Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
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 increase the availability of face-to-face GP appointments in Aldershot constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that patients are finding it increasingly difficult to see a general practitioner (GP). Patients cannot get through the front door of the National Health Service, so they aren’t getting the timely care they need.
We have pledged to guarantee a face-to-face appointment for all those who want one. We will make sure the future of general practice is sustainable by training thousands more GPs, ensuring increased capacity across the NHS to deliver this commitment and secure a future pipeline of GPs.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of people who were diagnosed with HIV in Aldershot constituency in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
While the information is not collected in the format requested, the following table shows the number of people diagnosed with HIV for the local authority of Rushmoor, which covers the Aldersholt constituency, from 2018 to 2022:
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
HIV diagnoses | 3 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 11 |
HIV diagnoses first made in England | 2 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
Source: HIV annual data tables are published on the GOV.UK website, and are available at the following link:
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
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 access to NHS dentistry in Aldershot constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
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 provision of NHS dentists in Aldershot constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care, including dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. According to the 2024 GP patient survey results, 81% of people who tried to get a National Health Service dentist appointment in the last two years in Frimley ICB were successful compared to 76% in England. Of those who tried to get an appointment in the last two years, 87% of existing patients were successful compared to 35% of new patients.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children aged 11 and under were admitted to hospital for a tooth extraction due to decay in Aldershot constituency in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data requested for the Aldershot constituency is not available, as it is not obtainable at a constituency level.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children aged four and under were admitted to hospital for a tooth extraction due to decay in Aldershot constituency in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data requested for the Aldershot constituency is not available, as it is not obtainable at a constituency level.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of dental practices were rated as good by the Care Quality Commission in Aldershot constituency on 3 September 2024.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates all health and social care services in England. The Commission ensures quality and safety across a range of sectors that deliver health and care to people in England.
The CQC carries out assessments of approximately 10% of registered primary dental services, to determine if they are compliant with regulations. However, they do not rate dental services in the same way they do for the other services they regulate. Data held by the CQC on the active dental locations in the Aldershot constituency that have been assessed is undergoing quality assurance, and is currently unavailable.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
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 trends in rates of perinatal mortality in Aldershot constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While no specific assessment has been made of the trends in rates of perinatal mortality in the Aldershot constituency, NHS England does collect some data on perinatal mortality through the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS), although this is not collected for individual National Health Service trusts in England. Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE) is the gold standard for mortality data, and produces the national perinatal mortality figures. MBRRACE uses the data collected in the MSDS and combines it with other data sources to build an accurate picture of perinatal mortality in England.
The MBRRACE Perinatal Mortality tool allows you to view trends for trusts and health boards which can be compared against other trusts in the region, and is available at the following link:
https://timms.le.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk-perinatal-mortality/data-viewer/
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
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 increase uptake of breast cancer screening in Aldershot constituency.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
In Aldershot at a local level, the team will soon start trialling an animated video to promote breast screening. This has been developed in partnership with Imperial College London.
On a national level, NHS England has developed an improvement plan in collaboration with key stakeholders to support local and regional uptake, which includes: expanding access and reducing inequalities by increasing the use of evidence based and evaluated interventions, focusing on low uptake areas and groups; improved data and analytics by ensuring we have the availability of population level data to show insights into uptake and support services, to deliver targeted initiatives; IT developments to continue development of the breast screening IT systems, as part of the Digital Transformation of Screening programme, and by starting a programme of work to enable people to book appointments through the NHS App; contracting and service oversight, by strengthening contracting mechanisms and performance management to monitor impact and benefits; and communication, by ensuring the programme has appropriate inclusive and accessible communication mechanisms and materials.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
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 (a) GP and (b) dental provision in Aldershot constituency; and what plans he has to improve that provision.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that patients are finding it harder than ever to see a general practitioner (GP) or National Health Service dentist, and we are committed to fixing the the crisis in primary care to secure the long-term sustainability of the NHS, and increase access to local services including those in the Aldershot constituency. Aldershot sits within the NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board (ICB), where the percentage of GP appointments delivered within two weeks of booking is 3.2% lower than the national average. Our annual statistics show that in 2023, only 40% of the adult population in the Frimley ICB were seen by an NHS dentist in the last two years, compared with 41% nationally.
Our plan to restore GPs will require both investment and reform. We have committed to training thousands more GPs, ending the 8:00am scramble for appointments by introducing a modern booking system, and trialing new neighborhood health centers to bring community health services together under one roof. Furthermore, the Government will also bring back the family doctor by incentivising GPs to see the same patient. The Government will also tackle the immediate dental crisis with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments, and to recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most.