Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of vacancies there are (a) in total, (b) for qualified paramedics and (c) for trained ambulance drivers in each Ambulance Service NHS Trust in England; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Argar
No such estimate has been made as the information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
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 the accessibility and affordability of dental treatment in England; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Department continues to work closely with the National Health Service to maximise the number of patients that can be seen safely, with NHS dentists now offering 65% of pre-pandemic levels of care. The NHS is targeting its available capacity at urgent care, vulnerable groups and children, followed by overdue routine care. There are a range of exemptions to patient charges and just under half of patients were treated free of charge in 2020/21.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent workforce planning he has undertaken for NHS dentistry; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
NHS England and NHS Improvement are responsible for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet local need. Health Education England’s Advancing Dental Care Education and Training Review programme considers how dental and oral health needs can be met through changes to the workforce. This includes opportunities for flexible training pathways to improve career progression and retention and how to attract dentistry teams to provide NHS services in areas which are less well served.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing proposals for dental system reform, working with the Department and key stakeholders. This programme seeks to make NHS dentistry more attractive to the profession, in addition to exploring how the whole dental team can be best utilised to deliver National Health Service care.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
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 tackle shortages in anaesthetic workforce in the forthcoming Elective Recovery Plan.
Answered by Edward Argar
The government appreciates the dedication of Anaesthetists in the National Health Service. As of July 2021, there was an increase of 2.3% in full time equivalent (FTE) doctors and 2.0% FTE Specialty doctors and associate specialists working in the NHS in anaesthesia compared to a year ago. We have increased the number of medical school places in England by 25% increase from 2018/2019 to 2020/2021, helping ensure a larger potential pipeline for anaesthetists in coming years.
Staff retention is a priority for this Government. It was noted in the recent report by the Royal College of Anaesthetists about retention that there is particular concern about those leaving at the start and end of their career, resulting in targeted interventions to encourage them to stay. These include pension support, access to health and wellbeing initiatives, flexible working opportunities, and mentoring and coaching.
NHS England and NHS Improvement will publish a plan for recovering elective services later this year.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
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 on applicants of Health Education England’s change in policy to require applicants to have two years of qualified practice before receiving funding.
Answered by Edward Argar
We have made no such assessment.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional support his Department has put in place for young children and families that are quarantining in Government provided hotels.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The hotels selected for managed quarantine are able to meet the vast majority of requirements. Hotels will prioritise allocating larger or connecting rooms to families. Whilst there is no prescriptive list of support for young children and families, there are opportunities to exercise outside as arranged with the hotel security guards and staff will be available. Medical and mental health support is provided where needed, together with access to social workers for advice and support. Food is available throughout the day with a choice of menus accommodating dietary requirements, delivered to the hotel rooms. All rooms have televisions and free WiFi.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to waive the cost of covid-19 tests on compassionate grounds for people travelling internationally for (a) funerals, (b) caring duties and (c) medical reasons.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Government is not currently considering whether to create policy to waive the costs of COVID-19 tests on compassionate grounds.
The costs of travel testing have fallen significantly since they were first introduced. Charging by private providers is based on a market model, with NHS Test and Trace testing at the mid-market level. We also offer deferred payment plans and hardship support for people who cannot afford to pay for the cost of managed quarantine and testing. In some circumstances this may be available to those who are not in receipt of income related benefits.