Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the compensation scheme for people suffering from the effects of vaginal mesh operations does not cover all those impacted by the use of the same materials in rectopexy procedures.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report, and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh.
While the PSC does not include rectopexy mesh within her proposed definition of directly harmed patients for the purposes of her redress recommendations, we note that the PSC has said in her report that the Government needs to consider how to investigate issues related to harm caused by other uses of mesh going forward. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations, and will respond substantively in due course.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will (a) list the amount of funding allocated to each children's hospice for the 2024-25 financial year and (b) outline her Department's timescale for distributing this funding to each hospice.
Answered by Helen Whately
Last year, NHS England confirmed that it will be renewing the funding for Children and Young People’s hospices for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million of funding, using the same prevalence-based allocation approach as in 2022/23 and 2023/24. This prevalence-based approach ensures that the funding matches local need.
The distribution of the 2024/25 funding to children’s hospices will be via integrated care boards (ICBs), in line with the wider move to a devolved National Health Service, in which ICBs are best placed to meet the health and care needs of their local population. The Department and NHS England hope to be able to provide the greater clarity that the sector is seeking on this important funding stream shortly.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Warwickshire, Solihull and Coventry Breast Screening Unit is taking as part of the breast screening improvement plan; what the timeline is for their delivery; and how much funding has been allocated for their delivery.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
NHS England Midlands is the responsible commissioner for the NHS Breast Cancer Screening Programme delivered across the Warwickshire, Solihull, and Coventry locality. The Warwickshire, Solihull, and Coventry service is one of the largest breast screening services in England, inviting approximately 55,000 people for screening each year.
NHS England Midlands has advised that for the breast screening improvement plan, work has begun on reviewing coverage for the Warwickshire, Solihull, and Coventry breast screening services. The service continues to collaborate with primary care practices to promote uptake for patients in low uptake areas, and staff facilitate local community events to educate on the importance of breast screening, for instance at the Godiva and Pride Festivals in Coventry.
In 2024/25 the service will receive a contract value in excess of £3 million, to ensure that cancer is detected early through screening. The service has also received capital investment during the last two years, which has supported additional imaging equipment to increase overall screening capacity within the service and pathway.
Work continues to ensure the current breast screening provision is improving, and once coverage has returned to pre-pandemic levels, NHS England Midlands hope to go further on ambitions to decrease inequity across all cancer screening programmes.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations in the report entitled Still nowhere near enough, published by Parkinson’s UK on 26 February 2024.
Answered by Laura Trott
HM Treasury ministers have regular discussions with Department for Health and Social Care ministers on a range of issues, including meetings between the Chancellor and the Secretary of State
The Government delivers a wide range of support to help those with disabilities and long-term health conditions, such as Parkinson’s. If individuals incur extra costs whilst performing tasks associated with daily living, then they may qualify for disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Attendance Allowance (AA). This extra support can be worth over £8,900 per year and is due to increase from April by 6.7%. Depending on their needs, additional support for those with Parkinson’s may be available via local authorities who deliver adult social care services.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of increases in the cost of living on the health of people with (a) Parkinson’s and (b) other long-term conditions.
Answered by Laura Trott
HM Treasury ministers have regular discussions with Department for Health and Social Care ministers on a range of issues, including meetings between the Chancellor and the Secretary of State
The Government delivers a wide range of support to help those with disabilities and long-term health conditions, such as Parkinson’s. If individuals incur extra costs whilst performing tasks associated with daily living, then they may qualify for disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Attendance Allowance (AA). This extra support can be worth over £8,900 per year and is due to increase from April by 6.7%. Depending on their needs, additional support for those with Parkinson’s may be available via local authorities who deliver adult social care services.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support people with (a) Parkinson's and (b) other long-term conditions to cover everyday expenses.
Answered by Laura Trott
HM Treasury ministers have regular discussions with Department for Health and Social Care ministers on a range of issues, including meetings between the Chancellor and the Secretary of State
The Government delivers a wide range of support to help those with disabilities and long-term health conditions, such as Parkinson’s. If individuals incur extra costs whilst performing tasks associated with daily living, then they may qualify for disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Attendance Allowance (AA). This extra support can be worth over £8,900 per year and is due to increase from April by 6.7%. Depending on their needs, additional support for those with Parkinson’s may be available via local authorities who deliver adult social care services.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the data published by the Royal College of Nursing on 8 February 2024 on the proportion of general practice nursing staff that received a pay uplift for 2023-24.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
We hugely value and appreciate the vital work carried out by general practice (GP) nurses. The Government accepted the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body’s recommendation on salaried GP staff pay, and increased the 2023/24 GP contract to provide funding for them to receive a 6% pay rise. We expect all practices to pass this on to staff. As self-employed contractors to the National Health Service, it is for GPs to determine employee pay.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Institute for Health Research is funding research projects relating to thyroid disorders as of 26 February 2024.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Government funds research on thyroid disorders via the Department through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds and supports research into thyroid disorders through its research infrastructure, namely facilities, services and research workforce, and its research programmes. This includes research on the broad range of conditions that may affect the function of the thyroid gland, including hypo- and hyper-thyroidism, thyroid cancer and thyroid removal following surgery.
An example of NIHR research is a study investigating the risks of developing obesity, cardio-metabolic conditions, and risk of death in a cohort of 25,000 newly diagnosed patients with hyperthyroidism, and to compare the risks of these outcomes between all three modalities used to treat hyperthyroidism.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health including thyroid disorders and applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. It is not usual practice for the NIHR to ring fence funds for particular topics or conditions.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
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 increase the number of students enrolling in nursing higher education courses.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
We are working closely with NHS England, the Department for Education, and universities, to ensure everyone who wants to pursue a rewarding healthcare career in nursing, has the support and opportunities to do so.
To support students training in clinical roles, we provide eligible students with a grant of at least £5,000 a year through the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF). This includes additional incentives for priority specialisms, such as mental health, with further funding available depending on personal circumstances. The Government continues to widen access to nursing careers through blended learning and apprenticeship routes. Apprenticeships provide an alternative route for people to earn as they learn and we now have a complete apprentice pathway for nursing, from entry level to postgraduate advanced clinical practice.
The number of applicants to nursing degrees continues to outstrip the places on offer. Nursing training places are competitive, and lead to an attractive and important career in the National Health Service. There are record numbers of nurses now working in the NHS, and the first ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion, will add 24,000 more nurse and midwifery training places by 2031.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with officials in the Department for Education on steps to support student nurses.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
We are working closely with NHS England, the Department for Education, and universities, to ensure everyone who wants to pursue a rewarding healthcare career in nursing, has the support and opportunities to do so.
To support students training in clinical roles, we provide eligible students with a grant of at least £5,000 a year through the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF). This includes additional incentives for priority specialisms, such as mental health, with further funding available depending on personal circumstances. The Government continues to widen access to nursing careers through blended learning and apprenticeship routes. Apprenticeships provide an alternative route for people to earn as they learn and we now have a complete apprentice pathway for nursing, from entry level to postgraduate advanced clinical practice.
The number of applicants to nursing degrees continues to outstrip the places on offer. Nursing training places are competitive, and lead to an attractive and important career in the National Health Service. There are record numbers of nurses now working in the NHS, and the first ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion, will add 24,000 more nurse and midwifery training places by 2031.