Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dentists have been recruited in Burton and Uttoxeter since the launch of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Long-Term Workforce plan was published in June 2023 and the data on the number of Dentists in each integrated care board for 2023/24 is expected to be available from August.
The NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan sets out the steps the NHS and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. The focus is not short-term recruitment but putting workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term.
We will expand dentistry training places by 40% so that there are over 1,100 places by 2031/32. To support this ambition, we will expand places by 24% by 2028/29, taking the overall number that year to 1,000 places.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to increase the capacity of NHS dentists in Burton and Uttoxeter.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
Our plan for dentistry, to be published shortly, will build upon the first package of reforms agreed in July 2022, which included changes to banding and the introduction of a minimum units of dental activity value. Our plan will include addressing how we continue to improve access, particularly for new patients; and how we make National Health Service work more attractive to ensure NHS dentists are incentivised to deliver more NHS care.
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June 2023, sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. These include a 40% increase to dentistry undergraduate training places by 2031/32. To support this ambition, we will expand places by 24% by 2028/29, taking the overall number that year to 1,000 places.
From 1 April 2023, responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. ICBs are responsible for having local processes in place to identify areas of need and determine the priorities for investment.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the policy paper entitled Emerging Together: the Tackling Loneliness Network Action Plan, published on 8 May 2021, what recent steps his Department has taken to help support adults with autism who experience loneliness.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
In November 2021, the Government established a Loneliness Engagement Fund to engage with those most affected by loneliness in England during the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Autistic Society received £30,000 to develop resources to address loneliness for autistic people and undertake a social media campaign.
In May 2022, approximately £5 million was awarded to 12 organisations in England to inform understanding of how transport can assist those experiencing loneliness. The National Autistic Society received over £250,000 to offer training to transport providers, ensuring that staff have an increased understanding of autism and removing barriers for autistic people on public transport and enable social connections.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
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 enlisting help from Staffordshire Fire Service to reduce delays in ambulance response times in East Staffordshire.
Answered by Edward Argar
NHS England and Improvement (NHSEI) advises that University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) have a range of measures in place to improve handover delays at Royal Stoke Hospital. These include the safe cohorting of patients which releases other crews to respond to new calls, direct referral of patients to Same Day Emergency Care, and the placement of Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers to improve the flow of patients and reduce handover delays.
Work by the West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) to improve response times in East Staffordshire includes the introduction of a Clinical Validation Team comprising advanced paramedics working in control rooms, work to increase the proportion of calls closed over the phone or on scene, and maximising the use of alternative pathways to emergency departments. These interventions help to free up ambulance resource to respond to incoming calls more quickly, improving response times. There are also a range of national measures are in place, including continuous central monitoring and support from the National Ambulance Coordination Centre, and NHSEI has allocated £150 million of additional system funding for ambulance service pressures in 2022/23, supporting improvements to response times through additional call handler recruitment, retention, and other funding pressures.
No such assessment will be made. Emergency service co-responding is a matter for local emergency services.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
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 help reduce ambulance response times in East Staffordshire.
Answered by Edward Argar
NHS England and Improvement (NHSEI) advises that University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) have a range of measures in place to improve handover delays at Royal Stoke Hospital. These include the safe cohorting of patients which releases other crews to respond to new calls, direct referral of patients to Same Day Emergency Care, and the placement of Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers to improve the flow of patients and reduce handover delays.
Work by the West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) to improve response times in East Staffordshire includes the introduction of a Clinical Validation Team comprising advanced paramedics working in control rooms, work to increase the proportion of calls closed over the phone or on scene, and maximising the use of alternative pathways to emergency departments. These interventions help to free up ambulance resource to respond to incoming calls more quickly, improving response times. There are also a range of national measures are in place, including continuous central monitoring and support from the National Ambulance Coordination Centre, and NHSEI has allocated £150 million of additional system funding for ambulance service pressures in 2022/23, supporting improvements to response times through additional call handler recruitment, retention, and other funding pressures.
No such assessment will be made. Emergency service co-responding is a matter for local emergency services.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
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 tackle ambulance handover delays at Royal Stoke University Hospital.
Answered by Edward Argar
NHS England and Improvement (NHSEI) advises that University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) have a range of measures in place to improve handover delays at Royal Stoke Hospital. These include the safe cohorting of patients which releases other crews to respond to new calls, direct referral of patients to Same Day Emergency Care, and the placement of Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers to improve the flow of patients and reduce handover delays.
Work by the West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) to improve response times in East Staffordshire includes the introduction of a Clinical Validation Team comprising advanced paramedics working in control rooms, work to increase the proportion of calls closed over the phone or on scene, and maximising the use of alternative pathways to emergency departments. These interventions help to free up ambulance resource to respond to incoming calls more quickly, improving response times. There are also a range of national measures are in place, including continuous central monitoring and support from the National Ambulance Coordination Centre, and NHSEI has allocated £150 million of additional system funding for ambulance service pressures in 2022/23, supporting improvements to response times through additional call handler recruitment, retention, and other funding pressures.
No such assessment will be made. Emergency service co-responding is a matter for local emergency services.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to review the proposals by Rights for Residents to introduce Gloria's Law on guaranteeing a legal right to a care supporter across health and care settings.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The Department is considering options to legislate for visiting in adult social care settings. The guidance states that visiting in care homes should not normally be restricted and during outbreaks all care home residents should be permitted one visitor inside the care home. Where residents and relatives have concerns that this guidance is not being followed, this should be raised with the care home in the first instance. The Care Quality Commission can also investigate such complaints. Any such legislation would have the same effect as these arrangements.
The Department does not currently intend to legislate on hospital visiting. Unlike in the care sector, NHS England’s national guidance sets expectations for hospital visiting. Where any issues relating to visiting arise, the Department can resolve with National Health Service colleagues to safely facilitate visiting.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the Government is making on rolling out evening and weekend GP appointments.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
General practice appointments in the evenings and weekends are available across the country. Patients can see a doctor, nurse or other member of a practice team at a time that is convenient to them, 365 days per year including on bank holidays.