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 he is taking to increase mental health services provision for (a) children under the age of 16 and (b) 16 to 18 year olds.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
No specific assessment has been made.
Through the NHS Long Term Plan we will invest at least an additional £2.3 billion a year into mental health services by 2023/24, which will see a further 345,000 children and young people a year able to access support through National Health Service-funded services including school and college-based mental health support teams by 2023/24. We have also announced an additional £79 million in this financial year to significantly accelerate the planned expansion of children and young people’s mental health services.
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 recent assessment he has made of the level of demand for mental health services by (a) children under the age of 16 and (b) 16 to 18 year olds.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
No specific assessment has been made.
Through the NHS Long Term Plan we will invest at least an additional £2.3 billion a year into mental health services by 2023/24, which will see a further 345,000 children and young people a year able to access support through National Health Service-funded services including school and college-based mental health support teams by 2023/24. We have also announced an additional £79 million in this financial year to significantly accelerate the planned expansion of children and young people’s mental health services.
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 his Department has made of the effect of Centene taking control of (a) Thamesmead Health Centre and (b) other GP practices in Greater London on the quality of care provided to patients in those areas.
Answered by Jo Churchill
No assessment has been made. It is for local commissioners to arrange the provision of appropriate services, by contracting with providers, in order to best serve the needs of their patient population.
Regardless of whether the contract holder is an individual, a partnership, or an organisation, all contract holders and providers of National Health Service core primary medical services are subject to the same requirements, regulation, and standards.
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 has taken to ensure that Centene upholds NHS standards of healthcare in the GP practices it operates in England.
Answered by Jo Churchill
No assessment has been made. It is for local commissioners to arrange the provision of appropriate services, by contracting with providers, in order to best serve the needs of their patient population.
Regardless of whether the contract holder is an individual, a partnership, or an organisation, all contract holders and providers of National Health Service core primary medical services are subject to the same requirements, regulation, and standards.
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 his Department has made of the potential merits of designating family carers of people with dementia as key workers.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
As set out in the Adult Social Care Winter Plan, the Government recognises the very important role of all types of unpaid, or family, carers supporting those they care for, including those with dementia.
The role of unpaid carers has been considered in the development of policies throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and they have been prioritised for a range of support. For example, they are included in the priority list for a vaccine, have access to personal protective equipment and have been exempted from interhouse mixing rules when providing the vital care and support they offer.
We will continue to work closely with stakeholders, care organisations and the wider sector and will keep support for family carers under review.
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 plans his Department has to increase (a) staff capacity in and (b) recruitment to oncology departments.
Answered by Jo Churchill
‘We are the NHS: People Plan for 2020/2021 – action for us all’ sets out actions to support transformation across the whole NHS, including the following commitment on the cancer workforce:
In 2021, Health Education England is prioritising the training of 400 clinical endoscopists and 450 reporting radiographers. Training grants are being offered for 350 nurses to become cancer nurse specialists and chemotherapy nurses, training 58 biomedical scientists, developing an advanced clinical practice qualification in oncology and extending cancer support-worker training.