Asked by: Alun Cairns (Conservative - Vale of Glamorgan)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses have been recruited from overseas in each last five years.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The following tables show people with a non-United Kingdom nationality joining the National Health Service, not people who have been recruited directly from abroad.
NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers.
The following table shows the number of doctors with a nationality other than British joining NHS trusts and CCGs as at September 2019 and at each year since 2014 (headcount).
| September 2014-15 | September 2015-16 | September 2016-17 | September 2017-18 | September 2018-19 |
European Union | 2,259 | 2,262 | 2,087 | 2,117 | 2,088 |
European Economic Area (EEA) | 43 | 36 | 44 | 46 | 38 |
Rest of World | 3,161 | 3,374 | 3,872 | 4,675 | 6,670 |
Unknown | 791 | 807 | 1,143 | 931 | 713 |
The following table shows the number of nurses with a nationality other than British joining the NHS trusts and CCGs as at September 2019 and at each year since 2014 (headcount).
| September 2014-15 | September 2015-16 | September 2016-17 | September 2017-18 | September 2018-19 |
EU | 5,817 | 5,941 | 2,779 | 2,313 | 2,328 |
EEA | 21 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 18 |
Rest of World | 2,161 | 2,782 | 2,993 | 4,325 | 7,068 |
Unknown | 1,417 | 1,817 | 1,167 | 1,078 | 733 |
Asked by: Alun Cairns (Conservative - Vale of Glamorgan)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of overseas (a) doctors and (b) nurses have indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Alun Cairns (Conservative - Vale of Glamorgan)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on the availability of medicinal cannabis; and if he will list the medical conditions that the NHS treats with medicinal cannabis.
Answered by Jo Churchill
On 1 November 2018, the law was changed to allow clinicians on the General Medical Council’s (GMC) Specialist Register to prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use, where clinically appropriate and in the best interests of patients. The law does not restrict the medical conditions for which these products may be used, and the decision of whether to prescribe is ultimately one for clinicians to make on a case by case basis.
Two reviews have taken place since this change in the law:
- On 8 August 2019, NHS England and NHS Improvement published its review into barriers to accessing cannabis-based products for medicinal use on NHS prescription which is available at the following link:
- On 11 November 2019, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), following a review of the available evidence, published guidance on the prescribing of cannabis-based medicinal products which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng144
This demonstrates a clear need for more evidence to support prescribing and funding decisions of cannabis-based medicines for intractable nausea and vomiting; chronic pain; spasticity; and severe treatment-resistant epilepsy.
We continue to work hard with the health system, industry and researchers to improve the evidence base for cannabis-based medicines and to implement the recommendations of NHS England and NHS Improvement’s review.
Asked by: Alun Cairns (Conservative - Vale of Glamorgan)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to review his policy on the prescribing of medicinal cannabis.
Answered by Jo Churchill
On 1 November 2018, the law was changed to allow clinicians on the General Medical Council’s (GMC) Specialist Register to prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use, where clinically appropriate and in the best interests of patients. The law does not restrict the medical conditions for which these products may be used, and the decision of whether to prescribe is ultimately one for clinicians to make on a case by case basis.
Two reviews have taken place since this change in the law:
- On 8 August 2019, NHS England and NHS Improvement published its review into barriers to accessing cannabis-based products for medicinal use on NHS prescription which is available at the following link:
- On 11 November 2019, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), following a review of the available evidence, published guidance on the prescribing of cannabis-based medicinal products which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng144
This demonstrates a clear need for more evidence to support prescribing and funding decisions of cannabis-based medicines for intractable nausea and vomiting; chronic pain; spasticity; and severe treatment-resistant epilepsy.
We continue to work hard with the health system, industry and researchers to improve the evidence base for cannabis-based medicines and to implement the recommendations of NHS England and NHS Improvement’s review.