Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS funding was spent on general ophthalmic services in 2021-22; and what proportion of that funding was on (a) NHS sight tests and (b) NHS optical vouchers, including for repairs and replacements.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The following table shows the cost to the National Health Service in England in 2021/22 of providing General Ophthalmic Services.
General Ophthalmic Services | Cost | Proportion |
NHS Sight Tests | £307 million | 56.6% |
NHS Optical Vouchers incl. Repairs & Replacements | £222 million | 41% |
Other GOS contract costs | £13 million | 2.4% |
Note:
Draft accounts for this period, the numbers are not finalised until published on the NHS England website.
The following table shows the cost for secondary care organisations submitted via the National Cost Collection for outpatients within Treatment Function Code ‘Paediatric Ophthalmology’, for the financial years 2019/20 and 2020/21, the latest available data.
Year | Cost |
2019/20 | £43.7 million |
2020/21 | £50.5 million |
The published data is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/costing-in-the-nhs/national-cost-collection/
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS funding was provided to outpatient paediatric ophthalmology services in 2021-22.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The following table shows the cost to the National Health Service in England in 2021/22 of providing General Ophthalmic Services.
General Ophthalmic Services | Cost | Proportion |
NHS Sight Tests | £307 million | 56.6% |
NHS Optical Vouchers incl. Repairs & Replacements | £222 million | 41% |
Other GOS contract costs | £13 million | 2.4% |
Note:
Draft accounts for this period, the numbers are not finalised until published on the NHS England website.
The following table shows the cost for secondary care organisations submitted via the National Cost Collection for outpatients within Treatment Function Code ‘Paediatric Ophthalmology’, for the financial years 2019/20 and 2020/21, the latest available data.
Year | Cost |
2019/20 | £43.7 million |
2020/21 | £50.5 million |
The published data is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/costing-in-the-nhs/national-cost-collection/
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many outpatient (a) paediatric ophthalmology, (b) optometry and (c) orthoptic appointments for children under 19 years of age were (i) missed as the patient did not attend or (ii) cancelled in 2021-22.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
In 2021/22, there were 67,588 outpatient paediatric ophthalmology appointments, 3,967 optometry appointments and 54,615 orthoptic appointments for children under 19 years of age that were missed as the patient did not attend.
In 2021/22, there were 49,720 outpatient paediatric ophthalmology appointments, 3,286 optometry appointments and 48,122 orthoptic appointments for children under 19 years of age that were cancelled.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what was the average waiting time for an outpatient paediatric ophthalmology appointment in 2021-22.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The average waiting time for an outpatient paediatric ophthalmology appointment in 2021/22 was 88 days from the point of referral to the first outpatient appointment attended.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether literature provided to (a) parents and (b) special schools engaged in the NHS England special schools eye care service stated that it was a (i) proof of concept and (ii) pilot programme.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The independent evaluation of the NHS England special schools eye care service is currently being finalised. The findings will inform decisions on the scope, funding and delivery of any future sight testing model and will be subject to further engagement.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for the publication of the independent evaluation of the NHS England special schools eye care service.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The independent evaluation of the NHS England special schools eye care service is currently being finalised. The findings will inform decisions on the scope, funding and delivery of any future sight testing model and will be subject to further engagement.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he has made an assessment on the effectiveness of NHS tariff payments for (a) oxygen concentrators and (b) home dialysis machines.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. NHS England has recently made provision within the tariff paid to trusts for additional energy costs of some services, such as home haemodialysis, to be reimbursed to patients via the local hospital trust. NHS England has increased tariff prices by 4.1% this year to reflect costs and support trusts in increasing local repayment tariffs for patients.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken recent steps to involve people affected by dementia in the development of the knowledge and skills framework for social care.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Through Skills for Care, the Government provides resources and practical toolkits for social care providers to attract, train and retain staff. This includes the Workforce Development Fund, which enables employers to apply for financial support towards the development of staff and can include training for staff to care for those with dementia.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure that the social care workforce receives training on dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Through Skills for Care, the Government provides resources and practical toolkits for social care providers to attract, train and retain staff. This includes the Workforce Development Fund, which enables employers to apply for financial support towards the development of staff and can include training for staff to care for those with dementia.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require (a) early intervention and (b) preventative measures to help tackle children and young people's mental health and wellbeing; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
There are no current plans to bring forward specific legislative proposals.
The Government has launched a public call for evidence to support the development of a new cross-Government 10 year plan for mental health, including supporting children and young people’s mental health. The call for evidence is open until 7 July 2022 and is available at the following link: