Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department issues to GP surgeries on (a) the scope of practice and (b) supervision protocols for employed physician associates; and whether she has made an assessment of the quality of different working arrangements for physician associates in GP surgeries across England.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Physician associates (PA) and anaesthesia associates (AA) play an important role in multidisciplinary teams and complement the work of doctors. On 13 December 2023, the Department laid draft legislation in both Houses and in the Scottish Parliament that will empower the General Medical Council (GMC) to commence regulation for the two roles by the end of 2024.
Regulation will provide a standardised framework of governance and assurance for clinical practice and professional conduct, to enable these roles to make a greater contribution to patient care. Ahead of regulation, the GMC has published advice for PAs, AAs and doctors who supervise them.
The Faculty of Physician Associates (PFAs) and the Royal College of Anaesthetists have developed guidance setting out the processes and considerations required for employers and supervisors of PAs and AAs respectively. In addition, NHS England has produced patient-facing materials that have been shared widely with general practices (GPs) to support patient awareness and understanding of the PA role.
PAs work within a defined scope of practice and limits of competence. The FPA provides professional support to PAs across the United Kingdom and review and set standards for the education and training of PAs.
The FPA will be able to give further information on scope of practice and supervision requirements.
NHS England has committed to a review of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). This work will cover the performance of the scheme to date and inform the Government’s approach to any future support for additional clinical roles in general practice.
In addition, the Department has funded, via the National Institute of Health and Care Research a project to look at the impact of non-GP staff in practices on patient care.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
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 impact of the return to practice programme on the number of registered nurses.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Return to Practice (RTP) programme, led by NHS England and formerly Health Education England, is available for all nurses and midwives who have allowed their Nursing and Midwifery Council registration to lapse. Since its inception in 2014, the RTP programme has been successful in supporting 9,975 nurse returners through the Higher Education Institution route.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made assessment of the impact of the increase in return to practice payments for nursing in general practice on the number of registered nurses working in general practice since the introduction of those payments.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Return to Practice (RTP) programme is available for all nurses and midwives who have allowed their registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council to lapse. Since its inception in 2014, the RTP programme has been successful in supporting 9,975 nurse returners through the Higher Education Institution route.
As of November 2023, there were 1,814 more full-time equivalent general practice nurses than in September 2015, the earliest date for which comparable data can be provided.
We have reached our target of 50,000 additional nurses across the National Health Service, meaning we have delivered on our commitment six months early. There are over 357,000 nurses working across the NHS, which is over 56,000 more than September 2019.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of hospital admissions there were for (a) rickets, (b) tuberculosis, (c) renal tubular acidosis type 1 and (d) malnutrition in age groups (i) 0-4, (ii) 5-9, (iii) 10-16 and (iv) over 17 years in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested on admissions for renal tubular acidosis type 1 is not held centrally.
The following table shows the number of hospital admissions across the requested age groups for rickets since 2013/14:
Year | Age 0-4 | Age 5-9 | Age 10-16 | Age 17+ | Total |
2022/23 | 35 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 43 |
2021/22 | 43 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 55 |
2020/21 | 43 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 52 |
2019/20 | 33 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 47 |
2018/19 | 40 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 69 |
2017/18 | 33 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 46 |
2016/17 | 39 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 59 |
2015/16 | 34 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 49 |
2014/15 | 28 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 50 |
2013/14 | 35 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 45 |
Total | 363 | 58 | 57 | 37 | 515 |
Source: Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity
The following table shows the number of hospital admissions across the requested age groups for tuberculosis since 2013/14:
Year | Age 0-4 | Age 5-9 | Age 10-16 | Age 17+ | Total |
2022/23 | 67 | 56 | 169 | 4,695 | 4,987 |
2021/22 | 71 | 22 | 123 | 4,564 | 4,780 |
2020/21 | 64 | 20 | 92 | 3,930 | 4,106 |
2019/20 | 65 | 27 | 146 | 4,585 | 4,823 |
2018/19 | 81 | 27 | 136 | 4,339 | 4,583 |
2017/18 | 90 | 28 | 190 | 4,655 | 4,963 |
2016/17 | 84 | 85 | 187 | 5,348 | 5,704 |
2015/16 | 76 | 73 | 149 | 5,066 | 5,364 |
2014/15 | 64 | 43 | 138 | 5,193 | 5,438 |
2013/14 | 133 | 36 | 175 | 6,021 | 6,365 |
Total | 795 | 417 | 1,505 | 48,396 | 51,113 |
