Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 ensure that patients are not adversely affected by strike action.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our priority is to keep patients as safe as possible during any industrial action. The National Health Service makes every effort through rigorous contingency planning to minimise the disruption of industrial action and its impact on patients and the public. Assessments are made by local trusts on the levels of resourcing available, and they can escalate concerns via regions and nationally, where appropriate.
The NHS works hard to prioritise resources to protect all patients using its services during the period of strike action, in particular emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, maternity, and trauma, and to ensure we prioritise patients who have waited the longest for elective care and cancer surgery.
Due to the dedication of NHS staff and a different operational approach from previous strikes, the NHS in England significantly reduced disruption to patients during resident doctor strikes in July, with data showing that 11,000 extra patients received care compared to the previous period of strike action.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the UK Health Security Agency's news story entitled Nearly 400 antibiotic-resistant infections each week in 2024, published on 13 November 2025, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the higher rates of antibiotic-resistant infections in more deprived communities.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Actions taken to tackle higher rates of resistant infections in more deprived communities include a health inequalities outcome within the latest United Kingdom antimicrobial resistance (AMR) national action plan, which is available at the following link:
Commitments under this outcome aim to improve data reporting on health inequalities in AMR and antibiotic use, publish a toolkit of resources that supports organisations to develop interventions, and implement and evaluate interventions to address inequalities in AMR.
NHS England encourages regions and integrated care boards to focus on building trust to increase the uptake of vaccinations. They work with community and faith leaders particularly in areas of high deprivation, using a make every contact count approach.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the extent of regional disparities in the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Just under 18 million people, or over 30%, of all ages in England were estimated to be affected by a musculoskeletal (MSK) condition in 2023, and improving their health and work outcomes will help deliver this Government's missions to build a National Health Service fit for the future and kickstart economic growth.
Data shows there are regional disparities in the prevalence of MSK conditions. In England in 2024, those in the most deprived Index of Multiple Deprivation decile were most likely to report a long term MSK problem, at 19.9%, compared to the least deprived decile, at 16.5%.
To tackle this, we are delivering the ‘Getting It Right First Time’ MSK Community Delivery Programme which is working to reduce MSK community waiting times, improve data and metrics and referral pathways to wider support services, which will benefit patients now and into the future.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of covering the insurance costs of employers for volunteer workers in healthcare settings.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently no plans to undertake an assessment regarding insurance arrangements for volunteer workers in healthcare settings.
Whilst all regulated healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom are legally required to maintain appropriate clinical negligence cover and most are covered by state schemes for their National Health Service work, for volunteers it depends on the arrangements made by the NHS organisation. Some volunteer organisations may already have their own insurance in place for their volunteers. It is up to individual NHS organisations to make decisions about the management and deployment of volunteers to support their service needs.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timeline is for the (a) rollout and (b) completion of the training for NHS staff on (i) identifying and (ii) supporting patients with an armed forces background.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The training and education programmes will be rolled out to all National Health Service organisations and for all NHS staff over the next two and a half years. The programmes will share best practice about how the NHS can identify and support patients with an Armed Forces background.
By the end of 2026, the target is for all board members of integrated care boards and Department national commissioning teams to have completed Armed Forces healthcare specific training. In addition, by the end of 2026, the ambition is for 200,000 NHS staff in England to have completed the training.
By 2028, the ambition is for 400,000 NHS staff to have completed Armed Forces healthcare specific training. Performance will be reviewed against ambitions regularly, and appropriate changes will be made to the programme so that uptake continually increases.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 NHS staff will receive armed forces-specific training by (a) 2026 and (b) 2028.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The training and education programmes will be rolled out to all National Health Service organisations and for all NHS staff over the next two and a half years. The programmes will share best practice about how the NHS can identify and support patients with an Armed Forces background.
By the end of 2026, the target is for all board members of integrated care boards and Department national commissioning teams to have completed Armed Forces healthcare specific training. In addition, by the end of 2026, the ambition is for 200,000 NHS staff in England to have completed the training.
By 2028, the ambition is for 400,000 NHS staff to have completed Armed Forces healthcare specific training. Performance will be reviewed against ambitions regularly, and appropriate changes will be made to the programme so that uptake continually increases.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of misophonia on the (a) social and (b) occupational outcomes of people diagnosed with that condition.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have made no such assessment, although it is recognised that misophonia can adversely affect a person’s ability to achieve life goals, communicate effectively, and enjoy social situations, and that this can have an impact on individuals’ mental health.
The National Health Service continues to support further expansion of talking therapies and the transformation of community mental health services so they can adopt an open, 'no wrong door' approach to helping people based upon their presenting needs rather than requiring a particular diagnosis. This is being built upon through the 10-Year Health Plan's commitment to roll out new 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres which will provide open door access to support without the need for a general practitioner referral or appointment.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to ensure consistency in the quality and delivery of the Armed Forces training across all NHS trusts.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Armed Forces National Training and Education programme has been developed as a series of modules which will be delivered by a dedicated Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA) trainer within each region. The Programme comprises a series of evidence-based modules that will be delivered through multiple channels, including face-to-face sessions facilitated by the team of Regional Trainers, national webinars, and e-learning packages. Plans are underway to develop a “Train the Trainer” module to support wider implementation and ensure consistency in both quality and delivery.
All module content is subject to quality assurance by the NHS Armed Forces National Team and the VCHA. The programme will undergo continuous evaluation, with updates and refinements made as appropriate.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of waiting times for orthopaedic footwear through NHS Surgical Appliances Departments.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No recent estimate of waiting times for orthopaedic footwear through National Health Service Surgical Appliances Departments has been made.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning the majority of health and care services, including podiatry services, in England. ICBs arrange healthcare services to meet the needs of their local population within the available resources, and to reduce inequalities in access to, and outcomes from, healthcare services.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 trends in the prevalence of corridor care in hospitals in Lancashire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to get the National Health Service back on its feet, so patients can be treated with dignity. We are therefore doing everything we can as fast as we can to consign the delivery of care in temporary escalation spaces to the history books.
Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, published in June 2025, set out the steps we are taking to ensure that patients will receive better, faster, and more appropriate emergency care this winter, backed by a total of nearly £450 million of funding. This includes a commitment to publish data on the prevalence of corridor care for the first time.