Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 (a) diagnoses, (b) treatment options and (c) support for people living with chronic urinary tract infections; and whether he plans to increase levels of funding for research into (i) alternative therapies, (ii) phage therapy and (iii) advanced drug delivery methods to combat antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Support for those affected by chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) is locally led and commissioned by integrated care boards (ICBs) to meet the needs of their local populations. NHS England is supporting research and working with industry to horizon scan for new innovations in point-of-care tests for diagnosing UTIs, to better guide treatment options. The importance of ensuring rapid, accurate diagnostic testing is available to guide effective antibiotic use is highlighted in the policy paper, Confronting antimicrobial resistance 2024 to 2029, which is available at the following link:
The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Over the past five years, the NIHR has allocated a total of over £20 million to the development of new antibiotics and alternative therapies. The Department has a large anti-microbial resistance (AMR) research portfolio, with over £88 million invested over the last five years in NIHR research programme funding for AMR. Building on previous NIHR funding, a dedicated NIHR Health Protection Research Unit on healthcare associated infections and antimicrobial resistance recently launched with funding increased to £11 million over the next five years.
The policy paper also acknowledges the potential of alternative therapies, including bacteriophage (phage) therapy, in combating AMR. The Government continues to engage with phage researchers and industry stakeholders, including the Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Network Phage Innovation Network, chaired by the UK Health Security Agency. By fostering research, adapting regulations, and engaging key stakeholders, the United Kingdom is working to unlock the potential of phage therapy in the fight against AMR.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 help improve the effectiveness of the internal NHS complaints system.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients have the right to complain about any aspect of National Health Service care, treatment, or service. The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 set out the minimum standards NHS organisations must adhere to in respect of their complaint handling arrangements.
The Department has worked closely with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on their work to develop the NHS Complaint Standards, which set out how organisations providing services in the NHS should approach complaint handling. The standards place a strong focus on several key aspects of complaint handling and set out practical advice and good practice to help NHS organisations improve.
In addition to these arrangements, the Care Quality Commission has an important role in ensuring NHS providers have an effective and accessible system for handling complaints from service users.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 for ministerial visits to hospitals in Hampshire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers regularly consider visits across the country to see the impact of their policy areas. Any plans to visit specific locations will be notified to the relevant Members of Parliament in advance.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 estimated cost to the public purse of maintenance on Basingstoke Hospital before its rebuild in 2037.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service trusts are responsible for maintaining their estates using their annual capital allocations, including surveying facilities and estimating future maintenance costs.
The Government is backing the NHS with over £4 billion in operational capital and £750 million for estates safety in 2025/26, enabling systems to allocate funding according to local priorities, including maintenance at New Hospital Programme sites. In 2025/26, the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Integrated Care System (ICS) had been provisionally allocated £118.2 million in operational capital, including primary care business as usual capital, and £21.3 million for estates safety. The Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is encouraged to engage with the ICS to explore options to allocate the 2025/26 operational capital and national capital programme allocations towards maintenance needs at Basingstoke Hospital. The current Spending Review concluding in June 2025 will determine capital funding levels for future years, and will consider the needs of the NHS estate.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 ensure that levels of adult social care funding are adequate to (a) meet care requirements, (b) support people at risk of being placed into residential homes and (c) ensure quality of life.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.
This is alongside an £86 million uplift to the Disabled Facilities Grant to support an approximate additional 7,800 adaptations to homes for those with social care needs, to reduce hospitalisations and prolong independence.
Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population, which is why, under the Care Act 2014, they are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 capacity of spaces in the Overseas Registration Exam for dentists residing in the UK.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) exam is operated by the General Dental Council (GDC). The GDC is independent of Government.
It is the role of the GDC to approve eligibility criteria for the ORE. There are no restrictions on accessing the exam based on the residency status of the candidate.
The GDC is working to put new ORE provider contracts in place in 2025 which will increase the flexibility and availability of the exam, further expanding capacity. Officials will continue to discuss the new arrangements with the GDC and monitor their progress. I am due to meet with the GDC after Easter recess.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 reduce mental health waiting times; and whether he plans to set specific targets to ensure that people in full time work receive timely access to therapy and specialist support.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long. We are determined to change that by improving mental health care across the spectrum of need.
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to cut wait times and provide faster treatment.
We are meeting the constitutional waiting time standards we have in place for the two mental health pathways: NHS Talking Therapies for common mental health conditions, and Early Intervention in Psychosis. We also have targets for eating disorder services for children and young people. Despite the challenging fiscal environment, the Government has chosen to prioritise funding to deliver expansions of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement & Support schemes, demonstrating our commitment to addressing the root cause of mental health issues and providing support for people with severe mental illness to contribute to the economy by remaining in or returning to work.
Since 2023, NHS England began to publish data for the first time on the number of people waiting for mental health services, in line with the Clinical Review of Standards for mental health.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 ensure that there are adequate numbers of specialty training places for junior doctors who have completed foundation years one and two; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the number of specialty medical training places available is adequate to provide for future increases in numbers of university medical school places.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.
We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.
To reform the NHS and make it fit for the future, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of the Government’s five long-term missions. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. We will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 ensure that NHS Integrated Care Boards provide community-based ear wax removal services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a statutory responsibility to commission cost-effective healthcare to meet the needs of their local population. This includes the arrangement of ear wax removal services.
Manual ear syringing is no longer advised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) due to the risks associated with it, such as trauma to their ear drum or infection, so general practitioners (GPs) will often recommend home treatment remedies to alleviate ear wax build-up.
However, in line with the NICE’s guidance, a person may require ear wax removal treatment if the build-up of earwax is linked with hearing loss. A GP could then consider referring the patient into audiology services, which ICBs are responsible for commissioning.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 (a) increase social care funding and (b) support local authorities with increases in demand for care services in North East Hampshire constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.
The additional funding available to Hampshire in 2025/26 means that they will see an increase to their core spending power of up to 6.7% in cash terms.