Source: Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity
The following table shows the number of hospital admissions across the requested age groups for malnutrition since 2019/20, the earliest period for which data is available:
Year | Age 0-4 | Age 5-9 | Age 10-16 | Age 17+ | Total |
2022/23 | 15 | 9 | 39 | 2,459 | 2,522 |
2021/22 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 2,454 | 2,501 |
2020/21 | 17 | 7 | 17 | 2,203 | 2,244 |
2019/20 | 17 | 2 | 21 | 2,265 | 2,305 |
Total | 63 | 35 | 93 | 9,381 | 9,572 |
Source: Hospital Patient Care Activity
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to publish a response to the consultation entitled Introducing further advertising restrictions on TV and online for products high in fat, salt or sugar: secondary legislation, published on 9 December 2022.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will publish a response to the consultation in due course. Legislation to further restrict the advertising of less healthy food will come into force in October 2025.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to implement (a) a 9.00pm watershed ban on TV junk food advertising and (b) a ban on paid-for advertising of less healthy foods on online media.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government legislated to further restrict advertising of less healthy food through the Health and Care Act 2022. This includes introducing a 9pm TV watershed for advertising products high in fat, salt or sugar and a restriction of paid-for advertising of these products online, across the United Kingdom. This will come into force on 1 October 2025.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential barriers to the integration of physician associates into primary care teams.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In implementing the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, NHS England is working with the relevant professional colleges and regulators, to ensure the physician associate (PA) role is expanded safely and effectively. In addition, NHS England has produced patient-facing materials that have been shared widely with general practices to support patient awareness and understanding of the role.
The introduction of regulation by the GMC will provide a standardised framework of governance and assurance for the clinical practice and professional conduct of PAs and make it easier for employers, patients, and the public to understand the relationship between this role and that of doctors.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the accuracy of information supplied with vapes about the level of nicotine they contain.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Vapes are substantially less harmful than cigarettes and can be an effective tool for adult smokers to quit. However, the Government is concerned about the worrying rise in vaping among children, with youth vaping tripling in the last three years. Due to nicotine content and the unknown long-term harms, vaping carries risks to health and lifelong addiction for children. The health advice is clear, young people and people who have never smoked should not vape.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the competent authority for the notification scheme for vapes in the United Kingdom. Manufacturers of vapes must submit information such as nicotine content and dosage to the MHRA for approval and sale on the UK market.
To help tackle illicit products, we have set up a new illicit vapes unit to bolster our enforcement capacity in Trading Standards and undertake testing of products on the market. In addition, in October this year, we announced £30 million of new funding to enforcement agencies to tackle the illicit and underage sale of vapes and tobacco.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to integrate (a) physician associates and (b) anaesthesia associates into the NHS workforce.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Physician associates (PA) and anaesthesia associates (AA) play an important role in multidisciplinary teams and complement the work of doctors. On 13 December 2023, the Department laid draft legislation in both Houses and in the Scottish Parliament that will empower the General Medical Council (GMC) to commence regulation for the two roles by the end of 2024.
Regulation will provide a standardised framework of governance and assurance for clinical practice and professional conduct, to enable these roles to make a greater contribution to patient care. Ahead of regulation, the GMC has published advice for PAs, AAs and doctors who supervise them.
The Faculty of PAs and the Royal College of Anaesthetists have developed guidance setting out the processes and considerations required for employers and supervisors of PAs and AAs respectively. In addition, NHS England has produced patient-facing materials that have been shared widely with general practices to support patient awareness and understanding of the PA role.
The NHS Long term workforce plan sets out plans to increase the number of PAs and AAs to establish a workforce of 10,000 and 2,000 respectively by 2036/37. NHS England is working with the relevant professional colleges and regulators, to ensure the PA and AA roles are expanded safely and effectively as part of multidisciplinary, integrated teams serving patients across the National Health Service.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of (a) the number of patients and (b) the cost to the NHS of (i) follow-up and (ii) corrective treatment for patients that have received (A) cosmetic surgery, (B) knee and/or hip replacements and (C) catheter ablation in hospitals (1) in the independent sector and (2) overseas in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not held in the format requested.