Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 widen access to appropriate therapy treatments for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (a) nationally and (b) in Chichester constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board is responsible for commissioning services to meet the mental health needs of the people in Chichester.
People with post-traumatic stress disorder can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies or their general practitioner can refer them.
Nationally, the Government is investing an extra £688 million this year to transform mental health services. We have chosen to prioritise funding to expand NHS Talking Therapies, so that the number of people completing a course of treatment is expected to increase by 384,000 by 2028/29.
We are also delivering on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers for children and adults by the end of this Parliament. We are more than halfway towards this target, which will help to ease pressure on busy mental health services.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 expand access to weight loss medications through the NHS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Until recently, the newest obesity medicines liraglutide, under various brand names, semaglutide, under the brand name Wegovy, and tirzepatide, under the brand name Mounjaro, have only been available via the National Health Service through specialist weight management services which are mainly hospital-based.
From 23 June, tirzepatide has started to become available in primary care, meaning it can be prescribed by general practitioners, or other competent prescribers. NHS England’s phased rollout within primary care will prioritise those with the greatest clinical need. Approximately 220,000 people are expected to benefit in the first three years of implementation. As part of the rollout plans, the NHS will look at different service models, including digital and community options. New approaches might enable access to be expanded more quickly. Progress will be reviewed in three years, and the roll out will be sped up if possible.
In addition, the 10-Year Health Plan sets out our ambition to build on these plans by testing innovative models of delivering weight loss services and treatments to patients.
On 12 August we announced an £85 million competition to fund the design and delivery of new community and primary care weight management pathways to support access to interventions such as weight loss medications. We expect tens of thousands of patients to directly benefit from increased access to interventions, such as GLP-1s. This will generate new evidence to inform the future commissioning and rollout of tirzepatide.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 increase the number of full-time psychiatrists in the NHS (a) nationally and (b) in Chichester constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.
However, we know that the NHS has been facing workforce shortages for a number of years. While there has been growth in the mental health workforce over recent years, more is needed. That is why, as part of our mission to build an NHS that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government is recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers, including psychiatrists, by the end of this Parliament. We are more than halfway towards this target, which will help to ease pressure on busy mental health services.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to (a) implement the Care Act 2014 provisions on protecting individuals from unaffordable care costs and (b) introduce a more generous means test for social care funding.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In July 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the planned adult social care charging reforms, which were inherited from the previous government, would not be taken forward in October 2025.
The means test thresholds for support with adult social care costs are reviewed annually. The rates for the next financial year will be published via a Local Authority Circular in due course.
The Government is committed to reforming the adult social care sector. We have launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The Terms of Reference are sufficiently broad to enable Baroness Casey to independently consider how to build a social care system fit for the future, including considering the affordability of care costs if she sees fit.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 adequacy of the availability of ultrasound in primary care in (a) the UK, (b) Germany and (c) the Nordic nations; and what steps his Department is taking to expand access to diagnostic ultrasound in UK primary care (i) for gynaecological conditions and (ii) in general.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the NHS to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services.
Our 10-Year Health Plan commits to shifting care from hospital to community, including diagnostic tests, and to ensuring care is more integrated across primary and secondary care.
Diagnostic tests, such as ultrasounds, should be more easily accessible and located in the community and directly referred from primary care where possible, which is more convenient for patients than going to hospital. We have committed to build upon the current 169 Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) that are open across the country by expanding a number of these and by building up to five new CDCs, as well as expanding the number of CDCs that are open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.
We are also working to improve access for GP services to diagnostic tests, for example in CDCs. The GP Direct Access Programme has published guidance on the use of urgent direct access referrals to specific diagnostic tests. This includes, for example, ultrasounds for abdomen and pelvis for suspected different intra-abdominal cancers including those of the pancreas, colon, urological tract or lymphoma. Guidance is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/urgent-gp-direct-access-to-diagnostic-services-for-people-with-symptoms-not-meeting-the-threshold-for-an-urgent-suspected-cancer-referral/.
The Department of Health and Social Care has not currently made a comparative assessment of the adequacy of the availability of ultrasound in primary care in, the UK, Germany and the Nordic nations. NHS England monitors the age and distribution of imaging assets including ultrasound scanners (for non-obstetric use) across the country via its annual National Imaging Data Collection, which is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/national-imaging-data-collection/.
In March 2024, there were 3,468 ultrasound scanners assets in England, an increase of 467 compared to 3,001 in March 2023.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 reduce the number of people on NHS waiting lists in Chichester constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to putting patients first. Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission. We have now exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having now delivered 4.9 million more appointments. This marks a vital first step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the National Health Service constitutional standard, by March 2029. Our Reforming elective care for patients plan, published in January, sets out how the NHS will reform elective care services and deliver on our ambitions.
We are transforming diagnostics to cut long waits through community diagnostic centres (CDCs). Patients in the Chichester constituency are likely to be referred to either Bognor Regis War Memorial Hospital CDC, which has been delivering diagnostic activity since November 2021, or the University of Chichester Bognor Regis CDC, which has been delivering diagnostic activity since March.
Dedicated and protected surgical hubs are transforming the way that NHS provides elective care by focusing on high-volume low-complexity surgeries. As of September, there are currently 120 operational surgical hubs across England. In Sussex, there is currently one operational surgical hub, at the Sussex Orthopaedic Treatment Centre, which opened in 2012. These surgical hubs help separate elective care facilities from urgent and emergency care, improving outcomes for patients and reducing pressures on hospitals. The Department is committed to ramping up the number of hubs over the next three years so that more operations can be carried out.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the provision is for manual lymphatic drainage on the NHS for patients following breast cancer treatment; and whether such treatment is routinely available.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Manual lymphatic drainage following breast cancer treatment-related lymphoedema is available through the National Health Service via referral from the healthcare team to a lymphoedema specialist or physiotherapist. Decisions regarding patient treatments are typically made by clinicians, considering all aspects of a patient's health and circumstances when recommending treatment options.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 support (a) people injured by vaccination and (b) families affected by vaccine-related deaths.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the very rare event where someone may have suffered a severe adverse reaction to a vaccine, care and treatment will be best met and managed by local National Health Service specialist services, augmented as appropriate by national specialist advice. Individuals will be treated and managed through existing healthcare services, with treatment dependent on the individual’s clinical needs.
Individuals can also apply to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) which provides a one-off, tax-free payment of £120,000 to claimants who have been found, on the balance of probabilities, to have been severely disabled as a result of vaccinations against certain diseases listed in the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979.
Outside of the VDPS, other government support remains available for those with a disability or long-term health condition, including Statutory Sick Pay, Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Attendance Allowance, and Personal Independence Payments. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/browse/benefits/disability
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to review the (a) scope, (b) eligibility, (c) criteria and (d) compensation level of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I would like to reiterate my profound sympathies to all those individuals who have experienced harm following vaccination, and to their families.
Ministers continue to consider options for reforming the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS).
In parallel, the Department continues to work with the NHS Business Services Authority, the administrators of the VDPS, to take further steps to improve the scheme, including through processing claims at a faster rate.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 improve (a) rates of early diagnosis, (b) access to treatment and (c) specialist care for people with rare diseases.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases. The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities collaboratively developed with the rare disease community. These include helping patients get a final diagnosis faster, increasing awareness of rare diseases among healthcare professionals, better coordination of care and improving access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs. We published the annual England Rare Diseases Action Plan in February, where we report on the steps we have taken to advance these priorities in the preceding year. The Government will be working with the devolved nations this year to review what comes next following the expiry of the UK Rare Diseases Framework in 2026.