Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the use of artificial intelligence technology in radiotherapy treatment in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2020, the Department has provided £123 million to 86 artificial intelligence (AI) technologies through the AI in Health and Care Award. The Award is accelerating the testing and evaluation of the most promising AI technologies likely to meet the aims set out in the NHS Long Term Plan.
Funding was provided for two projects, one from Mirada Medical and one led by Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust (project OSAIRIS), that specialise in assisting clinicians by automatically segmenting radiotherapy scans. The current process requires a time-consuming manual procedure, outlining healthy organs to be avoided during radiotherapy treatment. These technologies could significantly reduce the time from people being referred for radiotherapy to starting treatment. Award funding was granted to generate more evidence and test the feasibility of AI tools of this type.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government which body is currently in charge of the commissioning of radiotherapy services in England; and whether they have any plans to change this over the next two years.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is the accountable commissioner for radiotherapy services, and as such is responsible for setting evidence-based national service standards for radiotherapy, including service specifications and clinical commissioning policies. There are no plans for this to change in the future.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase national capacity in (1) cancer treatment units, and (2) radiotherapy units, in line with the increase in patients diagnosed with cancer.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England Specialised Commissioning is the responsible commissioner for all radiotherapy services across England and so is responsible for setting evidence-based national service standards for radiotherapy, including service specifications, clinical commissioning policies, and the introduction of more centres and units for radiotherapy.
In the 2023/24 Operational Planning Guidance, NHS England announced it is providing over £390 million in cancer service development funding to cancer alliances in each of the next two years to support delivery of the strategy and the operational priorities for cancer which includes increasing and prioritising diagnostic and treatment capacity for cancer.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to publish a list of English hospitals and medical schools that have partnered in any capacity with organisations and institutions in China involved in organ transplantation.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not held centrally. Any professional, research or educational partnerships between medical schools, hospitals and other centres are managed by individual institutions.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Royal College of Nursing Nursing Under Unsustainable Pressures: Staffing for Safe and Effective Care in the UK, published on 6 June; and what steps they intend to take in response to the findings in that report that (1) 83 per cent of respondents reported there were not enough nursing staff on their last shift to meet all patient needs safely and effectively, and (2) only 25 per cent of shifts had the planned number of registered nurses.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Government welcomes the publication of the Royal College of Nursing’s report and shares its aim of a well-supported nursing workforce. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, the Care Quality Commission ensures that providers comply with Regulation 18 on suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who receive effective support, supervision and development and effectively deliver safe care which meets patients’ individual needs.
The Government has also committed to deliver 50,000 more nurses and ensure the National Health Service can access a sustainable long-term workforce supply. We are currently on schedule to meet this commitment, with 30,000 additional nurses in March 2022 compared to September 2019.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Royal College of Nursing Nursing Under Unsustainable Pressures: Staffing for Safe and Effective Care in the UK, published on 6 June; and what assessment they have made of any risks posed to patients' lives resulting from the "unsustainable pressure" on nursing staff due to staff shortages.
Answered by Lord Kamall
We welcome the Royal College of Nursing’s report and share its aim for a well-supported nursing workforce. While no specific assessment has been made, evidence-based decision-making on safe and effective staffing is a requirement for all National Health Service organisations. We have committed to deliver an additional 50,000 nurses and ensure the NHS can access a sustainable long-term workforce supply. In March 2022, the number of nurses has increased by more than 30,000 compared to September 2019.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by the Royal College of Nursing Nursing Under Unsustainable Pressures: Staffing for Safe and Effective Care in the UK, published on 6 June, what steps they will take in response to that report's call for the Government to publish an "independently verifiable assessment of health and care workforce requirements to meet the needs of the population and address health inequalities.”
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Department commissioned Health Education England to review the long-term framework for the health and regulated social care workforce, to ensure that the right skills, values and behaviours are available to deliver high quality care. This review is nearing completion and further information will be available in due course. In addition, the Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long term workforce plan and its conclusions will also be available in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have provided support to Swinton Lock Activity Centre in Rotherham for the provision of counselling and other services for victims and survivors of sexual exploitation.
