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Written Question
Veterans: Disability Aids
Wednesday 30th November 2022

Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)

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 support ex-service personnel who require (a) specialised wheelchairs or (b) other mobility aids but are not supplied or supported by statutory means.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The National Health Service in England has a statutory responsibility to provide care and treatment for veterans’ mobility requirements. A range of equipment is available, following an assessment of clinical need. Bespoke NHS support for veterans is also available, such as personal wheelchair budgets. In addition, the Health Innovation Fund was launched in July 2022 to support organisations to research and trial technology which could assist veterans with complex healthcare needs.


Written Question
Veterans: Hearing Impairment
Wednesday 30th November 2022

Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)

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 impact of the closure of the Veterans Hearing Fund on (a) veterans and (b) veterans’ charities.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

No specific assessment has been made. However, we are working with NHS England to ensure that provision and support remains for previous users of the Fund. Veterans can be referred to National Health Service audiologists to access any clinically required equipment.


Written Question
General Practitioners: Eltham
Thursday 3rd November 2022

Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that surgeries in Eltham constituency can fill GP vacancies.

Answered by Neil O'Brien

We are working with NHS England, Health Education England and the profession to increase the general practice workforce in England, including in Eltham. This includes measures to improve recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encourage them to return to practice.

The updated GP Contract Framework announced a number of new schemes, alongside continued support for existing recruitment and retention schemes for the general practice workforce. This includes the GP Retention Scheme, the GP Retention Fund, the National GP Induction and Refresher, the Locum Support Scheme, the New to Partnership Payment and the Supporting Mentors Scheme. We made £520 million available to improve access and expand general practice capacity during the pandemic. This is in addition to at least £1.5 billion to create an additional 50 million general practice appointments by 2024 by increasing and diversifying the workforce.


Written Question
Eating Disorders: Eltham
Wednesday 26th October 2022

Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help support young people with eating disorders in Eltham constituency.

Answered by Caroline Johnson

In September we announced ‘Our Plan for Patients’, which outlines how we will increase access to National Health Service mental health and eating disorder services, including in Eltham. Making it easier to access general practice through our ABCD priorities will expand this route as a gateway to mental health care.

Through the NHS Long Term Plan, we are investing an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 to expand these services for adults, children and young people in England, including in Eltham.

We will invest approximately £1 billion in community mental health care for adults with severe mental illness, including eating disorders, by 2023/24 and an additional £53 million per year in children and young people's community eating disorder services to increase capacity in the 70 community eating disorder teams.


Written Question
Mental Health Services: Eltham
Wednesday 26th October 2022

Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help improve access to mental health services in Eltham constituency.

Answered by Caroline Johnson

In September we announced ‘Our Plan for Patients’, which outlines how we will increase access to National Health Service mental health and eating disorder services, including in Eltham. Making it easier to access general practice through our ABCD priorities will expand this route as a gateway to mental health care.

Through the NHS Long Term Plan, we are investing an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 to expand these services for adults, children and young people in England, including in Eltham.

We will invest approximately £1 billion in community mental health care for adults with severe mental illness, including eating disorders, by 2023/24 and an additional £53 million per year in children and young people's community eating disorder services to increase capacity in the 70 community eating disorder teams.


Written Question
General Practitioners: Eltham
Thursday 20th October 2022

Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support her Department has provided to GP surgeries in Eltham constituency to help tackle increased workloads.

Answered by Will Quince

We made £520 million available to expand general practice capacity during the pandemic. This was in addition to at least £1.5 billion announced in 2020 by 2024 which includes supporting increased workloads in general practitioner (GP) surgeries, including in Eltham. In September 2022, ‘Our plan for patients’ announced measures to support GP practices increase access and manage workloads, such as the provision of 31,000 phone lines and funding to expand the staff roles working in general practice, including in Eltham.


Written Question
NHS: Greater London
Wednesday 19th October 2022

Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her department is taking to help tackle NHS workforce shortages in healthcare trusts in southeast London.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan will consider the number of staff and the roles required and will set out the actions and reforms needed to improve workforce supply and retention, including in south east London.


Written Question
Social Services: Greater London
Tuesday 18th October 2022

Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many social care places there were in southeast London on 1 October (a) 2019 and (b) 2022; and what assessment she has made of the capacity of provision to meet future demand in that area.

Answered by Neil O'Brien

No specific assessment has been made. Local authorities have a responsibility under the Care Act 2014 to ensure that the care needs of the local population are met.


Written Question
Surgery: Greater London
Tuesday 18th October 2022

Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her department is taking to reduce waiting times for elective surgeries at each healthcare trust in southeast London.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years, including in south east London. We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity. This funding aims to deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million additional checks and procedures and 30% further elective activity by 2024/25 than pre-pandemic levels. A proportion of this funding will be invested in workforce capacity and training and we have committed to invest £5.9 billion for new beds, equipment and technology.

The target to eliminate waiting times of two years or more for elective procedures was met in July 2022 and we aim to eliminate waiting time of eighteen months or more by April 2023. This will be achieved through increasing capacity, seeking alternate capacity in other trusts or the independent sector and engaging with patients to understand choices made regarding their care.


Written Question
Breast Cancer: Eltham
Tuesday 18th October 2022

Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the uptake of breast cancer screening in Eltham constituency.

Answered by Will Quince

The Department is working with NHS England to finalise the delivery of £10 million for breast screening units, including determining which areas will benefit from this investment.

National Health Service breast screening providers are also encouraged to work with Cancer Alliances, Primary Care Networks, NHS regional teams and the voluntary sector to promote the uptake of breast screening and ensure access to services.