Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress her Department has made on its commitment to reduce the number of people with a learning disability and autistic people in specialist inpatient care by 50% by March 2024 compared with March 2015.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We have made significant progress towards reducing the number of people with a learning disability and autistic people in inpatient mental health settings.
For people who have a learning disability and who do not have an autism diagnosis, the data shows that there has been a 57% reduction in the number of people in hospital since March 2015. For people who have both a learning disability and autism diagnosis, there has been a 33% reduction in the number of people in hospital since March 2015. However, the number of people with an autism diagnosis, who do not have a learning disability, in hospital inpatient settings has increased significantly over the same period.
Taken together, this results in a net reduction of 30% against a commitment to reduce inpatient numbers by 50% by March 2024; more specifically there were 2,035 people with a learning disability and autistic people in a mental health inpatient setting in October 2023 compared to 2,905 in March 2015.
Actions underway to make more progress include investing an additional £121 million this financial year to improve community support as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, including funding for Children and Young People’s keyworkers.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 since the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act 1983 was published on 6 December 2018; and what progress her Department has made on tackling the disproportionate number of people from black and minority ethnic groups being detained under that Act.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We are continuing to pilot models of Culturally Appropriate Advocacy, investing up to £1.5 million to provide tailored support people from ethnic minorities to better understand their rights when they are detained under the Mental Health Act.
The Patient and Carers Race Equality Framework was published by NHS England in October 2023. Rolling this out will support mental health trusts to improve access, experience and outcomes and reduce disparities for people from ethnic minority backgrounds. All mental health trusts will be required to have a framework in place by March 2025.
Between 1 December 2018 and 31 March 2023, there were 218,219 detentions under the Mental Health Act. It is important to note that the number of detentions is not the same as the number of people detained as some people might have been detained more than once during the period.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
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 reduce racial inequalities in the use of the Mental Health Act 1983.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We are continuing to pilot models of Culturally Appropriate Advocacy, investing up to £1.5 million to provide tailored support people from ethnic minorities to better understand their rights when they are detained under the Mental Health Act.
The Patient and Carers Race Equality Framework was published by NHS England in October 2023. Rolling this out will support mental health trusts to improve access, experience and outcomes and reduce disparities for people from ethnic minority backgrounds. All mental health trusts will be required to have a framework in place by March 2025.
Between 1 December 2018 and 31 March 2023, there were 218,219 detentions under the Mental Health Act. It is important to note that the number of detentions is not the same as the number of people detained as some people might have been detained more than once during the period.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS is on track to meet the target for NHS Talking Therapies of 1.9 million people in England accessing treatment by the end of 2023/24.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The additional investment for NHS Talking Therapies from the Autumn Statement is focused on helping people recover from anxiety and depression. It will do this through service expansion over five years, enabling more people to have a course of treatment, representing an additional 384,000 people over five years, and supporting services to be offer patients a larger number of sessions which will improve people's chance of fully recovering.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS spent on provision of maternity services in each of the last five years for which information is available; and how much was claimed for clinical negligence in maternity services in each such year.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
It is not possible for the department to quantify the total amount the National Health Service spent on the provision of maternity services in each of the last five years, as some aspects of those costs extend beyond maternity and neonatal care, such as capital spending and some elements of workforce.
