Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions officials in his Department have had with representatives of NHS England North East and Yorkshire region on access to dentistry in County Durham.
Answered by James Morris
We have had no specific discussions. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement have regular contact with regional commissioners to monitor and support the delivery of National Health Service dentistry. We allocated a further £50 million for NHS dentistry for the final quarter of 2021/22. Of this funding, £8.6 million was made available to the North East and Yorkshire region to support access to urgent dental care.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 policy convergence between risk factors for non-communicable diseases, including alcohol, smoking and obesity.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Over 40% of ill-health and early death is due to preventable risk factors, with more than half of this total related to tobacco, alcohol and diet. Addressing these major risk factors, including where these issues converge, forms part of the ambition to increase healthy life expectancy by five years by 2035 and to reduce the difference between local areas by 2030.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities was established in 2021 to provide expertise in public health, evidence and policy to ensure informed and integrated national policy making and local delivery.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made about the combined impact of different risk factors for non-communicable diseases, including alcohol, smoking and obesity together, on health disparities.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Over 40% of ill-health and early death is due to preventable risk factors, with more than half of this total due to tobacco, alcohol and diet-related risk factors. These are more prevalent in the most deprived areas and communities and are a significant contributor to disparities in health outcomes.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the availability of NHS dentistry appointments in County Durham.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific assessment has been made. Appointments for National Health Service treatment are managed directly by dental practices. Between April and June 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked practices to deliver at least 95% of contracted units of dental activity to safely improve access for patients.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 bed capacity at University Hospital North Durham in relation to the local population.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No specific assessment has been made. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement advise that County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust assessed the demand on services and reviewed current bed capacity at University Hospital North Durham as part of its annual planning requirement. In response, an additional 24 beds will be made available during the second half of 2022/23.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing proof of covid-19 vaccination for children under the age of 12.
Answered by Maggie Throup
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 availability of lateral flow tests in County Durham.
Answered by Maggie Throup
In December 2021, 280 million lateral flow tests were delivered and we have since procured new stock and increased delivery capacity. We expect to deliver 90 million tests a week across the United Kingdom, including seven million a day through GOV.UK. Those who are unable to order tests through GOV.UK should contact 119 or visit their local pharmacy. We are distributing 12 million tests a week through pharmacies in England. We expect that everyone, including those in Barnsley and County Durham, will be able to receive the tests they need.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 10 September 2021 to Question 43668 on Disability: Finance, what steps his Department is taking with the Department for Education to improve the provision of disabled children’s health and care services.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We are working with the Department for Education on health and care’s role in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system through the SEND Review. This includes how we can improve the provision of health and care services to disabled children.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people who have reported a positive lateral flow test without taking a confirmatory PCR test, are still be able to access treatment for long covid.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Access to treatment for post-COVID-19 services is not dependent upon lateral flow device or polymerase chain reaction test results. NHS England and NHS Improvement’s commissioning guidance asks integrated care systems to establish service plans from primary to specialist care for all of those experiencing on-going symptoms following confirmed or suspected infection, including those who were never tested.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the care fees that NHS Continuing Health Care would ordinarily pay to a care provider can instead be paid to a family carer if they are unable to find CHC registered carers who can meet the care needs of the person requiring care.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
As set out in the in National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) should operate a person-centred approach to all aspects of NHS Continuing Healthcare. This can include delivering NHS Continuing Healthcare through a personal health budget, where appropriate.
A personal health budget supports a person’s health and wellbeing needs planned and agreed with them or their representative and the local National Health Service team. A budget can be used to pay an individual living in the same household, a close family member or a friend if the CCG is satisfied that this is necessary to meet the continuing health care needs of the person for whom the personal health budget has been agreed. CCGs should make these judgements on a case-by-case basis.