Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to tackle delays in the provision of community health services, including therapy services and the provision of wheelchairs, orthotics, prosthetics and equipment for children and young people, as a result of covid-19.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The provision of community health services, including for children and young people, is the responsibility of local systems, such as clinical commissioning groups and local authorities.
On 11 January 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement published ‘Community services prioritisation framework’ to support local systems in managing COVID-19 pressures. It contains guidance to support local decision-making on the relative priority of services, including the provision of wheelchairs, orthotics, prosthetics and equipment for children and young people. Since 1 March 2022, it is expected that all community services are operational and local systems are responsible for continued service recovery and reductions in waiting times.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have requested that providers outline plans to reduce community service waiting lists. This information is being reviewed to support providers with service restoration in community health services. National service development funding and growth in local systems’ core funding allocations will support systems to increase overall capacity, address waiting lists and develop and expand new models of community care.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's 2022-23 priorities and operational planning guidance, published in December 2021, how that guidance will operate to reduce the community service waiting lists for disabled children and their families.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Following publication of updated operational planning guidance in February 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement requested providers to outline plans to reduce community service waiting lists. This information is being reviewed as part of planning to support providers with service restoration in community health services.
National service development funding, alongside growth in local systems’ core funding allocations, will support systems to increase the overall capacity of community services to provide care for more patients, address waiting lists and develop and expand new models of community care.
NHS England and NHS Improvement published the Community Health Services Prioritisation Framework on 11 January 2022. This set an expectation that community health services, including therapy services and the provision of wheelchairs, orthotics, prosthetics and equipment for children and young people which have been delayed or paused as a result of COVID-19, should resume from 1 March 2022.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the £10 billion in extra funding provided as part of covid-19 recovery planning will tackle the waiting times for disabled children to receive an equipment assessment; and what estimate he has made of the timeframe in which those waiting times will be reduced.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
In 2021/22, we have made £2 billion available and a further £8 billion from April 2022 to March 2025 to increase activity and reduce waiting times for patients, including disabled children. This funding aims to deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million more checks, scans and procedures and deliver 30% more elective activity by 2024/25.
NHS England and NHS Improvement published the ‘Community health services prioritisation framework’ on 11 January 2022. This sets an expectation that community health services, including therapy services and the provision of wheelchairs, orthotics, prosthetics and equipment for children and young people which have been delayed or paused as a result of COVID-19, should resume from 1 March 2022.
Additionally, the ‘2022/23 priorities and operational planning guidance’, published in December 2021, includes a requirement for systems to develop and agree a plan for reducing community service waiting lists. Systems and providers have been asked to ensure that no-one is waiting for longer than 104 weeks for elective care by July 2022 and eliminate waiting times of over 78 weeks by April 2023, except where patients choose to wait longer or in specific specialities.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when there was last a comprehensive assessment of local continence care service needs; and whether there is a strategy in place to meet those needs in the context of formalising integrated care boards across England.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
In 2018, NHS England published ‘Excellence in Continence Care’ to improve the care and experience of patients with continence issues. While no assessment has been made of local continence care service needs, the guidance was produced with patient and public advocates, clinicians and partners from the third sector.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) will take on the commissioning functions of clinical commissioning groups and some of NHS England’s commissioning functions. There are no specific requirements on ICBs to assess local continence needs. However, ICBs will be responsible for providing a comprehensive health service for their local populations. ‘Excellence in Continence Care’ is a strategy for commissioners, which will include ICBs once established, to enable collaboration with providers and others.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what NHS support is available for family carers looking after relatives with continence problems.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Those with continence problems or their carers should request a full assessment from their general practitioner directly or through a referral to a specialist service. ‘Excellence in Continence Care’ provides further information on access to services and is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/excellence-in-continence-care/
The National Bladder and Bowel Program is developing evidence-based service pathways to support a consistent approach to continence services and provide a framework.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what policy framework is guiding NHS (a) performance and (b) quality improvement for continence services.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The National Bladder and Bowel Project is developing evidence-based pathways to support a consistent approach to continence services and will provide a framework for services. NHS England’s ‘Excellence in Continence Care’ provides guidance to enables commissioners, including local authorities, to collaborate with providers and others to improve the care and experience of patients with continence issues.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that every local authority and health authority has a local continence pathway in place.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
NHS England has established The National Bladder and Bowel Health Project to improve continence care across the whole health and care system. The Project has a specific remit to look at clinical standards for bladder, bowel, paediatrics and stoma care pathways and is in the process of developing evidence-based service pathways to support a consistent approach to continence services.
The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act (2007) requires Clinical Commissioning Groups and local authorities to develop a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment of the health and well-being of their local community. NHS England’s Excellence in Continence Care provides a framework that enables commissioners, including local authorities, to work in collaboration with providers and others to improve the care and experience of patients with continence issues.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
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 continence advisory services operating across the NHS in England in (a), 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
This information is not held centrally by NHS England and NHS Improvement.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the mental health and wellbeing of NHS dentists; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England and NHS Improvement are aware that the pandemic has been challenging for the mental health and wellbeing of all health and care workers, including National Health Service dentists. NHS England and NHS Improvement have invested in additional mental health support which is available to all NHS dental teams. This includes the ‘Looking After You Too’ service. NHS Practitioner Health is also available to dentists, including confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week via a dedicated phoneline and a crisis text service. Further resources are also available online via NHS People.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) practising dentists and (b) practising NHS dentists there were in England (i) in total, (ii) by NHS regional area, (iii) by NHS local area and (iv) by Parliamentary constituency, in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The information requested is available for practising National Health Service dentists. A table showing the number of dentists undertaking NHS activity in England, NHS Region and clinical commissioning group in each of the last 10 years is attached. Data is not available by Parliamentary constituency.