Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the level of demand compared to supply on primary care services in (a) Brighton and Hove and (b) nationally relating to patients coming forward to seek treatment (i) having not sought treatment during the pandemic, (ii) due to long covid or other factors relating to covid-19 and (iii) mental ill-health over and above usual levels of patient presentation; what estimate he has made of the funding required to meet demand for services; and if he will make a statement.

Whilst demand for primary care remains high across Brighton and Hove and Sussex, appointment activity is in line with the national trends and is showing an approximate return to pre-pandemic levels. On some national indicators, such as booking online appointments, Brighton and Hove has a higher rate of activity than the national average. Brighton residents have access to a ‘long’ COVID-19 assessment service which has accepted 370 referrals between January and May 2021.

On 7 October 2020, NHS England announced a £10 million investment to support people with ‘long’ COVID-19, with £120 million made available from April to September 2021 via the general practitioner capacity fund.

The Brighton and Hove Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) service has seen a rise in demand and further investment is planned this year to expand a range of support and services.

There has been no national assessment of the demand for primary care that is specifically related to all mental health conditions. However, we have made available an additional £270 million funding from November 2020 until September 2021 to ensure general practitioners and their teams are able to continue to support all patients.