Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 every hospital has or has access to a neonatal intensive care unit.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are three levels of neonatal critical care services, dependent upon the complexity of care required for the baby, and with dedicated transport services to support babies being transferred to and from neonatal units.
In total, there are 155 hospitals that provide neonatal critical care services in England. Every year, the 10 Neonatal Critical Care Operational Delivery Networks assess the provision of neonatal services within their networks, with each service having a designated level of service. There are 43 neonatal intensive care units, and each have agreed referral pathways from the other neonatal critical care services in their network.
NHS England’s three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services outlines how the National Health Service will make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised and more equitable for women, babies and families.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what new capital funding was made available to primary care estates in the financial year 2022-23 in (a) Feltham and Heston constituency and (b) London.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government is providing record levels of capital to the National Health Service, with over £24 billion allocated between 2022/23 and 2024/25.
Over £12 billion of this is allocated to integrated care boards (ICBs) to invest themselves based on local priorities (including primary care facilities). The table below sets out the operational capital allocation for London ICBs, including South West London Health & Care Partnership, the relevant ICB for Feltham & Heston.
Integrated Care Board | Operational Capital Allocation (2022/23 to 2024/25) |
South West London Health & Care Partnership ICB | £374 million |
North West London Health & Care Partnership ICB | £650 million |
Our Healthier South East London ICB | £681 million |
North London Partners in Health & Care ICB | £590 million |
East London Health & Care Partnership ICB | £256 million |
Total | £2,551 million |
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 potential increases in the NHS workforce will be accommodated by an expansion and improvement of healthcare buildings.
Answered by Will Quince
The estate used to deliver NHS services is planned and designed to provide the highest quality healthcare. Infrastructure strategies are being developed by all NHS providers that will consider their local environment and needs including the NHS workforce.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of older buildings on the (a) ventilation and (b) infection, prevention and control measures of hospitals and GP practices that reside within them.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS organisations and Primary Care providers regularly review all their estate locally to ensure it meets the required standards for ventilation and infection, prevention and control measures and will invest in improvements where required.
Health and social care providers have obligations set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008: code of practice on the prevention and control of infections to undertake steps to keep patients, residents and staff safe.
Guidance is provided by NHS England to the NHS in the Health Technical Memorandum (HTM 03-01) Specialised ventilation for healthcare buildings. Additional related guidance was issued on 9 May 2023 on the application of high-efficiency particulate absorbing filter devices for air cleaning in healthcare spaces and the application of ultraviolet devices for air cleaning in occupied healthcare spaces.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether funding will be made available to help (a) hospitals and (b) GP practices increase their accessibility for people with mobility needs.
Answered by Will Quince
We provide operational capital to integrated care boards to prioritise locally, this funding is for the National Health Service to spend on day-to-day needs - including renewal and replacement of equipment, minor building works and ensuring the estate is accessible for people with mobility needs.
We provided £4.2 billion in operational capital last year and an additional £8.4 billion over the next two financial years which systems can use to invest in both the hospital & primary care estate.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 all hospitals and GP practices have (a) high-speed broadband and (b) the necessary infrastructure to support digital transformation programmes.
Answered by Will Quince
In 2019, we set out plans to upgrade internet connection for healthcare settings and we are making progress with this commitment. NHS England, through engagement with NHS trusts and integrated care boards, is expected to achieve 70% gigabit capable connectivity coverage of its circa 20,000 sites across primary and secondary care by 2025, through existing industry roll-out plans and Building Digital UK intervention areas.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report of the British Medical Association entitled Building the future - brick by brick, published in 2022, whether his department plans to increase capital investment in the NHS to address maintenance backlogs.
Answered by Will Quince
At the Spending Review 2021, we backed the National Health Service with record levels of funding, allocating £24 billion between 2022/23 to 2024/25 to upgrade and modernise NHS buildings. This will ensure staff have the necessary facilities to provide world-class care.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the (a) size and (b) condition of NHS buildings on hospital waiting lists.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department recognises the importance of modern healthcare estates in tackling hospital waiting lists. At the Spending Review 2021, we backed the NHS with record levels of capital with £24 billion allocated between 2022/23 to 2024/25 to upgrade and modernise NHS buildings so staff have the facilities needed to provide world-class care for patients in a safe and appropriate environment. Recently, we reaffirmed our commitment to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030 and we are continuing to deliver over 70 hospital upgrades across England.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will re-establish the Hormone Replacement Therapy Taskforce.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The hormone replacement therapy (HRT) Supply Taskforce was temporarily established from April to August 2022 to explore what could be done to address HRT supply issues in the short and long-term. The Department has no plans to re-establish the Taskforce, however we are taking forward its recommendations. One recommendation was to continue the dialogue with industry and we are doing that through regular meetings with individual suppliers as well as holding quarterly roundtables with manufacturers, wholesalers and community pharmacist representatives to discuss policy developments, identify and help address issues and drive progress towards boosting production, where necessary.
The Taskforce also recommended continuing to use Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs), as appropriate, to help manage shortages pending increased supply. We have issued 22 SSPs for HRT products since April 2022, to limit dispensing to two or three months’ supply and to allow the dispensing of suitable alternatives. Only two SSPs remain in place for HRT medicines as the supply issues with most products have now been resolved.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 increase the number of pharmacists working within rheumatology services.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
I refer you to the answer sent to the member for Knowsley on 21 June 2023.