Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the ONS publication entitled How the population changed in Dartford: Census 2021, published on 28 June 2022, if he will review the capacity of Darent Valley Hospital in the context of an above national average population increase in the local area in the period 2011 to 2021.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Health and Care Act 2022 established 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England. ICBs empower local health and care leaders to integrate planning and provision of services and will produce five-year joint forward plans with partner National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts to respond to local health needs. This may include consideration of the needs of a changing population.
There are no current plans to review the capacity of Darent Valley Hospital. Kent and Medway ICB are responsible for planning and commissioning healthcare services, including inpatient acute and emergency and urgent care services.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the published response of 20 April 2022 to the Rt hon Member for South West Surrey, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, for what reason the Government has decided not to embed (a) early intervention and (b) other types of school and community-based measures for the mental health support of children and young people in statute.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
No such decision has been made. We continue to consider the Committee’s recommendations in the context of the development of a long term, cross-Government plan for mental health. We will update our response to the Committee’s recommendations once the final plan is published.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of hospitalised covid-19 patients are unvaccinated.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Between week 46 (week commencing 15 November 2021) and week 49 (week commencing 6 December 2021) there were 8235 COVID-19 cases presenting to emergency care within 28 days of a positive specimen, resulting in overnight inpatient admission. Of these, 3532 (42.9%) were not vaccinated.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made additional funding available for mental health provisions during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The Mental Health Recovery Action Plan was published in 2021, supported by an additional £500 million in 2021/22. The Plan aims to respond to the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of the public, specifically targeting groups that have been most affected including those with severe mental illness, young people, and frontline staff. This is in addition to a further investment of £2.3 billion a year in mental health services by 2023/24 through the NHS Long Term Plan. We have also provided more than £10 million to national and local mental health charities.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) steps his Department has taken and (b) additional resources his Department has made available to support mental health in Gravesham constituency and surrounding areas during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
In March 2021, we published the Mental Health Recovery Action Plan, supported by an additional £500 million in 2021/22, to address waiting times and ensure more people can access mental health services. The majority of the funding has been allocated to local National Health Service systems, including those in Kent and Medway.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to Questions 41751 and 41752 tabled by the hon. Member for Gravesham on 3 September 2021; and for what reason his answers to those questions have been delayed.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
I refer the hon. Member to the answers to Questions 41751 and 41752.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are required to monitor the number and proportion of GP appointments in their commissioning area which are being delivered face to face.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There is currently no target for the proportion of appointments in general practice which must be delivered face to face. However, practices should respect preferences for in person appointments unless there are good clinical reasons.
Commissioners use information collected locally alongside data gathered from other sources, such as the Quality and Outcomes Framework, to plan and improve general practitioner (GP) services. NHS Digital publishes GP appointment data, from planned activity recorded in GP appointment book systems, which includes face to face appointments at clinical commissioning group level. As set out in ‘Our plan for improving access for patients and supporting general practice’, NHS Digital is working to publish activity and waiting time data at individual practice level as soon as possible. This will include the proportions of appointment by different professions and by different appointment modality.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there is a target for the proportion of GP patient appointments which are delivered face to face.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There is currently no target for the proportion of appointments in general practice which must be delivered face to face. However, practices should respect preferences for in person appointments unless there are good clinical reasons.
Commissioners use information collected locally alongside data gathered from other sources, such as the Quality and Outcomes Framework, to plan and improve general practitioner (GP) services. NHS Digital publishes GP appointment data, from planned activity recorded in GP appointment book systems, which includes face to face appointments at clinical commissioning group level. As set out in ‘Our plan for improving access for patients and supporting general practice’, NHS Digital is working to publish activity and waiting time data at individual practice level as soon as possible. This will include the proportions of appointment by different professions and by different appointment modality.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
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 risk that routine requests by NHS vaccination centres for NHS and National Insurance numbers may make people who are in the UK illegally less likely to engage with the covid-19 vaccination programme.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
No such assessment has been made.
However, a National Health Service (NHS) number or national insurance number is not needed to make a booking for a COVID-19 vaccine or when attending a vaccination appointment.
As vaccination against COVID-19 is offered to every eligible adult living in the United Kingdom free of charge, regardless of their immigration status. No immigration checks are needed to receive a COVID-19 vaccination and the NHS is not required to report undocumented migrants to the Home Office.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made any special arrangements to encourage people living illegally in the UK to receive covid-19 vaccinations in recognition that those people will not have NHS or national insurance numbers and may be fearful of engaging with the covid-19 vaccination programme.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Vaccination against COVID-19 is offered to every adult living in the United Kingdom free of charge, regardless of immigration status. Entitlement to free National Health Service treatment is generally based on ordinary residence in the UK. A person who can show they have taken up ordinary residence in the UK can access all NHS services immediately, including COVID-19 vaccinations, based on clinical need. No immigration checks are needed to receive these services and the NHS is not required to report undocumented migrants to the Home Office.
An NHS number is not needed to make a booking for a COVID-19 vaccine or when attending a vaccination appointment. If individuals are registered with a general practitioner (GP), their GP will contact them in due course. If they are not registered with a GP, NHS regional teams, will contact unregistered people to ensure they are offered the vaccine. The Enhanced Service Specification: COVID-19 vaccination programme 2020/21 enables practices working within their Primary Care Network groupings from shared vaccination sites to vaccinate unregistered patients provided they are eligible.