Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has with (a) NHS trusts, (b) integrated care boards and (c) other stakeholders on the services that will be offered through integrated community musculoskeletal services.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
No discussions have been had with National Health Service trusts, integrated care boards and other stakeholders on the services that will be offered through integrated community musculoskeletal services.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average distance travelled by patients for operations for elective (a) trauma and (b) orthopaedic surgery, broken down by region.
Answered by Will Quince
This information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
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 people with arthritis who are waiting for elective surgery.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
NHS England is working to ensure and improve early diagnosis of people with arthritis, as well as treatment and care, through the Getting it Right First Time rheumatology programme. The programme published a national report on rheumatology in 2021, which makes a series of recommendations to support equitable and consistent access to diagnostic tests. Additionally, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced a range of guidance to support early diagnosis of conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
To support the health of people with arthritis while they are waiting for elective treatment, NHS England has worked with Versus Arthritis on their Joint Replacement Support Package. The National Health Service has also published resources on the My Planned Care website to support arthritis patients waiting for hip and knee surgery to maintain their health and wellbeing and to be ready for surgery when it arrives. The website is available at the following link:
https://www.myplannedcare.nhs.uk/care-support/
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
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 ensure the early diagnosis of people with arthritis.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
NHS England is working to ensure and improve early diagnosis of people with arthritis, as well as treatment and care, through the Getting it Right First Time rheumatology programme. The programme published a national report on rheumatology in 2021, which makes a series of recommendations to support equitable and consistent access to diagnostic tests. Additionally, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced a range of guidance to support early diagnosis of conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
To support the health of people with arthritis while they are waiting for elective treatment, NHS England has worked with Versus Arthritis on their Joint Replacement Support Package. The National Health Service has also published resources on the My Planned Care website to support arthritis patients waiting for hip and knee surgery to maintain their health and wellbeing and to be ready for surgery when it arrives. The website is available at the following link:
https://www.myplannedcare.nhs.uk/care-support/
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a list of the locations of (a) active and (b) planned surgical hubs.
Answered by Will Quince
In August 2022, the Department published a list of 91 hubs operational across England, as well as several new hub investments. This list is available at the following link:
Currently only 87 of these are in operation in England and 57 new surgical hubs have been proposed, of which 37 have received an NHS England approved business case, announced in February 2023.
The number of operational surgical hubs is in the process of being audited and a revised figure is expected to be updated in due course.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the level of retention was for GPs in the NHS in the latest period for which data is available; and if he will make an assessment of the reasons for this level.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
Between December 2021 and December 2022, 2,404 FTE fully-qualified GPs left general practice.
We remain committed to growing the GP workforce and number of doctors in general practice - the Government is determined to deliver this as soon as possible. There were 2,167 more full time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in general practice in December 2022 compared to December 2019. We are working with NHSE and HEE to increase the general practice workforce in England. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encourage them to return to practice.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of GPs (a) retiring and (b) leaving the profession in each of the last five years.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
As noted in the Government’s response to Question 132452, we remain committed to growing the workforce.
The number of general practitioners (GPs) leaving the profession in each of the last five years is shown in the table below.
Data on the number of GPs retiring is not held.
Period | Fully qualified GP leavers, FTE | Fully qualified GP leavers, headcount |
September 2017 - September 2018 | 2,676 | 3,891 |
September 2018 - September 2019 | 2,430 | 3,546 |
September 2019 - September 2020 | 2,242 | 3,385 |
September 2020 - September 2021 | 1,995 | 3,095 |
September 2021 - September 2022 | 2,351 | 3,657 |
The data shows GPs who left the cohort workforce between the beginning and end of each specified time period.
These figures do not capture GP migration between practices during this period.
Note: Due to data quality, a GP recorded as a leaver in these figures may have left one practice and joined another practice with poor data completion. In instances such as this, a GP will be incorrectly recorded as a leaver due to the identifying information no longer being present in the dataset. Conversely, a GP could appear in the practice cohort as a joiner but may have joined from a practice with poor data completion rather than being a new addition to the GP workforce.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to improve the recruitment and retention of GPs in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
We are working with NHS England and Health Education England to increase the general practice (GP) workforce in England, including Coventry and the West Midlands. This includes measures to boost 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.
To boost recruitment, we have increased the number of GP training places. Last year, we saw the highest ever number of doctors accepting a place on GP training, a record 4,032 trainees, up from 2,671 in 2014.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GPs there were in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last ten years; and how many GP vacancies there were in those areas in the same period.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The information for Coventry and the West Midlands is not held in the format requested. However, the following table shows the number of full time equivalent (FTE) general practitioners in the Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) and the Midlands in each year since September 2015 and in England since September 2012. Data prior to 2015 for Coventry and Warwickshire ICB and the Midlands is not held.
Date | Coventry and Warwickshire ICB | Midlands | England |
September 2022 | 705 | 7,238 | 37,026 |
September 2021 | 657 | 7,179 | 36,495 |
September 2020 | 636 | 6,901 | 35,393 |
September 2019 | 612 | 6,715 | 34,729 |
September 2018 | 618 | 6,687 | 34,369 |
September 2017 | 536 | 5,927 | 34,637 |
September 2016 | 544 | 6,115 | 35,206 |
September 2015 | 565 | 6,240 | 34,392 |
September 2014 | N/A | N/A | 36,920 |
September 2013 | N/A | N/A | 36,294 |
September 2012 | N/A | N/A | 35,871 |
Notes:
The data for the number of vacancies is not held.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
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 unpaid carers access respite care in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In 2022/23, through the Better Care Fund (BCF) £291.7 million has been allocated to provide short breaks and respite services for carers in England, including in the West Midlands and additional advice and support for carers under the Care Act 2014. Integrated care boards and local authorities must agree how carers will be supported through the BCF.