Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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 increase the provision of radiographers in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan, which will be published this summer, will deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and will ensure that the National Health Service has the right people, including radiographers, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.
To supplement the student loan support provided by the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care provides non-repayable and non-income assessed funding via the NHS Learning Support Fund. All eligible nursing, midwifery and allied health professions students, including those studying radiography, receive a grant of £5,000 per academic year. Radiography students receive an additional specialist subject payment of £1,000 per year, with a further £2,000 per year available for childcare, as well as support for placement travel and accommodation costs. Students in exceptional hardship can also access up to a further £3,000 per year.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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 potential impact of AI on (a) hospital waiting times and (b) the number of missed appointments.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have huge potential in improving productivity across the National Health Service by supporting clinicians with faster and more accurate diagnosis, enhancing clinical decision-making about treatment plans, and reducing the administrative burden faced by healthcare staff. The Department and NHS England are developing guidance for the responsible use of these tools and how they can be rolled out to make the day-to-day operations of the NHS more productive.
Patients have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need. Currently, the waiting list stands at 7.48 million, with only 59% waiting less than 18 weeks for treatment. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment. The plan includes exploring opportunities for digital innovation and looking at where these can be adopted more widely to improve patient experience and care. For example, some trusts are using AI as part of their process for waiting list validation in addition to clinical validation, which helps to ensure waiting lists are accurate and up to date as well as enabling more efficient use of clinical time.
Other areas of digital innovation across the NHS include the use of AI prediction that helps prevent missed appointments and maximise clinic utilisation by supporting teams to fill appointments that patients can no longer use. The Elective Reform Plan commits to enhance two-way communication between hospitals and patients and use the results of AI work to predict who will miss appointments to target communications and prevent up to one million missed appointments.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what changes have there been in the number of GPs working between 5 July 2024 and 31 January 2025 in Bromsgrove constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practice workforce data is available for the last working day of every month and is published approximately four weeks after collection. Therefore, we present data for 31 July 2024 and 31 December 2024.
Between 31 July 2024 and 31 December 2024, the number of fully qualified general practitioners (GPs) in general practice in Bromsgrove constituency increased by 0.1 full-time equivalent (FTE). Including GPs in training grade, the number of doctors in general practice increased by 2.3 FTE over the same period.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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 merits of reducing academic barriers to entry to the nursing profession.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made.
Universities are responsible for setting their entry requirements in line with standards of proficiency, conduct and performance of nurses, as set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. It would not be appropriate for the Government to intervene in this process, to respect the independence and expertise of universities and regulators designing standards and curricular that ensure public safety.
For those whom a traditional full-time university course is not practical or preferred, there is an alternative route into the nursing profession via a registered nurse degree apprenticeship.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the terms of reference for the independent commission into adult social care to be led by Baroness Casey; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including in the terms of reference local authority funding for adult social care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We expect to publish terms of reference when the commission formally starts in April 2025. The commission will set out a vision for adult social care, with recommended measures and a roadmap for delivery. This will include setting out the plan for how to implement a National Care Service that is able to meet the needs of older and disabled people over the coming decades.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the impact of adult social care obligations on local authorities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Department ministers regularly discuss a range of topics with other Cabinet colleagues. In response to the pressures facing adult social care, the Government will make up to £3.5 billion of additional funding for social care authorities available in 2025/26, which includes a £680 million increase in the Social Care Grant.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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 adequacy of the GP-to-patient ratio in Bromsgrove constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In August 2024, the median number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) doctors in general practice (GP) per 10,000 registered patients in the Bromsgrove constituency was 7.2. The median number nationally of FTE fully qualified GPs per 10,000 registered patients was 5.7.