Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to ensure that current and former staff provide evidence to the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry into the deaths of mental health inpatients in Essex between 2000 and 2020.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 January 2023 to Question 122453.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
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 whether the terms of reference for the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry into the deaths of mental health inpatients in Essex between 2000 and 2020 can be met with the inquiry’s status as a non-statutory inquiry.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
This is an independent inquiry, which is ongoing. No assessment has been made of the level of evidence provided by current or former staff. The Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust has assured the Department of the trust’s support for the inquiry and the trust CEO will provide confirmation to Ministers of additional steps to support greater staff participation in the Inquiry.
The Department is also working closely with the inquiry, the trust and NHS England to look at what more can be done to encourage staff to engage with the Inquiry. Ministers will continue to give careful consideration to the progress of the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry, and whether or not it should remain on a non-statutory footing.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
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 help encourage current and former staff to provide evidence to the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry into the deaths of mental health inpatients in Essex between 2000 and 2020.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
This is an independent inquiry, which is ongoing. No assessment has been made of the level of evidence provided by current or former staff. The Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust has assured the Department of the trust’s support for the inquiry and the trust CEO will provide confirmation to Ministers of additional steps to support greater staff participation in the Inquiry.
The Department is also working closely with the inquiry, the trust and NHS England to look at what more can be done to encourage staff to engage with the Inquiry. Ministers will continue to give careful consideration to the progress of the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry, and whether or not it should remain on a non-statutory footing.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
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 level of evidence provided by current and former staff to the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry into the deaths of mental health inpatients in Essex between 2000 and 2020.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
This is an independent inquiry, which is ongoing. No assessment has been made of the level of evidence provided by current or former staff. The Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust has assured the Department of the trust’s support for the inquiry and the trust CEO will provide confirmation to Ministers of additional steps to support greater staff participation in the Inquiry.
The Department is also working closely with the inquiry, the trust and NHS England to look at what more can be done to encourage staff to engage with the Inquiry. Ministers will continue to give careful consideration to the progress of the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry, and whether or not it should remain on a non-statutory footing.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to place on a statutory footing the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry into the deaths of mental health inpatients in Essex between 2000 and 2020.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
We will consider the progress of the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry and whether it should remain on a non-statutory footing.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
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 estimate of the investment needed in additional GP capacity in (a) the Witham constituency; and (b) Essex over the next (i) five and (ii) ten years.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
‘A five-year framework for GP contract reform to implement The NHS Long Term Plan’ was agreed with the British Medical Association and provides clarity on funding for practices until 2023/24. This was updated in 2020 to invest and an additional £1.5 billion to create a further 50 million general practice appointments by 2024 through increasing and diversifying the workforce.
The current framework ends in April 2024 and future funding for general practice, including to support capacity, will be considered in due course.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
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 of the patients per GP in each (a) primary care network and (b) Integrated Care System.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
Data on the number of patients per full time equivalent general practitioner in each Primary Care Network and integrated care board is available at the following link:
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
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 availability of face-to-face GP appointments in (a) Witham constituency, (b) in Essex and (c) nationwide.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The information requested is not collected at constituency or county level. In England, 68.1% of appointments were conducted face-to-face in September 2022, excluding COVID-19 vaccinations.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of basing a community diagnostic centre in Witham.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Future locations for community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are currently under review. NHS England is working with integrated care systems, diagnostic networks and primary care services to assess and determine the location and configuration of services for future CDCs, based on the needs of the local population. This review will consider a number of sites in Mid and South Essex.