Asked by: Robert Neill (Conservative - Bromley and Chislehurst)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS plan entitled Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services published on 30 January 2023, if he will hold discussions with the Community Rehabilitation Alliance on (a) expanding and (d) developing the rehabilitation workforce.
Answered by Will Quince
Our ministers are planning to have a discussion with the Community Rehabilitation Alliance to discuss the rehabilitation workforce soon.
Asked by: Robert Neill (Conservative - Bromley and Chislehurst)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many eye care professionals are delivering the NHS Special School Eye Care Service under Primary Ophthalmic Service contracts.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
As of November 2022, there are 40 optometrists and 33 dispensing opticians contributing to the delivery of the NHS Special Schools Eye Care Service, under Primary Ophthalmic Services contracts. However, the number providing the service in schools will vary from month to month.
The Department regularly discusses eyecare services with NHS England, which has commissioned an independent evaluation of the special schools' proof-of-concept pilot programme to inform future National Health Service commissioning decisions. The Department will discuss future plans for the service with NHS England once the evaluation has concluded early in 2023.
Asked by: Robert Neill (Conservative - Bromley and Chislehurst)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had with NHS England on its plans for the NHS Special Schools Eye Care Service.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
As of November 2022, there are 40 optometrists and 33 dispensing opticians contributing to the delivery of the NHS Special Schools Eye Care Service, under Primary Ophthalmic Services contracts. However, the number providing the service in schools will vary from month to month.
The Department regularly discusses eyecare services with NHS England, which has commissioned an independent evaluation of the special schools' proof-of-concept pilot programme to inform future National Health Service commissioning decisions. The Department will discuss future plans for the service with NHS England once the evaluation has concluded early in 2023.
Asked by: Robert Neill (Conservative - Bromley and Chislehurst)
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 interventional radiology services and thrombectomy services in trusts and health boards in 2021.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Individual National Health Service employers are responsible for ensuring the appropriate staff are trained and competent to undertake mechanical thrombectomy. A credential for mechanical thrombectomy has now been agreed with the General Medical Council to allow interventional radiologists, cardiologists, neurosurgeons and stroke physicians to be trained to deliver medical treatment for stroke.
From 2016 to 2021 there has been a 63% increase in entry points in clinical radiology specialty training places. As of July 2022, there were 5,040 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the NHS in England in the sub-specialism of clinical radiology, an increase of 5.7% since July 2021 and 55.4% since July 2010. This includes doctors in training grades, specialists and doctors on other contracts. The consultant clinical radiologist workforce has also increased by 4.3% since July 2021 and 53.7% since July 2010.
Asked by: Robert Neill (Conservative - Bromley and Chislehurst)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 20 December 2021 to Question 89536 on Mechanical Thrombectomy, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the number of whole time equivalent interventional neuroradiologists identified as practising in England in the Royal College of Radiologists Clinical radiology census report 2021.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Individual National Health Service employers are responsible for ensuring the appropriate staff are trained and competent to undertake mechanical thrombectomy. A credential for mechanical thrombectomy has now been agreed with the General Medical Council to allow interventional radiologists, cardiologists, neurosurgeons and stroke physicians to be trained to deliver medical treatment for stroke.
From 2016 to 2021 there has been a 63% increase in entry points in clinical radiology specialty training places. As of July 2022, there were 5,040 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the NHS in England in the sub-specialism of clinical radiology, an increase of 5.7% since July 2021 and 55.4% since July 2010. This includes doctors in training grades, specialists and doctors on other contracts. The consultant clinical radiologist workforce has also increased by 4.3% since July 2021 and 53.7% since July 2010.
Asked by: Robert Neill (Conservative - Bromley and Chislehurst)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) his Department and (b) NHS England have held recent discussions with (i) neuroradiologists and (ii) other professionals involved in thrombectomy services on the development of a stoke workforce plan.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
A credential for mechanical thrombectomy has now been agreed with the General Medical Council to allow interventional radiologists, cardiologists, neurosurgeons and stroke physicians to be trained to deliver medical treatment for stroke. From 2016 to 2021 there has been a 63% increase in entry points in clinical radiology specialty training places.
Asked by: Robert Neill (Conservative - Bromley and Chislehurst)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to invest in the interventional neuroradiology workforce to help the treatment medical conditions such as stroke.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
A credential for mechanical thrombectomy has now been agreed with the General Medical Council to allow interventional radiologists, cardiologists, neurosurgeons and stroke physicians to be trained to deliver medical treatment for stroke. From 2016 to 2021 there has been a 63% increase in entry points in clinical radiology specialty training places.
Asked by: Robert Neill (Conservative - Bromley and Chislehurst)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan, what recent progress his Department has made towards (a) the target for 10 per cent of stroke patients to receive a mechanical thrombectomy and (b) other targets within that plan for stroke care.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Thrombectomy is available in 24 centres in England and two non-neuroscience centres are currently under development. The latest available data shows that 3.1% of patients are receiving a thrombectomy following a stroke. The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme reported that between April 2021 and March 2022, 75% of patients spent at least 90% of their hospital stay on a specialist stroke unit.
Asked by: Robert Neill (Conservative - Bromley and Chislehurst)
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 impact of average ambulance response times in 2022 on (a) stroke survival rates, (b) rates of permanent disability following a stroke and (c) timely access to mechanical thrombectomy for stroke patients.
Answered by Will Quince
Category 2 calls are ‘emergency’ calls, including serious time-sensitive incidents such as strokes and heart attacks.
There is evidence that mechanical thrombectomy performed within six hours of the onset of symptoms can reduce brain damage and prevent or limit long-term disability. NHS England has allocated an additional £150 million for ambulance services in 2022/23, supporting improvements to response times through additional call handler recruitment, retention and other funding requirements.
NHS England is implementing video triage in ambulances for stroke patients. This provides a video consultation from home or in an ambulance with a hospital-based stroke clinician to advise paramedics on the appropriate action for the patient, such as thrombectomy or the relevant hospital for treatment.
Asked by: Robert Neill (Conservative - Bromley and Chislehurst)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure hospitals offer 24/7 access to interventional radiology services.
Answered by Will Quince
In England, 34 National Health Service acute trusts currently provide 24 hours a day, seven days a week access to interventional radiology (IR) services. Where necessary, patients are diverted to trusts which deliver these services. National IR services are supported by an imaging network, which will develop alongside services as provision increases.