Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential merits of including individuals on spouse visas who have the right to work and contribute to the NHS among the priority groups for NHS specialty training offers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 13 January 2026. The bill delivers the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training.
For specialty training places starting in 2026, NHS experience is being represented by immigration status as people with a settled immigration status are more likely to have worked in the NHS for longer. For specialty training posts starting from 2027 onwards, this provision will not apply automatically. Instead, it will be possible to make regulations to specify additional groups who will be prioritised, where they are likely to have significant experience working as a doctor either in the NHS in England, Scotland, or Wales, or in health and social care in Northern Ireland, or by reference to their immigration status.
Individuals on spouse visas are not included in the prioritised group for specialty training posts starting in 2026, because it is not a good indicator of likely NHS experience. The Department of Health and Social Care worked closely with the Home Office on the development of the bill.
Applicants on spouse visas will still be able to apply and will be offered places if vacancies remain after prioritised applicants have received offers.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to mandate (a) training and (b) continuing professional development for prescribers and pharmacists on recognising and managing Topical Steroid Withdrawal.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Regulated healthcare professionals need to meet the standards of proficiency, conduct, and performance set by the relevant professional regulator, which are independent of the Government. It is the responsibility of individual employers to ensure their staff have appropriate access to ongoing training and professional development to provide safe and effective care.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
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 following the closure of NHS Commissioning Support Units to (a) support staff affected, and (b) ensure that functions previously delivered by those units continue to be provided safely and effectively.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As integrated care boards (ICBs) develop their strategic commissioning role and skills, commissioning support functions will be rationalised. This will result in commissioning support units (CSUs) being closed.
Given wider changes in the system, including the larger geographical area of ICBs and the move to a more simplified operating model, for the National Health Service a whole, it is logical to integrate the work undertaken by CSUs into the other organisations that will make up the more streamlined, efficient NHS in future. The closure of CSUs will simplify the landscape and create efficiencies, and will strengthen the strategic commissioning skills in ICBs by giving them the freedom to develop these.
A plan has been developed to ensure all services provided by CSUs and all CSU staff are mapped and destinations clarified, where function will continue, and workshops have been held with NHS England Regions to understand ICB intentions and timelines for the transfer of functions and staff and with the Department and NHS England on functions that may form part of the new Department. Governance arrangements are in place across NHS England and the CSUs to oversee the transition of functions and the safe closure of CSUs.
Staff are being supported through this transition. The CSU Leadership Team hold regular all staff briefings where information on the abolition is cascaded. The CSUs are actively involving the trade unions. A voluntary redundancy scheme has been launched within the CSUs that mirrors that within NHS England. Staff are being actively informed about the scheme through the all-staff briefings.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to expand orthopaedic theatre capacity at Basildon Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In June 2026, Basildon Hospital will open a new Acute Kidney Care Ward, providing an additional 24 beds on the site and increasing capacity for people presenting to the emergency department with kidney problems, speeding up access to urgent care.
Following this, the current renal ward will be refurbished to support more medical care beds for winter and to provide space to move patients out of older wards so that improvements can be made as part of the trust’s prioritised capital programme.
In addition, two newly upgraded orthopaedic operating theatres opened at Basildon Hospital in November 2025 following essential maintenance works to improve the advanced air handling system. Since the start of November, staff working in theatres six or seven in the main theatre department have already completed hundreds of operations and procedures, including shoulder replacements, foot reconstructions, and knee replacements.
To help reduce its waiting lists, the trust is running additional capacity theatre slots, as well as outsourcing patients to other hospitals to receive their treatment and reduce waiting times. The trust is also insourcing within the hospital providers for extra outpatient capacity.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to expand clinical capacity at Basildon Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In June 2026, Basildon Hospital will open a new Acute Kidney Care Ward, providing an additional 24 beds on the site and increasing capacity for people presenting to the emergency department with kidney problems, speeding up access to urgent care.
Following this, the current renal ward will be refurbished to support more medical care beds for winter and to provide space to move patients out of older wards so that improvements can be made as part of the trust’s prioritised capital programme.
In addition, two newly upgraded orthopaedic operating theatres opened at Basildon Hospital in November 2025 following essential maintenance works to improve the advanced air handling system. Since the start of November, staff working in theatres six or seven in the main theatre department have already completed hundreds of operations and procedures, including shoulder replacements, foot reconstructions, and knee replacements.