Answered by Baroness Manzoor
NHS England is providing NHS Rotherham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) with £250,000 in 2018/19 and 2019/20, which is being invested in setting up and running a trauma and resilience service, specifically for survivors and victims identified by Operation Stovewood, an investigation by the National Crime Agency into non-familial child sexual exploitation and abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. A major element of this work is developing a mental health trauma pathway for victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation (CSE). This service also supports other agencies and frontline staff where survivors do not want a new worker involved in their care.
A further £100,000 has been provided by NHS England to NHS Rotherham CCG in extending the trauma and resilience service to support counselling and provide additional training for frontline workers, predominantly in voluntary and community sector.
NHS Rotherham CCG has invested significantly in the local child and adolescent mental health service and has spent over £50,000 on CSE training and awareness for frontline health and care staff.
In Rotherham, the local authority contributes funding for Swinton Lock Activity Centre. NHS Rotherham CCG focuses investment on health services for survivors and victims of CSE and their families.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have reserved mental health funding specifically for survivors of sexual exploitation in Rotherham and their families; and if so, how much.
Answered by Baroness Manzoor
NHS England is providing NHS Rotherham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) with £250,000 in 2018/19 and 2019/20, which is being invested in setting up and running a trauma and resilience service, specifically for survivors and victims identified by Operation Stovewood, an investigation by the National Crime Agency into non-familial child sexual exploitation and abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. A major element of this work is developing a mental health trauma pathway for victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation (CSE). This service also supports other agencies and frontline staff where survivors do not want a new worker involved in their care.
A further £100,000 has been provided by NHS England to NHS Rotherham CCG in extending the trauma and resilience service to support counselling and provide additional training for frontline workers, predominantly in voluntary and community sector.
NHS Rotherham CCG has invested significantly in the local child and adolescent mental health service and has spent over £50,000 on CSE training and awareness for frontline health and care staff.
In Rotherham, the local authority contributes funding for Swinton Lock Activity Centre. NHS Rotherham CCG focuses investment on health services for survivors and victims of CSE and their families.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure patient safety and wellbeing in the light of the expected reduction in funding for district nurse training in England from September 2019.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Community health care services are a crucial part of the health and social care system that allows patients to be cared for at the right time in the right place.
NHS Digital data shows a reduction in the number of full time equivalent district nurses in England from 7,546 in September 2010 to 4,587 in May 2018. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers. The number of district nurses in independent healthcare providers increased by 273, from September 2010 to September 2017. As a result of changes made in 2009 to the ways in which community services are provided – i.e. from a range of different types of provider – this does not represent the full picture and there will be a number of district nurses providing National Health Service services in organisations that do not provide a return to the Electronic Staff Records.
The training of new district nurses is important in maintaining a workforce that can deliver the needs of the population in the community. Health Education England has commissioned and funded the District Nursing Specialist Practice Qualification at a steady state over the last six years. These are based upon the requirements that local providers have informed Health Education England. However, year on year these commissions are not fully taken up and therefore Health Education England is working to better understand the reasons this may be.
Health Education England is now exploring the capacity and capability required of our community workforce to best meet the future needs of the population. Health Education England is evaluating the skills and knowledge required within the wider community workforce including district nurses. This has involved extensive engagement across England to understand how best to meet to needs of the local population, as well as develop a role that has a more desirable career pathway for prospective healthcare professionals. The Government is also supporting incentives for postgraduates who go on to work in community nursing roles, including ‘golden hellos’.
Patient safety remains a key priority for the Department and in 2017 we restated our commitment to the NHS being the “safest healthcare system in the world”. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) assesses all registered providers that deliver regulated activities against the Fundamental Standards, below which the standard of care must not fall. Staffing is one of the Standards, and the CQC inspections check that sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff are deployed within service providers. To this effect we would expect providers to continue to ensure patient safety in the community.