Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to increase the number of GPs per 1,000 people in line with levels in other European countries.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not make recommendations for how many patients a general practitioner (GP) should have as the demand each patient places on their GP is different and can be affected by various factors, including rurality and patient demographics. It is also important to consider GPs as part of the wider multidisciplinary team as getting the skills mix right in general practice is critical in addressing workload pressures and delivering appropriate patient care.
As part of the 2020/21 GP Contract, the Government and NHS England have committed at least an additional £1.5 billion in cash terms for general practice over the next four years for additional staff. This is in addition to the £4.5 billion real terms annual increase announced for primary and community care in the NHS Long Term Plan by 2023/24.
We have committed to growing the workforce by 6,000 more doctors in general practice and 26,000 more primary care professionals, such as physiotherapists and pharmacists. Growing the workforce will mean larger teams of staff providing a wider range of care options for patients and will free up more time for doctors to focus on those with more complex needs. This, alongside increasing the use of technology in general practice, will create an extra 50 million appointments a year by 2024/25 and improve access to primary care services.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what effect the Soft Drinks Industry Levy has had on consumption rates for people on low incomes.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
An assessment of changes in sugar levels in drinks covered by the SDIL was included in PHE’s first report on progress for the Sugar Reduction Programme, published in May 2018. The report is available to view at the following link:
This early assessment showed that sugar had been reduced by 11% per 100ml, and average calories for drinks likely to be consumed on a single occasion reduced by 6% by retailers and manufacturers. Data also showed that consumers are buying more drinks that have sugar levels below the SDIL cut off of 5g per 100ml.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Care Quality Commission report of November 2018, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
As a result of the findings of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) 28 November 2018 inspection report on Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, the CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals recommended that the Trust remains in special measures for quality reasons in order to make further improvements, and NHS Improvement has accepted this recommendation so that the Trust can continue to have access to a range of intensive support, such as a quality improvement director and an extensive buddying arrangement with East London NHS Foundation Trust a leading mental health Trust rated ‘Outstanding’ by the CQC.
NHS Improvement has agreed several immediate actions with the Trust to improve patient safety and address the CQC’s concerns and is also working closely with the Trust, the CQC and the wider system to ensure that the right package of support is in place to deliver sustainable improvements.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on the application of the special administration process to NHS trusts.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Trust Special Administration (TSA) Regime is a bespoke, time-limited measure to address failure in National Health Service foundation trusts or NHS trusts. The TSA Regime introduced the role of Trust Special Administrator who would take over the failed trust with a dual role of running it and making recommendations for a sustainable long-term solution for its services.
The Regime is intended to be used as a measure of last resort and under specific circumstances. Consequently, the Regime is likely to be used sparingly. There are a range of other measures which can be applied before the Regime is considered.
The power to place NHS foundation trusts into the TSA regime sits with Monitor which is now part of NHS Improvement. The power for placing NHS trusts into TSA sits with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS trusts have ever been put in to special administration.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
One National Health Service foundation trust has been placed into Trust Special Administration: Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust was placed into Trust Special Administration by Monitor in April 2013.
One NHS trust has been placed into Trust Special Administration: South London Healthcare NHS Trust was placed into Trust Special Administration by the then Secretary of State for Health (Andrew Lansley) in July 2012.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
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 effect on small businesses of proposed mandatory calorie counts on all restaurant and takeaway menus.
Answered by Steve Brine
We will be publishing an impact assessment alongside the consultation on introducing consistent calorie labelling for the out of home sector later this year. We will also take into account the views and concerns of smaller businesses as part of the consultation process and welcome suggestions on how to make the process easier for them.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
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 effect on small businesses of proposed mandatory calorie counts on all restaurant and takeaway menus.
Answered by Steve Brine
We will be publishing an impact assessment alongside the consultation on introducing consistent calorie labelling for the out of home sector later this year. We will also take into account the views and concerns of smaller businesses as part of the consultation process and welcome suggestions on how to make the process easier for them.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with East of England Ambulance Service Trust since 17 January 2018 on ambulance delays during December 2017 and January 2018.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department made enquiries about whether ambulance delays during mid-December 2017 to early January 2018 caused additional harm to patients at the Trust, through NHS Improvement.
The Department has received assurance that all cases that had significant delays have already been identified and are being investigated by the Trust, in conjunction with its commissioners. Where cases are classified as ‘serious incidents’ there is a nationally set process which ensures that investigations are appropriately rigorous.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have called a risk summit to review the current situation in East of England Ambulance Service. The Care Quality Commission has also been notified of the concerns raised.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department had with East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust on the use of Resource Escalation Action Plan level 4 in December 2017.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
There have been no such discussions. The Department has received assurance that all cases that had significant delays have already been identified and are being investigated. Where cases are classified as ‘serious incidents’ there is a nationally set process which will rightly be followed to ensure that the investigations are appropriately rigorous.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of avoidable deaths due to ambulance delays to date in winter 2017-18.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This information is not collected centrally. Robust local investigation processes are in place to investigate all serious incidents. This year the National Health Service was better prepared than ever before to meet the challenges of winter. The NHS and the Department undertake rigorous planning each year, putting in place robust plans to ensure resilience throughout the winter period. This planning includes ambulance trusts. Additionally, in place for this year, is a revised escalation framework encompassing all levels of the system – local, regional and national – to ensure a greater standardisation of response to winter pressures. This is overseen by the newly formed, clinically led, National Emergency Pressures Panel.