Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the availability of face-to-face GP appointments on trends in the number of young people opting for (a) online and (b) telephone GP appointments.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No such assessment has been made. However, our Primary Care Recovery Plan sets out how by improving digital access to general practice, we will free up capacity for those patients who prefer to contact their practice by telephone or in person.
Face-to-face alongside remote appointments provide a choice of access routes for patients and additional flexibility and convenience. We expect patients to experience the same high quality of care regardless of how they access their general practice, and patients unable to access remote appointments should be offered an alternative appointment type.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of body cameras that have been issued to (a) doctors and (b) nurses in hospitals since 1 January 2023; and what guidance his Department has issued on the use of body cameras in healthcare settings.
Answered by Will Quince
The information requested is not held centrally.
National Health Service organisations are responsible for putting in place their own policies and procedures to support staff, giving them access to appropriate training and making arrangements for security. Some hospitals have taken a local decision to fund and introduce body worn cameras for their staff.
To provide additional support nationally, £8.4 million has been invested by NHS England into the ambulance service to explore the efficacy of body worn cameras in reducing violence and abuse. As of January 2023, over 9,400 cameras have been made available to ambulance staff with an independent evaluation currently underway and a final report expected towards the end of 2024.
In 2019 NHS England established an NHS Violence Reduction Programme, which aims to prevent and reduce violence and aggression from patients, their families and the public, and mitigate the effects of violence and abuse on NHS staff.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Will Quince
In 2022/23, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence spent £81,270.50 on equality and diversity training.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Will Quince
No money was spent by the Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards (ACCIA) on equality and diversity training in 2022/23. ACCIA regional sub-committee members are volunteers and receive annual internal training featuring equality and diversity, delivered by the ACCIA Medical Director as part of his role.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
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 the correspondence of 14 June 2023 from the hon. Member for Solihull, reference JK40690.
Answered by Will Quince
We have received the hon. Member’s correspondence and will reply in due course.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Will Quince
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency did not spend any funds on bespoke equality and diversity training in 2022/23. However, equality, diversity and inclusion themes and messages are reflected appropriately in all learning programmes designed, procured, and delivered by the agency.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the implications for its polices of NHS Trusts charging patients in hospital for television access.
Answered by Will Quince
No recent assessment has been made. National Health Service providers are locally responsible for the provision of bedside television and similar services, including the charging for them. If patients do not wish to or are unable to afford the cost of the bedside television, they should still be able to watch the free to view television via their own devices and local hospital Wi-Fi or in the hospital day rooms or communal areas.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
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 that the NHS responds to concerns raised by staff about potential harm to patients (a) appropriately and (b) swiftly.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Last year, NHS England rolled out a strengthened Freedom to Speak Up policy, which covers the importance of listening to concerns and responding to concerns that are raised. All organisations providing services within the National Health Service are expected to adopt the updated national policy by 31 January 2024 at the latest. The National Guardian’s Office has also produced a training package aimed at all workers, including managers and senior leaders, which underlines the importance of responding to and acting on staff concerns.
There is also a network of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians, covering every trust, whose role includes ensuring the person who raises a concern is responded to and receives feedback on the actions taken.
Following the outcome of the trial of Lucy Letby, NHS England wrote to all NHS trusts to further emphasise the importance of NHS leaders listening to the concerns of patients, families and staff and following whistleblowing procedures.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria his Department uses to prioritise hospitals for reconstruction related to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by Will Quince
The National Health Service has a comprehensive mitigation plan in place for hospital buildings with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), including significant additional funding worth £698m from 2021 to 2025 for trusts to put in place necessary remediation and failsafe measures, such as propping, as well as to eradicate RAAC in non-whole hospital sites. Further, the seven worst affected hospitals are being rebuilt by 2030 through the New Hospital Programme.
We have committed to eradicating RAAC from the publicly owned NHS estate by 2035, protecting patient and staff safety in the interim period, with NHS prioritising NHS trusts of concern. The estimated cost of full eradication through to 2035 will change over time due to several factors and will be considered at each spending review.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
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 completion date for the removal of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) from the NHS estate.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Health Service has a comprehensive mitigation plan in place for hospital buildings with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), including significant additional funding worth £698m from 2021 to 2025 for trusts to put in place necessary remediation and failsafe measures, such as propping, as well as to eradicate RAAC in non-whole hospital sites. Further, the seven worst affected hospitals are being rebuilt by 2030 through the New Hospital Programme.
We have committed to eradicating RAAC from the publicly owned NHS estate by 2035, protecting patient and staff safety in the interim period, with NHS prioritising NHS trusts of concern. The estimated cost of full eradication through to 2035 will change over time due to several factors and will be considered at each spending review.