Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many outpatients from Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin integrated care system (ICS) have been treated out of area by (a) other ICSs and (b) private providers in each year for which data is available.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to putting patients back at the heart of care. This includes supporting a patient’s right to choose, if they wish, where they go for their first appointment, including private providers holding contracts for National Health Services.
Information on the number of individual patients who have been treated out of area in the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System (ICS) is not held centrally. However, information on the number of outpatient appointments taking place outside of the ICS is available, although it should be noted that a patient may have had more than one outpatient appointment. The following table shows the combined outpatient activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector, and the number and percentage of appointments made outside of the ICS, for each of the last three years:
Year | Total appointments | Number of appointments outside of the ICS | Percentage of appointments outside of the ICS |
2021/22 | 864,870 | 138,715 | 16% |
2022/23 | 958,190 | 171,505 | 17.9% |
2023/24 | 1,027,375 | 178,590 | 17.4% |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) children and (b) adults are waiting for outpatient appointments by (i) their average wait time and (ii) the appointment required in the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need. The Government will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment within our first term, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. Outpatients make up most of the waiting list, so transforming outpatient services is a key part of the Government’s approach to cutting waiting times.
The overall mean average waiting time for children waiting for an outpatient appointment in the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board (ICB) is 23.3 weeks, with the median being 21.4 weeks, and the overall mean waiting time for adults waiting for an outpatient appointment is 21.2 weeks, while the median is 18.4 weeks.
The number of cases where children are waiting in the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB for a first outpatient appointment is 4,471, and for a follow up outpatient appointment is 715. The number of cases where adults are waiting in the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB for a first outpatient appointment is 45,272, and for a follow up outpatient appointment is 12,500.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on reducing waiting times for patients with (a) cancer and (b) respiratory conditions.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission and a top priority for the Government, as we get the National Health Service back on its feet, including for those suffering from cancer and respiratory conditions.
We have committed to getting back to the NHS Constitutional standard, that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment. As a first step to achieving this, we will deliver an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments during our first year in Government, or the equivalent to 40,000 per week. We will also increase the number of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests that are needed to reduce elective and cancer waits. As of August 2024, 62.5% of respiratory medicine patients are seen within this standard, compared to 60.7% in August 2023. This is compared to 58% of the total waiting list for planned procedures.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what entitlements male staff in his Department and have for paternity (a) pay and (b) leave; and what information his Department holds on the same entitlements for male staff employed by NHS England in each (i) hospital trust and (ii) integrated care board.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is contained in the attached document, due to the length of the information.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to continue the provision of the Children's Hospice Grant into 2025/26.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2024/2025, NHS England provided £25 million in funding for children and young people’s hospices. This funding was distributed, for the first time, via integrated care boards, in line with National Health Service devolution.
I recently met NHS England, Together for Short Lives, and one of the chairs of the Children Who Need Palliative Care All Party Parliamentary Group to discuss children’s palliative and end of life care, and this funding stream was discussed at length at that meeting. NHS England is currently considering the future of this important funding stream beyond 2024/25.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in (a) his Department and (b) NHS England was in each of the last three years; and what information his Department holds on the average level of paternity leave taken at each NHS trust in the same period.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The average length of paternity leave at the Department over the last three years is 10 days. The following table shows average length of paternity leave at the Department broken down by year:
Period | Average working days by year |
October 2021 September 2022 | 10 |
October 2022 September 2023 | 10 |
October 2023 September 2024 | 10 |
Regarding the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in NHS England and NHS trusts, the Department does not hold this information.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
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 improve screening for prostate cancer.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Screening for prostate cancer is currently not recommended by the UK National Screening Committees (UK NSC). This is because of the inaccuracy of the current best test, the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA). A PSA-based screening programme could harm men, as some of them would be diagnosed with a cancer that would not have caused them problems during their life. This would lead to additional tests and treatments which can also have harmful side effects; for example, incontinence of faeces and urine and impotence.
The UK NSC is undertaking an evidence review for prostate cancer screening and plans to report within the UK NSC’s three-year work plan.
