Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Hospitals Transformation Programme aims to improve ambulance delays as a result of improving hospital emergency facilities in Shrewsbury.
Answered by Edward Argar
The acute sustainability and reconfiguration plans delivered through Hospital Transformation Programme include the creation of a new, dedicated, and integrated emergency care service. This is alongside on-site, co-located medical and surgical specialities, which will support a reduction in overall waiting times for ambulance conveyances and deliver earlier access for patients to specialist consultants and multidisciplinary teams.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Transforming Hospitals Programme will improve care for patients who are currently experiencing long delays between call and treatment for (a) cardiac conditions and (b) strokes.
Answered by Edward Argar
The Hospital Transformation Programme includes the creation of a dedicated and integrated emergency care service, with co-located medical and surgical specialities. This will support a reduction in overall waiting times for ambulance conveyances and deliver earlier access for patients to specialist consultants and multidisciplinary teams, including for the treatment of cardiac conditions and strokes.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients in Shropshire waited for longer than an hour for an ambulance to arrive following the initial 999 call being made in the period January to April 2022 with call categorisations of (a) chest pain and (b) stroke.
Answered by Edward Argar
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has received the Strategic Outline Case for the Hospitals Transformation Programme for Shropshire; when a decision about that case is likely to be made; whether his Department plans to fast track the subsequent Full Business Case; and when he expects building work to commence at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital site.
Answered by Edward Argar
The Department has received the Strategic Outline Case for the scheme. The case is currently under review and a decision will be made in due course. Once approved, the scheme will progress to the Outline Business Case stage. The business case process is led by the Trust and we will continue to work with them to agree a suitable timetable. Funding will be made available following approval of the Full Business Case. Funding may be made available prior to this where appropriate, such as to support the development of the business case or for early enabling works.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has received the Strategic Outline Case for the Hospitals Transformation Programme in Shropshire; when his Department is expected to make a decision on that plan; whether consideration of the subsequent full business case will be fast-tracked by his Department; and when he expects the building work to commence at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
Answered by Edward Argar
The Department has received the Strategic Outline Case for the scheme. The case is currently under review and a decision will be made in due course. Once approved, the scheme will progress to the Outline Business Case stage. The business case process is led by the Trust and we will continue to work with them to agree a suitable timetable. Funding will be made available following approval of the Full Business Case. Funding may be made available prior to this where appropriate, such as to support the development of the business case or for early enabling works.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to help with the provision of new NHS dental practices.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
New National Health Service dental contracts are commissioned where additional need is identified according to regional budgets or in cases where contracts are handed back. Commissioners work with local stakeholders to identify need in these cases. The Department, NHS England and NHS Improvement and the British Dental Association are working on reforms to the NHS dental contract in order to make the NHS dental offer more attractive for dentists and their teams.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
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 improve ambulance response times in Shropshire.
Answered by Edward Argar
The West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) is introducing a team to triage lower priority cases and diverting patients to other services to reduce attendances at accident and emergency (A&E). Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers are working with hospital staff to improve the flow of patients and coordinate one ambulance crew to care for to four patients, releasing other crews to respond to patients. A Same Day Emergency Centre at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital receives ambulances directly, improving handover times at A&E. A £9.3 million upgrade at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will also deliver additional capacity. Further expansion plans are also being developed to manage the demand in A&E.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has established a technical distinction between (a) heat-not-burn products, (b) Snus and (c) other reduced risk products, to help distinguish them from more harmful tobacco products.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Public Health England’s evidence review of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in 2018 suggests that heat-not-burn products still pose harm to users and bystanders, although they are likely to be less harmful than conventional cigarette smoking. Snus is banned in the United Kingdom and there is evidence it is associated with risk of adverse health effects and higher all-cause mortality.
The Department has not established a technical distinction between heat-not-burn products, snus and other reduced risk products, to distinguish them from other harmful tobacco products. The Government is committed to helping people quit all forms of tobacco use, which includes the use of safer nicotine delivery such as vaping.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the impact of the absence of combustion in heat-not-burn and snus products and combustion in cigarettes on the level of harm caused to users of those products.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Public Health England’s evidence review of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in 2018 suggests that heat-not-burn products still pose harm to users and bystanders, although they are likely to be less harmful than conventional cigarette smoking. Snus is banned in the United Kingdom and there is evidence it is associated with risk of adverse health effects and higher all-cause mortality.
The Department has not established a technical distinction between heat-not-burn products, snus and other reduced risk products, to distinguish them from other harmful tobacco products. The Government is committed to helping people quit all forms of tobacco use, which includes the use of safer nicotine delivery such as vaping.