Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
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 prominence of microplastic contaminants in (a) foodstuffs and (b) beverages consumed within the UK.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is monitoring and assessing emerging information concerning microplastics in food and beverages. Based on current information, the FSA considers it is unlikely that the presence of these particles in food or drink would cause harm to consumers; however, this will be kept under review as new evidence becomes available.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
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 help support people living with a musculoskeletal condition.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS England’s Getting it Right First Time programme has a specific workstream on musculoskeletal health. It is designed to improve the treatment and care of patients with musculoskeletal conditions through in-depth review of services, benchmarking, and presenting a data-driven evidence base to support change.
The primary care delivery plan is supporting people to self-refer for selected community musculoskeletal services, and we estimate that up to 50% more patients could be self-referring by March 2024, which will reduce waiting times for patients with arthritis.
The Government also plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to step up elective activity and transform elective services. This funding could deliver the equivalent of around nine million more checks, scans and procedures, and will mean the National Health Service in England can aim to deliver around 30% more elective activity by 2024/25 than it did before the pandemic.
The Major Conditions Strategy is an opportunity to tackle musculoskeletal conditions to improve outcomes for patients. The strategy will set out a clear vision for musculoskeletal conditions, covering treatment and prevention.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether funding by his Department on research into musculoskeletal conditions are being (a) maintained or (b) increased in real terms; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In 2022/23 the NIHR spent approximately £15.4 million on musculoskeletal conditions research, which represents a £1.1 million increase since 2021/22, and a £4.6 million increase since 2020/21.
More broadly, the NIHR has awarded over £100 million in combined research funding and infrastructure support for musculoskeletal conditions research over the last five years. However, it is not usual practice for the NIHR to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions, as such future spend on musculoskeletal research is not yet determined.
NIHR research applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including musculoskeletal conditions.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
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 collect feedback from people with arthritis who use surgical hubs.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department values the importance of patient feedback on all National Health Service services, including from patients with arthritis who use NHS surgical hubs. It is up to individual integrated care systems and NHS trusts to decide how they collect patient feedback.
The NHS Friends and Family Test was created to help service providers and commissioners understand whether patients are happy with the service provided, or where improvements are needed. It is a quick and anonymous way for patients to give their views after receiving NHS care or treatment. Patients are also encouraged to give feedback by speaking to a member of staff or by leaving a review on the relevant services on nhs.uk.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department is providing to support the roll-out of musculoskeletal first contact practitioners in general practice.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
We remain committed to growing and diversifying the general practice workforce, through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). Primary care networks (PCNs) and practices have recruited over 29,000 additional staff, including nursing associates, pharmacists, physiotherapists and social prescribing link workers, hitting the Government's target to recruit 26,000 a year ahead of the March 2024 target.
NHS England have committed to supporting all of the roles recruited through the scheme into the future, and PCNs can be confident that there will be funding for any ARRS role recruited before March 2024.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of NHS memory services provide ongoing support to patients after a dementia diagnosis.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to respond to its consultation on Aligning the upper age for NHS prescription charge exemptions with the State Pension age consultation, which closed in September 2021.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The Government will respond to its consultation on aligning the upper age for National Health Service prescription charge exemptions with the state pension age in due course.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
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 impact of prescription charges on people with Parkinson's in (a) the Humber and North Yorkshire area and (b) England.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
There are no current plans to make an assessment and no specific assessment has been made on the impact of prescription charges. Approximately 89% of prescription items are currently dispensed free of charge and there are a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for which those with long term conditions may meet the eligibility criteria and be in receipt of free prescriptions.
In addition, those on a low income can apply for additional support through the NHS Low Income Scheme. This provides both full and partial help with a range of health costs, not just prescription charges. Those who do not qualify for low-income help may benefit from the purchase of a prescription pre-payment certificate. This caps the cost of prescriptions at £111.60 per year, helping people to get all the medicines they need for just over £2 a week.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2023 to Question 180335, if he will make an assessment of the impact of the increased prescription charge from 1 April 2023 on people with (a) cystic fibrosis and (b) other long-term conditions.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
There are no current plans to make an assessment and no specific assessment has been made on the impact of prescription charges. Approximately 89% of prescription items are currently dispensed free of charge and there are a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for which those with long term conditions may meet the eligibility criteria and be in receipt of free prescriptions.
In addition, those on a low income can apply for additional support through the NHS Low Income Scheme. This provides both full and partial help with a range of health costs, not just prescription charges. Those who do not qualify for low-income help may benefit from the purchase of a prescription pre-payment certificate. This caps the cost of prescriptions at £111.60 per year, helping people to get all the medicines they need for just over £2 a week.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the provision of dental services in (a) Kingston Upon Hull North constituency and (b) the areas covered by (i) Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and (ii) Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care System.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. NHS England has published an Assurance Framework which sets out its approach to providing assurance that commissioning functions are carried out safely and effectively by ICBs.
In September 2022, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care across England. These will increase access to National Health Service dentistry whilst making the NHS dental contract more attractive to dental practices. The changes we have implemented include a contractual requirement for NHS dentists to keep their NHS.UK profiles up to date to make it easier for patients to seek treatment; and enabling practices to over-deliver on their NHS contract to deliver more NHS care.
We are working on further reforms which will be announced later this year.