Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve waiting times for patients who require to be tested for allergies.
Answered by Will Quince
Specialist allergy services are commissioned by NHS England Specialised Commissioning in line with the published service specification. While no specific assessment has been made of the adequacy of waiting times, the service specification sets out standard referral processes and equity of access to services, as well as highlighting the response time and prioritisation targets. There are regular review meetings between regional commissioning teams and providers to ensure compliance with service standards.
To reduce waiting times more generally for elective services, the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years.
We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity. This funding aims to deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million additional checks and procedures and 30% further elective activity by 2024/25 than pre-pandemic levels. A proportion of this funding will be invested in workforce capacity and training and we have committed to invest £5.9 billion for new beds, equipment and technology.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
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 help reduce waiting times for patients who require allergy tests.
Answered by Will Quince
Specialist allergy services are commissioned by NHS England Specialised Commissioning in line with the published service specification. While no specific assessment has been made of the adequacy of waiting times, the service specification sets out standard referral processes and equity of access to services, as well as highlighting the response time and prioritisation targets. There are regular review meetings between regional commissioning teams and providers to ensure compliance with service standards.
To reduce waiting times more generally for elective services, the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years.
We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity. This funding aims to deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million additional checks and procedures and 30% further elective activity by 2024/25 than pre-pandemic levels. A proportion of this funding will be invested in workforce capacity and training and we have committed to invest £5.9 billion for new beds, equipment and technology.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of referral waiting times for allergy tests.
Answered by Will Quince
Specialist allergy services are commissioned by NHS England Specialised Commissioning in line with the published service specification. While no specific assessment has been made of the adequacy of waiting times, the service specification sets out standard referral processes and equity of access to services, as well as highlighting the response time and prioritisation targets. There are regular review meetings between regional commissioning teams and providers to ensure compliance with service standards.
To reduce waiting times more generally for elective services, the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years.
We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity. This funding aims to deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million additional checks and procedures and 30% further elective activity by 2024/25 than pre-pandemic levels. A proportion of this funding will be invested in workforce capacity and training and we have committed to invest £5.9 billion for new beds, equipment and technology.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
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 help ensure that allergy clinics have the (a) resources and (b) capacity to carry out allergy tests on patients with suspected allergies within an appropriate timeframe.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Specialist allergy services for patients with rare and complex conditions, including allergy clinics, are commissioned by NHS England Specialised Commissioning in line with the published Service Specification. This sets out that providers should deliver a diagnostic package for the investigation of suspected allergic diseases, including initial consultation and follow-up in a dedicated allergy clinic and specialised allergy tests.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when all Breast Screening Units in England will meet their recovery criteria.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England forecast that by the end of November 2022, 50 of the 75 screening providers will have recovered services, with five pending a review. By the end of 2022, 65 are forecast to have fully recovered and the remaining 10 services predicting recovery in 2023.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
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 help ensure that surgeons in England are able to consult NICE guidelines on both mesh and non-mesh hernia repair.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidance and advice on the use of hernia mesh and non-mesh hernia repair, including laparoscopic surgery for inguinal hernia repair and interventional procedures on the reinforcement of a permanent stoma with a synthetic or biological mesh to prevent a parastomal hernia. NICE is not currently developing new guidance on hernia repair.
Clinicians are expected to take NICE’s guidance fully into account in the care and treatment of individual patients. NICE’s updated guidance is communicated to the National Health Service and in the case of common procedures, such as groin hernia repair, is highlighted directly by the Royal College of Surgeons.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is producing guidance on hernia mesh and non-mesh hernia repair operations.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidance and advice on the use of hernia mesh and non-mesh hernia repair, including laparoscopic surgery for inguinal hernia repair and interventional procedures on the reinforcement of a permanent stoma with a synthetic or biological mesh to prevent a parastomal hernia. NICE is not currently developing new guidance on hernia repair.
Clinicians are expected to take NICE’s guidance fully into account in the care and treatment of individual patients. NICE’s updated guidance is communicated to the National Health Service and in the case of common procedures, such as groin hernia repair, is highlighted directly by the Royal College of Surgeons.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce waiting times for elective surgeries in Washington and Sunderland West constituency.
Answered by Will Quince
The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years, including in Washington and Sunderland West. We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity. This funding aims to deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million additional checks and procedures and 30% further elective activity by 2024/25 than pre-pandemic levels. A proportion of this funding will be invested in workforce capacity and training and we have committed to invest £5.9 billion for new beds, equipment and technology.
The target to eliminate waiting times of two years or more for elective procedures was met in July 2022 and we aim to eliminate waiting time of eighteen months or more by April 2023. This will be achieved through increasing capacity, seeking alternate capacity in other trusts or the independent sector and engaging with patients to understand choices made regarding their care.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of midwives in Washington and Sunderland West constituency.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS England retains oversight of local workforce plans and is updated on vacancy rates. However, recruitment and retention is undertaken at trust level.
In 2022, an additional £127 million has been invested in the National Health Service maternity workforce and improving neonatal care, including in Washington and Sunderland West. This is in addition to the £95 million invested in 2021 to fund a further 1,200 midwives and 100 consultant obstetricians. The NHS People Plan focuses on improving the retention of NHS staff by prioritising staff health and wellbeing. In 2022/23, £45 million has been allocated to support the continuation of 40 mental health hubs, the Professional Nurse Advocates programme and expanding the NHS Practitioner Health service.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps her Department has taken to help tackle health inequality in Washington and Sunderland West constituency.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
‘Our plan for patients’, published on 22 September, sets out the immediate priorities to support individuals to live healthier lives, including improving access to health and care services in all areas and preventing ill-health. Further information on measures to address health disparities will be available in due course.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities works with local system partners in York, Easington, Bradford, Washington and Sunderland to support programmes to reduce health inequalities, including providing evidence and intelligence.