Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much is owed to social care workers for sleeping-in payments for the provision of statutory care that was commissioned by (1) government agencies, and (2) local authorities; and from what funds it is anticipated that those payments will be paid.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The information requested is not held centrally.
Social care is usually commissioned by local authorities but it can also be commissioned by the National Health Service or paid for by self-funding individuals.
A piece of market analysis was commissioned over the summer to better understand the scale of the liabilities associated with sleep-in shifts.
The Government is in the process of further refining this work to provide more robust information. The interim enforcement approach announced by the Government on 1 November is designed to maximise the prospects of workers being paid arrears owed to them as soon as possible, while at the same time protecting existing jobs. The Government recognises the pressures these liabilities are placing on providers of social care, and we are exploring options to minimise any impact on the sector.
Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what communications they regard as necessary with carers, or future carers, before patients are discharged from hospital.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The involvement of patients and their carers is central to timely and appropriate discharge from hospital. Each hospital’s discharge policy should set out how patients and carers will be involved and discharge arrangements discussed.
Discussions should include providing full information about the options available and supplying patients and carers with a discharge plan.
Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether communication with carers before patients are discharged from hospital will be included in the forthcoming carers strategy.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The forthcoming carers strategy will reiterate the importance of ensuring that families and carers are involved in the planning of hospital discharge and the role of local partners in ensuring this works well in practice.
The strategy will also highlight the range of guidance and support available to local areas and to families.
Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many nursing training places were available in each year since 2000.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The following table shows the number of pre-registration nursing places (degree and diploma courses) that were available for each year since 2000.
Year | Nurse training places |
2000-01 | 19,460 |
2001-02 | 20,668 |
2002-03 | 21,949 |
2003-04 | 23,553 |
2004-05 | 24,956 |
2005-06 | 24,520 |
2006-07 | 22,964 |
2007-08 | 21,569 |
2008-09 | 21,732 |
2009-10 | 21,337 |
2010-11 | 20,327 |
2011-12 | 18,069 |
2012-13 | 17,546 |
2013-14 | 18,056 |
2014-15 | 19,206 |
2015-16 | 20,033 |
Source: Data provided to the Department of Health by the commissioners of pre-registration training
In December 2014, Health Education England published their Workforce Plan for England which includes their planned Education & Training Commissions for 2015-16.
Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the cost to date of the reorganisation of the National Health Service as a result of the reforms in the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
I announced in my Written Ministerial Statement of 23 July 2014, columns WS135-136, that the costs of implementing policies in the Health and Social Care Act incurred to 31 March 2014 were £1,316 million. This is the latest available figure.
These costs have been more than covered by the savings arising from the Health and Social Care Act, which up to 31 March 2014, were approximately £4.9 billion.
Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many general practitioners have been dismissed by primary care trusts, or by the Care Quality Commission, in each year since 2005.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The information requested is not centrally collected. Departmental officials are aware that the General Medical Council does collect some demographic data about doctors and this is published in its annual report ‘The state of medical education and practice in the UK’.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England, has registered all general practitioner (GP) practices since April 2012. The CQC’s role is to inspect and regulate GP practices, including those practices run by single-handed GPs. The CQC regulates at a provider level and may remove a practice’s registration where care is not meeting the required standard. Actions taken against an individual GP would be the responsibility of NHS England for contractual issues and the General Medical Council for professional issues.
Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the impact since 2009 of the closure of accident and emergency departments on neighbouring hospitals.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The reconfiguration of local health services is a matter for the local National Health Service. All service changes should be led by clinicians and be in the best interests of patients, not driven from the top down.
It is for NHS commissioners and providers to work together, with local authorities, patients and the public, in bringing forward proposals that will improve the quality, safety and sustainability of healthcare services.
Any changes must be supported by the Government’s four tests for service change, namely:
- support from general practitioner commissioners;
- clarity on the clinical evidence base;
- robust patient and public engagement; and
- support for patient choice.
Once a decision on a local case for change has been made, it is up to the NHS to ensure its local services meet the needs of its population.
More generally, we would expect any local plans for changes to acute services to take full account of the impact on neighbouring hospitals.