Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support the Government is providing to veterans who developed chronic illnesses after serving in the Gulf.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Veterans who served in the Gulf War and are suffering with adverse health conditions, whether physical or mental, should contact their general practitioner (GP) in the first instance to seek appropriate treatment for their symptoms. GPs can refer them for further support as required to meet their clinical needs.
In England, the National Health Service has set up several veteran specific services including Op RESTORE and Op COURAGE. Where injuries and ongoing medical problems are a result of service in the armed forces, GPs should refer individuals directly into the Op RESTORE service. Op RESTORE can also assist in providing wrap-around support while waiting for clinical interventions to take place. Op COURAGE provides a complete mental health care pathway for veterans and can be accessed directly or following a referral by their GP.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it remains his policy to provide 5,000 new hospital beds for winter 2023.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of our urgent and emergency care recovery plan, the National Health Service continues work to progress the delivery of an additional 5,000 permanent core beds this winter. The recovery plan remains the Government’s approach to improving urgent and emergency care services.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
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 adequacy of his policies for treating scoliosis in children.
Answered by Will Quince
The commissioning of care for scoliosis is coordinated by integrated care boards, which are best placed to plan the provision of services. NHS England directly commissions some specialised services.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance in 2022 on vertebral body tethering for idiopathic scoliosis in children and young people. Within this guidance, NICE recommends that this procedure should only be carried out in specialist centres by spinal surgeons with specific training in anterior spinal surgery.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
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 number and proportion of GPs not in post due to ill health as of 21 August 2023.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Department does not hold the data requested.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, What steps his Department plans to take to help ensure GPs can return to work after periods of ill health.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
NHS England has made available retention schemes to boost the general practitioner (GP) workforce, including the GP Return to Practice programme. This scheme provides a safe, supported pathway for qualified GPs who have previously been on the General Medical Council GP Register and NHS England’s Medical Performers List to return to National Health Service General Practice after an absence of more than two years. It has been developed together with Health Education England, and in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and British Medical Association to ensure the best practical and financial support for GPs.
A national support team means each GP has access to a dedicated account manager and contact point to support them through the entire process. This includes advice on completing forms and paperwork, and assistance with arranging occupational health assessments.
In 2020, NHS England, in collaboration with the RCGP, launched the “#LookingAfterYouToo: and the #LookingAfterYourTeam coaching support services. These services provide access to mental health services to all primary care workers, managers and leaders employed or contracted to deliver work on behalf of the NHS.
This is available in addition to the NHS Practitioner Health, a service for doctors and dentists across England with mental illness and addiction problems, who are working or looking to return to clinical practice.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
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 with the Secretary of State for Education of the potential merits of screening for scoliosis in schools.
Answered by Will Quince
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is an independent scientific advisory committee that advises health ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation.
The UK NSC has reviewed screening school aged children for scoliosis in 2021 and recommended against screening. This is because there is not enough evidence to show if detecting the condition earlier through screening results in better health outcomes than waiting until symptoms develop. Details of the UK National Screening Committee’s review are available at the following link:
https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/scoliosis/
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
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 resolve medicine shortages affecting pharmacies.
Answered by Will Quince
Medicine shortages are an ongoing issue that the Department has been managing for many years. The production of medicines is complex and highly regulated, and materials and processes must meet rigorous safety and quality standards. Supply problems can arise for various reasons such as manufacturing issues, problems with raw ingredients and batch failures. The Department has well-established processes to manage and mitigate the small number of supply problems that may arise at any one time due to manufacturing or distribution issues.
There is a team within the Department which deals specifically with medicine supply issues arising both in the community and hospitals across the United Kingdom. It works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England and others operating in the supply chain, including suppliers and wholesalers, to help prevent shortages and expedite resupply where possible to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when they do arise. The team develop guidance which is shared with the National Health Service, including community pharmacies, advising on how to manage supply issues.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
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 adequacy of the community pharmacy workforce to meet the needs of local pharmacies.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion to fund additional education and training places over the next five years, sets out the steps the National Health Service and education providers need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. The ambition is to increase training places for pharmacists by nearly 50% to around 5,000 by 2031/32, and to grow the number of pharmacy technicians.
Community pharmacy contractors are also now mandated to complete the Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey annually. This will provide more robust data to inform future workforce, service planning and investment decisions. NHS England are currently analysing data gathered from the 2022 survey and the results will be published shortly.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
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 of the adequacy of the number of (a) tetanus, (b) polio, (c) diphtheria and (d) meningococcal vaccinations given to children in Weaver Vale constituency during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publish quarterly and annual vaccine coverage data to track the performance of all national immunisation programmes including protection against tetanus, polio, diphtheria and meningococcal disease. Vaccine coverage data shows national as well as regional levels and is available at the following link:
NHS England, the Department and UKHSA are committed to increase coverage across all immunisation programmes with efforts including national news coverage raising awareness of continued availability of routine immunisations, and the importance of taking up vaccination offers.
It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations to which they are entitled; for themselves, their families, and wider society. Anyone unsure about their eligibility or vaccination status should contact their general practitioner for advice.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many individual funding application requests made by clinicians were turned down by Cheshire West and Merseyside Integrated Care Board as of June 2023.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB) validated data is collated for completed (closed) applications each month, as such, the ICB can only provide data up to May 2023. The following tables shows the approved and not approved Individual Funding Request (IFR) applications received between July 2022 and May 2023.
NHS Cheshire & Merseyside ICB IFR applications | 2022 | |||||
July | August | September | October | November | December | |
Approved | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Not Approved | 23 | 36 | 36 | 40 | 57 | 26 |
Total | 24 | 37 | 37 | 41 | 58 | 28 |
NHS Cheshire & Merseyside ICB IFR applications | 2023 | ||||
January | February | March | April | May | |
Approved | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Not Approved | 22 | 30 | 32 | 31 | 32 |
Total | 22 | 31 | 32 | 31 | 33 |