NHS Resolution manages clinical negligence and other claims against the NHS in England. The following tables shows the costs that NHS Resolution has advised of Clinical Negligence Claims Closed or Settled as a Periodical Payment Order (PPO) between 2018/19 and 2022/23 with damages paid where the Specialty is 'Obstetrics':
Year of Closure (Settlement Year for PPOs) | Damages Paid | NHS Legal Costs Paid | Claimant Legal Costs Paid | Total Paid |
2018/19 | £605,688,009 | £25,560,735 | £78,394,471 | £709,643,216 |
2019/20 | £495,458,879 | £22,536,708 | £72,295,468 | £590,291,055 |
2020/21 | £501,965,729 | £22,080,962 | £68,796,850 | £592,843,541 |
2021/22 | £503,741,949 | £21,897,291 | £78,114,994 | £603,754,235 |
2022/23 | £596,598,917 | £25,039,074 | £84,939,593 | £706,577,584 |
Source: NHS Resolution
Notes:
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the menopause taskforce last met; and if she will publish minutes of the meeting.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Menopause Taskforce last met on 12 December 2023. Minutes of taskforce meetings are not published but are circulated to Taskforce members.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of maternal mental health services; and what steps she is taking to improve mental health services for women (a) during pregnancy, (b) post-pregnancy and (c) in cases of baby loss or birth trauma.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We are committed to expanding and transforming mental health services in England so that people, including those affected by a miscarriage, the loss of a baby or birth trauma, can get the help and support that they need, when they need it.
The Pregnancy Loss Review was published earlier this year and made 73 recommendations on improving the care and support women and families receive when experiencing a pre-24-week gestation baby loss. Our response sets out in detail what actions the Government intends to take immediately to progress 20 recommendations in relation to several key areas.
As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, we are looking to improve the access and quality of perinatal mental health care for mothers and their partners. As of February 2023, there were 35 Maternal Mental Health Services, which provide psychological therapy for women experiencing mental health difficulties related to their maternity experience. Services in each integrated care system area are due to be operational by March 2024.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data her Department holds on the number of women who have (a) been prescribed hormone replacement therapy for (i) perimenopausal and (ii) menopausal symptoms and (b) received other treatment for such symptoms in each of the last five years.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The figures in the table below relate to the prescribing of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) medications in England that are subsequently dispensed in the community in England, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands by a pharmacy, appliance contractor, dispensing doctor or have been personally administered by a general practice. They do not include data on medicines used in secondary care, prisons or issued by a private prescriber. As data is not captured on clinical indication it is not possible to distinguish between the two conditions. Data in the table for the prescribing of HRT medications is based on a list of products that are obtainable via an HRT prescription pre-payment certificate. These also exclude other medicines to treat menopause symptoms that are not licensed for that purpose that patients may be prescribed or purchase over the counter.
Year | Total Identified Patients |
2019/2020 | 1,455,591 |
2020/2021 | 1,384,489 |
2021/2022 | 1,813,228 |
2022/2023 | 2,344,680 |
2023/2024 (up to June 2023) | 1,671,792 |
Note: Data published 26 October 2023 – ‘Hormone Replacement Therapy - England - April 2015 to June 2023’, which is available at the following link: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/hormone-replacement-therapy-england/hormone-replacement-therapy-england-april-2015-june-2023
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it remains her Department's policy to reform the Mental Health Act 1983.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We remain committed to bringing forward a Mental Health Bill when Parliamentary time allows us to do so. In the meantime, we are already taking forward wider commitments to improve the care and treatment of people detained under the Mental Health Act, including piloting models of Culturally Appropriate Advocacy. These pilots will provide tailored support to people from ethnic minority communities and improve their experience of being treated under the Mental Health Act.
This is alongside our wider commitment to invest at least £2.3 billion of additional funding a year by March 2024 to expand and transform mental health services within the National Health Service, so an extra two million people can get mental health support.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
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 improve the dementia diagnosis rate in Erith and Thamesmead constituency.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In December 2022, the mental health objectives for 2023/24 were included in National Health Service priorities and planning guidance, refreshing the commitment to achieve the national ambition of a 66.7% diagnosis rate. This reinforces the importance of dementia as a key priority for NHS England and provides a clear direction for integrated care boards to support delivery of timely diagnoses within systems.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ Dementia Intelligence Network has been commissioned by NHS England to develop a resource to support investigation of the underlying variation in dementia diagnosis rates. The aim of this work is to provide context for variation and enable targeted investigation and provision of support at a local level to enhance diagnosis rates. The tool has been released and is available via the NHS Futures Collaboration platform.