Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 ensure there is adequate mental health support in Ashfield constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board is responsible for commissioning National Health Service mental health services to meet the needs of people in Ashfield.
Nationally, the Government is committed to creating an environment that promotes good mental health, prevents people from developing mental health problems, and improves the lives of people living with a mental health problem including those in the Ashfield constituency.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to transform mental health services to improve access and treatment, and to promote good mental health and wellbeing for the nation. This includes improving assertive outreach, investing in mental health emergency departments and neighbourhood mental health centres, and increasing access to talking therapies and evidence-based digital interventions.
The recently published Medium Term Planning Framework sets targets for integrated care boards to expand coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges, expand NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement Support schemes, and eliminate inappropriate out-of-area placements by 2029.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) testing and (b) support in hospitals for victims of spiking.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The requested data is not collected centrally. NHS England does not routinely collect hospital admissions data specifically related to spiking, nor the number of tests conducted explicitly labelled as being for spiking in hospitals.
The Home Office has published public guidance for victims and witnesses of spiking, and a statutory report setting out measures to tackle spiking including training for door staff, research into testing, and coordinated policing. The guidance signposts victims to emergency medical care, police reporting, and victim support services. This information is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/spiking-advice-and-support
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 ensure veterans receive appropriate support for PTSD.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In addition to the mainstream mental health services commissioned by integrated care boards, NHS England commissions Op COURAGE which is the bespoke integrated veterans’ mental health and wellbeing service. The service provides a fully integrated mental health care pathway for veterans, which includes support for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. People benefit from personalised care plans, ensuring they can access support and treatment both in and out of hours. Op COURAGE is available across England and individuals can contact the service to make an appointment or ask someone to do this on their behalf.
The Government recognises that not all veterans want to use veteran-specific mental health services and can instead choose to use mainstream services in the National Health Service, such as talking therapies, which are available to both veterans and civilians.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 cost to the public purse of treatment for people who came to Britain only for (a) health and (b) medical treatment in each of the last three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not collect or hold the information requested.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 how many people resident outside the UK received medical treatment on the NHS in each of the last three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not collect or hold the information requested.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many tests for spiking were conducted in hospitals in England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The requested data is not collected centrally. NHS England does not routinely collect hospital admissions data specifically related to spiking, nor the number of tests conducted explicitly labelled as being for spiking in hospitals.
The Home Office has published public guidance for victims and witnesses of spiking, and a statutory report setting out measures to tackle spiking including training for door staff, research into testing, and coordinated policing. The guidance signposts victims to emergency medical care, police reporting, and victim support services. This information is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/spiking-advice-and-support
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many deaf individuals have been wrongly assessed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 as a result of communication barriers in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the requested data.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 ensure that deaf people are not wrongly identified as lacking mental capacity due to communication barriers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 already provides a legislative basis for providing interpreters, including British Sign Language interpreters, for people with specific communication needs. One of the foundational principles of the MCA is that individuals must be given all possible support to make, or participate in making, their own decisions. This includes taking "all practicable steps" to help them understand, weigh up information, and communicate their choice. Section 3.11 of the MCA Code of Practice provides detailed guidance on this.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will also launch a joint consultation with the Ministry of Justice on the Liberty Protection Safeguards in the first half of next year. This consultation will seek the views of those affected, including members of the deaf community and experts who work with deaf individuals. The responses from this consultation will be used to inform a final MCA Code of Practice which will be laid in Parliament.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take legislative steps to ensure that BSL interpreters are provided during mental capacity assessments.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 already provides a legislative basis for providing interpreters, including British Sign Language interpreters, for people with specific communication needs. One of the foundational principles of the MCA is that individuals must be given all possible support to make, or participate in making, their own decisions. This includes taking "all practicable steps" to help them understand, weigh up information, and communicate their choice. Section 3.11 of the MCA Code of Practice provides detailed guidance on this.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will also launch a joint consultation with the Ministry of Justice on the Liberty Protection Safeguards in the first half of next year. This consultation will seek the views of those affected, including members of the deaf community and experts who work with deaf individuals. The responses from this consultation will be used to inform a final MCA Code of Practice which will be laid in Parliament.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 improve the (a) autonomy and (b) wellbeing of deaf residents in care homes.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population. That is why, under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market and to commission a range of high-quality, sustainable, and person-centred care and support services to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes encouraging a wide range of service provision to ensure that people have a choice of appropriate services that put the wellbeing of the people who draw on care at the centre of decisions.
Under the Equality Act 2010, health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. Since 2016, all National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers are also expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard, which details the approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss.