Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
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 help support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of mental health specialists in the East London NHS Foundation Trust.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To address the current mental health workforce shortages in trusts, like the East London NHS Foundation Trust, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services, to reduce waiting times and provide faster treatment.
We are working to consider options to deliver this expansion of the mental health workforce, including where they should be deployed to achieve maximum effect. NHS England is also working to improve retention through clearer career progression pathways.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the number of people who have accessed adult mental health services in the East London NHS Foundation Trust.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that the overall number of people being referred to National Health Service adult mental health services is increasing, including in East London, and too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need.
That is why, as part of our mission to build an NHS that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, which will also help ease pressure on busy mental health services.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to expand access to mental health services in primary schools.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is working across the Government to deliver on our commitment of a specialist mental health professional in every school, including primary schools. We need to ensure that any support meets the needs of young people, teachers, parents, and carers, which is why we are exploring a range of options.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
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 support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of GPs in Stratford and Bow constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are working to increase the general practice (GP) workforce in England, including in the Stratford and Bow constituency. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encourage them to return to practice.
NHS England is working to address training bottlenecks so the health service has enough staff for the future, and we will provide £82 million to fund the recruitment of over 1,000 newly qualified GPs, via the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, so patients can get the care they need.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
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 deaths from stroke and heart disease by a quarter within ten years.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing avoidable disability and death from heart disease and stroke is a priority for the Government. This is why the Government has set a goal for fewer lives being lost to the biggest killers, including from cardiovascular disease (CVD), and why the NHS England's Long Term Plan (2019) sets out a number of actions that aim to help prevent up to 150,000 heart attacks, strokes, and dementia cases by 2029.
The Government continues to support the delivery of the NHS Health Check programme, England’s CVD prevention programme, to people aged 40 to 74 years old. This programme identifies people at risk of CVD, supports people in reducing their risk, and prevents approximately 400 heart attacks or strokes each year. To improve access and engagement with the life-saving programme, we are developing a digital NHS Health Check which will be ready for testing in early 2025 and will enable people to undertake a check at home. We are also trialling the delivery of heart health checks to over 130,000 people in workplaces across the country.
Community pharmacies also provide a free blood pressure check service for anyone over 40 years old. In cases where this results in a high reading, pharmacists can make sure people receive the right National Health Service support to reduce their blood pressure and risk of death or serious disability.
We know there is more to do. The Department and NHS England are working together to achieve the Government’s ambition for fewer lives lost to the biggest killers, including CVD, and we will share more in due course.