Asked by: Mark Jenkinson (Conservative - Workington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the Government has made on meeting the target to deliver 50 million extra general practice appointments a year; and what steps he is taking to increase access to a GP in Workington.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
In the 12 months to September 2022, there were an estimated 325.2 million appointments in general practice in England, excluding COVID-19 vaccinations. This is an increase of 7.3% compared to the 12 months to September 2021. On 22 September 2022, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which sets out how we will deliver an addition one million appointments this winter and the expectation that patients who need an appointment within two weeks will receive one, with urgent cases being seen on the same day, including in Workington.
We have committed to publishing practice-level appointment data to assist patients to make an informed choice on the appropriate practice for their needs. We have also set out measures to help patients book appointments more easily and benefit from more options for care, such as community pharmacy. NHS England has offered a short-term telephony solution to all general practitioner (GP) practices, to increase capacity for incoming calls. From December, NHS England will accelerate the delivery of a framework to support all practices to secure cloud-based telephony systems. We will also assist general practices to recruit a range of health professionals to increase appointment capacity, such as GP assistants and advanced practitioners.
Asked by: Mark Jenkinson (Conservative - Workington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to ensure the recording of biological sex on medical records to ensure that appropriate sex-related care is offered.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
National Health Service datasets include a field entitled 'Patient Stated Gender Code' with four options: male, female, indeterminate (unable to be classified as either male or female) and not known. This field collects information on sex for those whose gender is the same as their sex registered at birth. Details on sex for trans people and those who are intersex or who have disorders of sexual development should be recorded within their clinical notes to ensure safe and appropriate care.
The General Medical Council provides guidance on keeping clear, accurate and legible records. All patients should be given the care they need and treated with respect and dignity, in accordance with the values of the NHS. Investigations or treatment must be based on the assessment the clinician and their patient make of their needs and priorities and the clinician’s clinical judgement about the likely effectiveness of the options.
Asked by: Mark Jenkinson (Conservative - Workington)
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 29 September 2021 to Question 52601 on Smoking, with reference to the delayed publication of the ONS smoking statistics bulletin entitled Adults smoking habits in the UK, whether the Tobacco Control Plan is expected to be published in 2021.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We are undertaking further policy development to support the Tobacco Control Plan, which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Mark Jenkinson (Conservative - Workington)
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 20 July 2021 to Question 31543, on Tobacco, whether statistics from the ONS bulletin, entitled Adults smoking habits in the UK, will be incorporated into the Tobacco Control Plan for England following the delay in publication of that bulletin until November 2021.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Tobacco Control Plan will utilise data from the Office for National Statistics’ bulletin when it is published later this year.
Asked by: Mark Jenkinson (Conservative - Workington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the selection criteria and process for the daily covid-19 contact testing workplace pilot.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Daily contact testing permits a contact of a positive case of COVID-19 to test daily for seven days with a lateral flow device, with each negative result releasing the individual to undertake essential activities for 24 hours.
Organisations participating in the workplace daily contact testing pilot were selected because they had expressed an interest in joining the pilot and already had an asymptomatic test site in the workplace. The workplaces selected were also designed to ensure a spread of different types of organisation, including additional public sector organisations, to assess the operational implications of running daily contact testing. A document setting out in more detail the process and selection criteria for the workplace daily contact testing pilot is currently under review prior to publication.
Asked by: Mark Jenkinson (Conservative - Workington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the impact assessment for the draft Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 as it stood at 19:19 on 13 July 2021.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Government has set out analysis of the number of current staff who we estimate may not be vaccinated or exempt by the end of the 16-week grace period in an impact statement. This figure provides an indication of the numbers that may need to be recruited by the sector to replace workers who may choose to leave the workforce rather than be vaccinated. The full impact assessment will be published as soon as possible.