Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 potential impact of trends in levels of anaesthetic workforce availability on elective surgery waiting times.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific recent assessment has been made by the Department on the impact of the levels of the anaesthetic workforce’s availability on elective surgery waiting times. Local providers are best placed to make decisions on workforce capacity to reflect local service demand and circumstances.
The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 potential implications for his policies of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' report entitled Green Maternity Report 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to supporting the National Health Service in delivering high-quality, equitable, and sustainable maternity services. This includes investing in digital transformation, supporting workforce development, and embedding sustainability into all aspects of care, as set out in 2020’s Delivering a Net Zero NHS report. For instance, reducing nitrous oxide waste through leaner supply and stock management has led to cost savings of over £2.3 million annually and emissions reductions of around 90 kilo-tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent since 2019/20.
The Department has not made a formal assessment of the implications of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' Green Maternity Report 2025.
We continue, however, to work with NHS England, the Royal Colleges, and local partners to ensure that best practice is adopted across the system, and that the environmental impact of maternity care is monitored and reduced in line with our 10-Year Health Plan commitment to prioritise delivery of the NHS’s net zero targets.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 ensure capital investment in NHS (a) estate and (b) infrastructure supports improvements in climate resilience.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of increasing the climate resilience of the National Health Service estate. NHS trusts are responsible for maintaining their estate, including adapting premises to reduce risks associated with climate change and severe weather, as set out in the NHS Standard Contract.
The Department is supporting the improvement of NHS sites by investing £30 billion over the next five years in day-to-day maintenance and repair, with £5 billion allocated specifically to address the most critical building issues. Additionally, the Department is making sure all new hospitals are fit for the future. Our New Hospital Programme requires schemes to achieve a minimum rating of ‘Excellent’ for new builds and ‘Very Good’ for refurbishments, under the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method. In addition, all NHS investments in new buildings and upgrades to existing facilities that are subject to HM Treasury business case approval process must align with the NHS Net Zero Building Standard, which includes a focus on overheating risks.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether whole genome sequencing will be available on the NHS for all sarcoma patients under the 10 Year Health Plan for England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Genomic testing, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing, in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service. Testing is directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (NGTD), which sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing.
For all cancer patients undergoing genomic testing, to support routine care, and including sarcoma patients, the first line testing is done by next generation sequencing panel testing that includes all the targets for the currently available precision medicines. The NGTD’s eligibility criteria outlines that, if clinically required, WGS can then be offered for sarcoma patients to determine their next stage of treatment or management.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to reduce waiting times for sarcoma diagnosis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published a national service specification, covering both bone and soft tissue sarcomas. The specification requires close working between sarcoma services and other National Health Service partners, co-ordinated by Sarcoma Advisory Groups, to improve care pathways.
Work is underway across both bone and soft tissue sarcoma provision to ensure that cancer care providers meet national service standards and improve care to patients.
The Government welcomes the recent publication of Sarcoma UK’s Sarcoma State of the Nation report as it highlights the importance of early diagnosis, care co-ordination across complex pathways, research into new treatments, and survivorship. Our forthcoming National Cancer Plan will set out how we will improve outcomes for all cancers, including sarcoma.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 (a) adequacy of sarcoma (i) care and (ii) treatment and (b) health outcomes of people diagnosed with sarcoma; and if he will conduct an urgent review of sarcoma (A) care and (B) treatment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published a national service specification, covering both bone and soft tissue sarcomas. The specification requires close working between sarcoma services and other National Health Service partners, co-ordinated by Sarcoma Advisory Groups, to improve care pathways.
Work is underway across both bone and soft tissue sarcoma provision to ensure that cancer care providers meet national service standards and improve care to patients.
The Government welcomes the recent publication of Sarcoma UK’s Sarcoma State of the Nation report as it highlights the importance of early diagnosis, care co-ordination across complex pathways, research into new treatments, and survivorship. Our forthcoming National Cancer Plan will set out how we will improve outcomes for all cancers, including sarcoma.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of ringfencing funding for community preventive health initiatives through the forthcoming NHS 10 Year Plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan has set out how we will reinvent the National Health Service through the radical shifts, namely hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention. These are the core components of our new care model. To support the scale of change we need, we ensure the whole NHS is ready to deliver these three shifts at pace: through a new operating model, by creating a new workforce model with staff genuinely aligned with the future direction of reform, through a reshaped innovation strategy and by taking a different approach to NHS finances.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of eligible families were in receipt of Healthy Start in North Herefordshire constituency on 9 June 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/
The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start and does not currently hold data on the number of people eligible for Healthy Start. The NHSBSA does not hold data on local constituencies. The table below shows the number of people on the digital scheme in the relevant local authorities as of 23 May 2025:
Local authority | Number of people on the digital scheme |
Blackpool | 1,434 |
City of Bristol | 2,778 |
County of Herefordshire | 736 |
Southampton | 1,677 |
Worthing | 348 |
Brighton and Hove | 1,041 |
East Suffolk | 1,129 |
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 10 March 2025 to Question 34127 on Pain: Women, whether the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is undertaking any research into (a) patient and (b) healthcare professionals' experiences of (i) menopause care and (ii) the prescription of hormone replacement therapy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is currently funding a £2.7 million study that aims to find out if adding testosterone to standard hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can reduce menopausal symptoms beyond its effect on sexual function. This research will provide health care professionals with the evidence required to have informed discussions with their patients and will help to shape and inform better menopause care for women. A separate study is exploring inequalities in menopause care. Through interviews with women and with healthcare professionals in general practice, this research aims to understand the experiences of obtaining information, care, and support for the menopause in general practice.
The NIHR is also currently funding research to determine whether there are ethnic and social disparities in HRT prescribing in the United Kingdom. This information will inform future work to develop a risk calculator to show a woman’s individual risks or benefits from taking HRT, providing the first UK data on women who are taking HRT, which will identify a cohort who are not taking HRT and estimate a potential unmet need.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of women’s health, including research on patient and health care professionals’ experiences of menopause care and on the prescription of HRT.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 potential merits of integrating health services with social welfare advice.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of integrated health and care services, including social welfare advice. We are committed to moving to a Neighbourhood Health Service, which will reinforce integrated working between the National Health Service, social care, local government, other statutory services, the voluntary sector, and communities themselves, as the norm, not the exception.
A Neighbourhood Health Service will mean more care delivered locally to create healthier communities, spot problems earlier, and support people to stay healthy and maintain their independence for longer.
The full vision for the health system will be set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.