The evidence review includes modelling the clinical cost effectiveness of several approaches to prostate cancer screening; this includes different potential ways of screening the whole population from 40 years of age onwards and targeted screening aimed at groups of people identified as being at higher-than-average risk, such as black men or men with a family history of cancer.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people (a) presented at the Princess Royal Hospital A&E, Telford, and (b) were admitted to that hospital in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on accident and emergency attendances and admissions is not available in the format requested, as it is only available at a National Health Service trust-level. The following table shows the accident and emergency attendances and emergency admissions for the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, from 2019/20 to 2024/25:
Year | Accident and emergency attendances | Emergency admissions | Emergency admissions via accident and emergency |
2019/20 | 143,008 | 59,793 | 31,804 |
2020/21 | 103,203 | 45,701 | 30,240 |
2021/22 | 149,323 | 54,807 | 34,574 |
2022/23 | 149,413 | 54,969 | 33,723 |
2023/24 | 154,766 | 59,307 | 33,118 |
2024/25 | 64,904 | 25,971 | 15,813 |
Source: the data is from NHS England, and is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/
Note: the data for 2024/25 is only up until August 2024.
NHS England publishes monthly provisional quality indicators that include the median average and the 95th percentile times that patients spent in accident and emergency by NHS trust. The following table shows the monthly range, from lowest and highest, of the median average time in minutes that patients spent in accident and emergency, each year since 2019/20 to 2024/25, for the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust:
Year | Range of median average time patients spent in accident and emergency | Range of the 95th percentile time patients spent in accident and emergency |
2019/20 | 169 to 211 | 577 to 921 |
2020/21 | 138 to 199 | 361 to 796 |
2021/22 | 158 to 218 | 471 to 1,089 |
2022/23 | 201 to 268 | 899 to 2,086 |
2023/24 | 212 to 240 | 1,698 to 2,339 |
2024/25 | 208 to 250 | 1,663 to 2,123 |
Source: the data is from NHS England, and is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/provisional-accident-and-emergency-quality-indicators-for-england
Notes:
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) longest, (b) shortest and (c) average waiting time for (i) children and (ii) adults was at Princess Royal Hospital A&E, Telford, in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on accident and emergency attendances and admissions is not available in the format requested, as it is only available at a National Health Service trust-level. The following table shows the accident and emergency attendances and emergency admissions for the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, from 2019/20 to 2024/25:
Year | Accident and emergency attendances | Emergency admissions | Emergency admissions via accident and emergency |
2019/20 | 143,008 | 59,793 | 31,804 |
2020/21 | 103,203 | 45,701 | 30,240 |
2021/22 | 149,323 | 54,807 | 34,574 |
2022/23 | 149,413 | 54,969 | 33,723 |
2023/24 | 154,766 | 59,307 | 33,118 |
2024/25 | 64,904 | 25,971 | 15,813 |
Source: the data is from NHS England, and is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/
Note: the data for 2024/25 is only up until August 2024.
NHS England publishes monthly provisional quality indicators that include the median average and the 95th percentile times that patients spent in accident and emergency by NHS trust. The following table shows the monthly range, from lowest and highest, of the median average time in minutes that patients spent in accident and emergency, each year since 2019/20 to 2024/25, for the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust:
Year | Range of median average time patients spent in accident and emergency | Range of the 95th percentile time patients spent in accident and emergency |
2019/20 | 169 to 211 | 577 to 921 |
2020/21 | 138 to 199 | 361 to 796 |
2021/22 | 158 to 218 | 471 to 1,089 |
2022/23 | 201 to 268 | 899 to 2,086 |
2023/24 | 212 to 240 | 1,698 to 2,339 |
2024/25 | 208 to 250 | 1,663 to 2,123 |
Source: the data is from NHS England, and is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/provisional-accident-and-emergency-quality-indicators-for-england
Notes:
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to ensure the long-term (a) funding and (b) sustainability of hospices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people, and their loved ones, at the end of life.
Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding charitable hospices receive varies by ICB area, and will, in part, be dependent on the breadth and range of palliative and end of life care provision within their ICB footprint.
The Government is going to shift the focus of healthcare out of the hospital and into the community, and we recognise that it is vital to include palliative and end of life care, including hospices, in this shift.
The Department, alongside NHS England, will continue to proactively engage with our stakeholders, including the voluntary sector and independent hospices, on an ongoing basis, in order to understand the issues they face.