Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of having dentists' representation on Integrated Care Boards.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Health and Care Act 2022 sets out the minimum membership requirement of the integrated care boards, which include representatives from National Health Service trusts, primary care and local authorities. However, by local agreement, these minimum requirements can be supplemented in order to address local needs.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
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 bring forward a workforce strategy to help improve rates of recruitment and retention within the dental sector.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Health Education England has undertaken a three-year review of education and training which is being implemented through the Dental Education Reform Programme to improve recruitment and retention.
In July 2022, we announced measures to reform National Health Service dental services to increase access for patients and remunerate dentists fairly for caring for patients with complex needs. We are also working with NHS England and the sector on longer-term improvements to make NHS dentistry a more attractive place to work.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
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 (a) move towards a preventative model of care for dentistry and (b) bring forward a public awareness campaign on oral health.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
NHS England will engage with stakeholders in dental professional groups on improving urgent care access; supporting access for new patients; re-orientating the system towards prevention; and on dental team recruitment and retention and integration with the National Health Service.
In addition, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has published ‘Delivering better oral health: an evidence-based toolkit for prevention’ for dental teams to support delivery of preventive advice and treatment for patients, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people aged under 50 will be offered a covid-19 autumn booster.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Government continues to be guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on who should be offered COVID-19 vaccinations. On 15 July 2022, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice that the primary aim of the COVID-19 booster vaccine programme this autumn should be to augment immunity in those who are at higher risk from COVID-19 and thereby optimise protection against severe COVID-19, specifically hospitalisation and death, over winter 2022 to 2023. This includes all adults aged 50 years and over and individuals aged five to 49 in a clinical risk group. The clinical risk groups for COVID-19 vaccination are defined in the UK Health Security Agency’s ‘Green Book’ on vaccines and immunisation.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the effect on her policies of trends in the level of population growth in the East of England; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The information is not held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to consult with representatives of health and social care (a) organisations and (b) charities on the forthcoming NHS England workforce strategy.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We intend to engage with a range of stakeholders in developing this plan, including health and social care organisations and charities where appropriate.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
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 improve health and social care services for people with neurological conditions.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The National Neurosciences Advisory Group (NNAG) is currently developing optimal clinical pathways for people with neurological conditions. The pathways aim to support the improvement of treatment, care and support services and enable better commissioning of neurological services locally and nationally. The Neuroscience Services Transformation Programme will use these pathways to inform its workplan and support integrated care systems to improve outcomes.
The NNAG has publish two toolkits on progressive neurological conditions and epilepsy. The toolkits prioritise faster and more accurate diagnoses, collaborative working between different disciplines and increased availability of neurorehabilitation, reablement, and psychosocial support. NHS England and NHS Improvement plan to recruit a National Clinical Director for Neurology to provide clinical leadership and advice across neurology. The Department has announced the development of a cross-Government strategy on acquired brain injury. The strategy will be informed by a call for evidence inviting views on whether other related neurological conditions should also be included in its scope. We will also set out plans for dementia services in England in a strategy which will be published later this year.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the total adult social care budget has been spent on people with neurological conditions annually from 2013-14 to 2020-21; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The data is not collected in the format requested as NHS Digital’s data does not show neurological conditions recorded as a primary support reason.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
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 improve recruitment and retention in the midwifery service.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
NHS England recently announced a £127 million investment to increase staffing numbers in maternity and neonatal services. This is in addition to £95 million allocated in 2021 to support the recruitment of 1,200 more midwives and 100 more consultant obstetricians. Health Education England is working with stakeholders to provide an additional 3,650 midwifery student training places by March 2023, leading to professional registration. In 2019/20, there were 626 additional places and 1,140 in 2020/21 and we are on schedule to meet the target for 2021/22.
The NHS People Plan includes a programme for organisations to retain staff through prioritising health and wellbeing, building an inclusive and compassionate culture in the National Health Service and strengthening support for flexible working. The NHS Retention Programme also seeks to understand why staff leave, resulting in targeted interventions to support staff to stay whilst keeping them well.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
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 support the midwifery service in its recovery from the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Chief Midwifery Officer’s Health and Wellbeing Taskforce has been established to listen and respond to concerns raised by midwives following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of Professional Midwifery Advocates (PMAs) has increased by 160, providing restorative clinical supervision to the maternity workforce in England. Psychological support training is being provided for all 750 PMAs in England to incorporate into the practice and supervision PMAs provide, whilst maintaining their own wellbeing. A midwifery leadership and support course is currently being piloted. Following an evaluation of the pilot, further courses will be commissioned.
NHS England recently announced a £127 million investment in maternity services to increase the number of staff. This is in addition to £95 million to support the recruitment of 1,200 midwives and 100 consultant obstetricians. In 2022/23, NHS England will invest a further £8 million to ensure that each maternity unit can offer enhanced supernumerary support to newly qualified and returning midwives to aid retention and pastoral support.