Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria he uses for defining whether an area is a dental desert; and in what areas dentistry graduates will receive golden hellos.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
‘Dental desert’ is a term used colloquially to describe areas struggling with access to National Health Service dentistry. There are a range of metrics which can be used to assess dental access.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population is delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England.
ICBs have started to recruit posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years. Dental practices in specific areas, determined locally, were invited by their ICBs to express interest in participating in the scheme and notified of the outcome of their application via their ICB. Further information on the process can be found in guidance issued by NHS England, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/dental-recruitment-incentive-scheme-2024-25/
As of 16 December 2024, 706 Expressions of Interest have been received of which 320 have been approved for participation in the Dental Recruitment Incentive Scheme. 212 posts have been advertised, with 19 dentists commenced in post.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the planned additional 700,000 urgent dental appointments a year will be in (a) Bedfordshire and (b) the East of England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to tackling the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care. We are working to ensure patients can start to access 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments as soon as possible, targeting areas that need them most including the East of England.
We will set out further information on this commitment, including how this will be measured, in due course.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for recruiting 8,500 additional mental health workers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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 reduce waiting times and provide faster treatment.
We recognise that bringing in the staff needed will take time. The decision for the timetable of recruiting the 8,500 additional mental health workers is still ongoing. We are working with NHS England on options to deliver this expansion of the mental health workforce.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on neurodiversity-affirmative approaches in schools.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has regular discussions on a wide range of matters with Cabinet colleagues, including my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department is taking to improve the availability of (a) eye clinic appointments and (b) hospital eye services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and have the best possible experience during their care. As of October 2024, the waiting list for ophthalmology services stands at just over 593,000. 66.1% of these involved treatment within 18 weeks.
This is not good enough, and we have committed to getting back to the NHS Constitutional standard that 92% of patients should be seen within 18 weeks of referral, by the end of this Parliament, across all specialities. Funding announced in the Autumn Budget will support delivery of an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments during our first year in Government, which is equivalent to 40,000 per week, as a first step towards achieving this.
NHS England is also testing how improved IT connectivity between primary care optometry and secondary eye care services could improve the referral process and allow for the virtual triage of patients. This also includes looking at whether patients can be managed in the community, freeing up hospital eye clinic capacity for patients that need face to face specialist input.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) mental health and (b) dementia related hospital admissions took place during heatwaves in 2024.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of A&E visits resulting from animal bites.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes data on the number of hospital attendances, and this information is available at the following link:
This includes the number of attendances due to external causes, including animal bites. In 2023/24, there were 53 hospital attendances in England where the primary diagnosis was recorded as an animal bite.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Rare Diseases Framework to include provisions for improving patient-centred care pathways for Achalasia.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as achalasia. The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities, collaboratively developed with the rare disease community, which include better coordination of care and improving access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs. We remain committed to delivering under the framework, and will publish an annual England action plan in 2025.
There are no plans to amend the UK Rare Disease Framework for this condition. The framework is a high-level document focused on improving the lives of all people living with rare conditions. Whilst there are approximately 7,000 rare conditions, many share common challenges, which the framework seeks to address.
Pathways for managing patients with achalasia are set out in the NHS England Specialised Commissioning Paediatric Medicine: Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Service Specification. This specification is due to be updated in 2024/25.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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 promote the uptake of (a) Covid-19 and (b) flu vaccinations in the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB area.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The 2024 Get Winter Strong campaign supports the uptake of winter vaccinations for influenza and COVID-19. Launched on 23 September, it focuses on eligible cohorts with low uptake, including pregnant women, parents of two to three-year-olds, for the flu only, and people with long-term health conditions.
Activity includes paid-for marketing and partnerships, no-cost national media, and social and stakeholder engagement. Advertising is delivered across public spaces, video on demand, and live television. Partnerships with YouTube creators and the online network for parents Netmums target specific, eligible audiences. Media and other no-cost activities will continue into 2025, using virus surveillance and vaccine uptake data from the UK Health Security Agency and the National Health Service.
Specific actions by the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board include a well-publicised winter plan, promoting vaccine uptake via a variety of mediums, and outreach campaigns targeted to low uptake groups, schools, and health settings.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the data dashboard on UK gynaecology waits published by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on 24 July 2024, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential reasons for differences in growth of waiting lists for (a) gynaecology and (b) other elective specialties.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that patients are waiting too long to get the care they need, including the nearly 600,000 on gynaecology waiting lists.
We are looking into this issue to understand what is driving demand for gynaecology and what steps we could take to return to the 18-week standard. Women’s health hubs play a key role in shifting care from hospitals to the community. There are a range of efforts underway to address challenges identified, including support to trusts where performance is of concern, ongoing efforts to transform outpatient pathways, and the use of surgical hubs which provide high volume low complexity surgery, including for gynaecology.
Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission. We will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments per week, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring that patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks. The Government will prioritise women’s health as we build a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future, modernising care so that it takes place efficiently and closer to home, prioritising patient experience, and ensuring that regardless of what treatment you are waiting for, you will be seen, diagnosed, and treated in a timely way.