmacy First under review, but it is too early to consider expanding the clinical pathways.
In the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we estimated that Pharmacy First, together with the expanded blood pressure check and contraception service, once fully scaled, could remove up to 10 million general practice (GP) appointments. We are monitoring the number of Pharmacy First consultations in community pharmacy but it is not possible to monitor the number of GP appointments Pharmacy First frees up. However, we know that Pharmacy First will enable GPs to see patients with more complex needs quicker.
Since 2019, GPs and their teams have already been referring patients to community pharmacies for minor illnesses and Pharmacy First builds on this. NHS England has engaged with GPs during the development and launch of Pharmacy First and Community Pharmacy England has launched a dedicated website for GPs supporting them with Pharmacy First referrals.
Pharmacies are not paid an establishment grant. Contractors who have signed up to deliver Pharmacy First received a £2,000 set-up fee, they receive £15 per consultation and £1,000 for each month they reach an agreed minimum number of consultations. Funding for community pharmacies, including the funding for Pharmacy First, is expected to pay for all their costs in providing the service. There are no delays to Pharmacy First payments. All payments are made in line with the usual schedule of payments.
The statutory National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage is based on advice of the Low Pay Commission, which takes into account the impact on business and the wider economy, as well as the living standards of workers.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance she issues tor GPs on working with Pharmacy First to reduce their workloads.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacy First was launched on 31 January 2024, and as the service embeds, we will monitor and evaluate the service and keep the conditions covered by Pharmacy First under review, but it is too early to consider expanding the clinical pathways.
In the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we estimated that Pharmacy First, together with the expanded blood pressure check and contraception service, once fully scaled, could remove up to 10 million general practice (GP) appointments. We are monitoring the number of Pharmacy First consultations in community pharmacy but it is not possible to monitor the number of GP appointments Pharmacy First frees up. However, we know that Pharmacy First will enable GPs to see patients with more complex needs quicker.
Since 2019, GPs and their teams have already been referring patients to community pharmacies for minor illnesses and Pharmacy First builds on this. NHS England has engaged with GPs during the development and launch of Pharmacy First and Community Pharmacy England has launched a dedicated website for GPs supporting them with Pharmacy First referrals.
Pharmacies are not paid an establishment grant. Contractors who have signed up to deliver Pharmacy First received a £2,000 set-up fee, they receive £15 per consultation and £1,000 for each month they reach an agreed minimum number of consultations. Funding for community pharmacies, including the funding for Pharmacy First, is expected to pay for all their costs in providing the service. There are no delays to Pharmacy First payments. All payments are made in line with the usual schedule of payments.
The statutory National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage is based on advice of the Low Pay Commission, which takes into account the impact on business and the wider economy, as well as the living standards of workers.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to monitor the number of GP appointments that are freed up as a result of Pharmacy First.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacy First was launched on 31 January 2024, and as the service embeds, we will monitor and evaluate the service and keep the conditions covered by Pharmacy First under review, but it is too early to consider expanding the clinical pathways.
In the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we estimated that Pharmacy First, together with the expanded blood pressure check and contraception service, once fully scaled, could remove up to 10 million general practice (GP) appointments. We are monitoring the number of Pharmacy First consultations in community pharmacy but it is not possible to monitor the number of GP appointments Pharmacy First frees up. However, we know that Pharmacy First will enable GPs to see patients with more complex needs quicker.
Since 2019, GPs and their teams have already been referring patients to community pharmacies for minor illnesses and Pharmacy First builds on this. NHS England has engaged with GPs during the development and launch of Pharmacy First and Community Pharmacy England has launched a dedicated website for GPs supporting them with Pharmacy First referrals.
Pharmacies are not paid an establishment grant. Contractors who have signed up to deliver Pharmacy First received a £2,000 set-up fee, they receive £15 per consultation and £1,000 for each month they reach an agreed minimum number of consultations. Funding for community pharmacies, including the funding for Pharmacy First, is expected to pay for all their costs in providing the service. There are no delays to Pharmacy First payments. All payments are made in line with the usual schedule of payments.
The statutory National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage is based on advice of the Low Pay Commission, which takes into account the impact on business and the wider economy, as well as the living standards of workers.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to expand the number of clinical pathways under Pharmacy First services.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacy First was launched on 31 January 2024, and as the service embeds, we will monitor and evaluate the service and keep the conditions covered by Pharmacy First under review, but it is too early to consider expanding the clinical pathways.
In the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we estimated that Pharmacy First, together with the expanded blood pressure check and contraception service, once fully scaled, could remove up to 10 million general practice (GP) appointments. We are monitoring the number of Pharmacy First consultations in community pharmacy but it is not possible to monitor the number of GP appointments Pharmacy First frees up. However, we know that Pharmacy First will enable GPs to see patients with more complex needs quicker.
Since 2019, GPs and their teams have already been referring patients to community pharmacies for minor illnesses and Pharmacy First builds on this. NHS England has engaged with GPs during the development and launch of Pharmacy First and Community Pharmacy England has launched a dedicated website for GPs supporting them with Pharmacy First referrals.
Pharmacies are not paid an establishment grant. Contractors who have signed up to deliver Pharmacy First received a £2,000 set-up fee, they receive £15 per consultation and £1,000 for each month they reach an agreed minimum number of consultations. Funding for community pharmacies, including the funding for Pharmacy First, is expected to pay for all their costs in providing the service. There are no delays to Pharmacy First payments. All payments are made in line with the usual schedule of payments.
The statutory National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage is based on advice of the Low Pay Commission, which takes into account the impact on business and the wider economy, as well as the living standards of workers.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the establishment grant for pharmacies extending into Pharmacy First for (a) consulting and (b) waiting facilities.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacy First was launched on 31 January 2024, and as the service embeds, we will monitor and evaluate the service and keep the conditions covered by Pharmacy First under review, but it is too early to consider expanding the clinical pathways.
In the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we estimated that Pharmacy First, together with the expanded blood pressure check and contraception service, once fully scaled, could remove up to 10 million general practice (GP) appointments. We are monitoring the number of Pharmacy First consultations in community pharmacy but it is not possible to monitor the number of GP appointments Pharmacy First frees up. However, we know that Pharmacy First will enable GPs to see patients with more complex needs quicker.
Since 2019, GPs and their teams have already been referring patients to community pharmacies for minor illnesses and Pharmacy First builds on this. NHS England has engaged with GPs during the development and launch of Pharmacy First and Community Pharmacy England has launched a dedicated website for GPs supporting them with Pharmacy First referrals.
Pharmacies are not paid an establishment grant. Contractors who have signed up to deliver Pharmacy First received a £2,000 set-up fee, they receive £15 per consultation and £1,000 for each month they reach an agreed minimum number of consultations. Funding for community pharmacies, including the funding for Pharmacy First, is expected to pay for all their costs in providing the service. There are no delays to Pharmacy First payments. All payments are made in line with the usual schedule of payments.
The statutory National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage is based on advice of the Low Pay Commission, which takes into account the impact on business and the wider economy, as well as the living standards of workers.