To help reduce its waiting lists, the trust is running additional capacity theatre slots, as well as outsourcing patients to other hospitals to receive their treatment and reduce waiting times. The trust is also insourcing within the hospital providers for extra outpatient capacity.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 align the number of nursing graduates with the availability of entry-level jobs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. The guarantee will ensure that there are enough positions for every newly qualified nurse in England. The package of measures will unlock thousands of jobs and will ensure thousands of new posts are easier to access by removing barriers for National Health Service trusts, creating opportunities for graduates and ensuring a seamless transition from training to employment.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 clinicians in emergency and urgent care settings receive adequate training in the recognition and management of hamstring avulsion injuries.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Regulated healthcare professionals need to meet the standards of proficiency, conduct, and performance set by the relevant professional regulator, which are independent of the Government. It is the responsibility of individual employers to ensure their staff have appropriate access to ongoing training and professional development to provide safe and effective care.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will review information on the NHS website regarding hamstring injuries to ensure it adequately reflects the potential severity of hamstring avulsion injuries and the possible need for surgical intervention.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on the need for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in the case of hamstring avulsion injuries are clinically led. The Department has not made an assessment of the adequacy of the relevant guidance.
The hamstring injury page on the NHS.UK website was recently reviewed against the latest clinical evidence and updated in July 2025. The current page does alert users to the potential for a hamstring injury to be severe and require surgery, and where and when to get medical help. NHS England routinely updates the NHS.UK website in line with clinical evidence to ensure individuals with a potential hamstring injury are provided with the latest clinical evidence.
The Department is committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services, including for MRI. NHS England is taking steps to support MRI services to remain resilient, effective, and able to meet growing demand. Over the past five years, significant capital investment has been deployed to strengthen service resilience, increase capacity, and improve patient access. This has included funding for new MRI assets, upgrading existing machines with MRI acceleration software, and supporting trusts in replacing failing or outdated systems.
The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over £6 billion of additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective, and urgent care capacity. This includes £600 million in capital funding for diagnostics in 2025/26, some of which will deliver new scanners in acute hospital settings, as well as replacement of the oldest MRI scanners and MRI acceleration software.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 adequacy of guidance for NHS trusts on the urgent provision of MRI scans for patients with hamstring avulsion injuries.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on the need for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in the case of hamstring avulsion injuries are clinically led. The Department has not made an assessment of the adequacy of the relevant guidance.
The hamstring injury page on the NHS.UK website was recently reviewed against the latest clinical evidence and updated in July 2025. The current page does alert users to the potential for a hamstring injury to be severe and require surgery, and where and when to get medical help. NHS England routinely updates the NHS.UK website in line with clinical evidence to ensure individuals with a potential hamstring injury are provided with the latest clinical evidence.
The Department is committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services, including for MRI. NHS England is taking steps to support MRI services to remain resilient, effective, and able to meet growing demand. Over the past five years, significant capital investment has been deployed to strengthen service resilience, increase capacity, and improve patient access. This has included funding for new MRI assets, upgrading existing machines with MRI acceleration software, and supporting trusts in replacing failing or outdated systems.
The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over £6 billion of additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective, and urgent care capacity. This includes £600 million in capital funding for diagnostics in 2025/26, some of which will deliver new scanners in acute hospital settings, as well as replacement of the oldest MRI scanners and MRI acceleration software.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the news story by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, published on 18 December 2025, what is (a) the average time and (b) the maximum time taken for the investigations that take more than 15 months to be resolved.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not collect this information centrally. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom, and nursing associates in England. The UK's model of healthcare professional regulation is founded on the principle of regulators operating independently from the Government.
The Department recognises that the contents of the Independent Culture Review of the NMC conducted by Nazir Afzal OBE and Rise Associates were deeply concerning, and several ministerial meetings have taken place with the NMC to ensure the report’s recommendations are implemented. Progress is being tracked via an independent oversight group established by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) to scrutinise the impact of measures introduced by the NMC and advise on further actions required. The group includes stakeholders from across the UK and relevant experts identified by the PSA. Meeting notes are published on the PSA website, at the following link: