Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to roll out antibody testing to all key workers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
On 21 May the Government announced plans for a national roll-out of antibody testing in the National Health Service and social care sector. Since the end of May, lab-based antibody tests have been available to all NHS staff that want one. For care staff, antibody testing will be rolled out in a phased way across regions in England. Any expansion to the antibody testing program will be announced at the appropriate time.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of allocating additional investment to adult social care to support his proposals to revitalise the economy.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have now made £3.7 billion available to local authorities so they can address pressures on local services caused by the pandemic, including in adult social care. On 15 May we published details of an additional £600 million Infection Control Fund for Adult Social Care. The Government will continue to monitor pressures in the National Health Service and local government and will keep future funding under review.
We are committed to bringing forward a plan for social care to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and to find long term solutions for one of the biggest challenges we face as a society.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report entitled, ADASS Budget Survey 2020, what assessment has he made of the implications for his policy of the conclusion that the adult social care providers and councils may face up to £6.6 billion in extra costs by the end of September 2020 as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that COVID-19 is imposing significant pressures on the social care sector. We have now made £3.7 billion available to local authorities so they can address pressures on local services caused by the pandemic, including in adult social care.
On 15 May we published details of an additional £600 million Infection Control Fund for Adult Social Care. This funding is to support adult social care providers in England reduce the rate of transmission in and between care homes and to support workforce resilience.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is running a monitoring exercise to gather ongoing financial management information on pressures councils are experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including on adult social care. Rounds 1 and 2 of the survey collected data in April and May and results have been published at the following link:
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 additional funding required to support people with (a) long-term mental health conditions, (b) addictions and (c) adult safeguarding requirements as the covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
As part of the NHS Long Term Plan commitment to transform mental health care, funding is expected to grow faster than total National Health Service spending every year, with investment at least £2.3 billion higher each year by 2023/24.
For people with long-term mental health conditions, we have provided an additional £5 million of funding for mental health charities to support adults and children struggling with their mental wellbeing. In addition, the Government has announced a further £4.2 million to mental health charities as part of the Government’s United Kingdom-wide £750 million package of support for the voluntary sector.
The Government has also made a total of £3.2 billion available to local authorities to help them respond to COVID-19 pressures across all the services they deliver, including for addiction support, adult social care and safeguarding.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 potential merits of introducing a social care minimum wage.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government does not set the levels of pay for care workers; however, we are committed to raising the profile of the social care sector. Putting social care on a sustainable footing, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, is one of the biggest challenges that we face as a society. There are complex questions to address, which is why we have invited cross-party talks. These will take place at the earliest opportunity in light of the current circumstances. The Government will then bring forward a plan for social care for the longer term.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has in place to enable people who are housebound due to (a) a physical and (b) a mental health condition to access smear tests.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
General practitioner practices are required to ensure that their premises are suitable for the delivery of essential services and that they are sufficient to meet the reasonable needs of its patients, including those with disabilities. This involves making any necessary reasonable adjustments; making alternative arrangements, such as referral to a specialist screening provider; or undertaking the procedures in another setting that is more suitable given any limitations to a patient’s mobility. Where a patient requires specialist equipment, clinical staff will ensure that patients have access to its use in a safe environment.
NHS England is continuously investing in initiatives to help ensure equality of access to screening and, through the Section 7A public health functions agreement, aims to improve public health outcomes and reduce inequalities.
Professor Sir Mike Richards’ review of Adult Screening programmes was published on 16 October 2019 and recognised that people with physical disabilities, learning disabilities or mental health conditions tend to have lower uptake of screening programmes than the general population. Professor Richards’ report included recommendations on improving access to services for and sharing good practice on physical and learning disabilities. The Department is considering the report with NHS England and Public Health England and will publish an implementation plan in the spring.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 meet the NHS's 18-week maximum waiting time for planned hip and knee joint replacement surgery.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The NHS Long Term Plan sets out our plans for transformation and improvement across the National Health Service. In the shorter term, the NHS Accountability Framework for 2019-20 outlines how NHS England and NHS Improvement will continue ongoing service development, including for hip and knee surgery, so that performance is maintained and improved, including with the commencement of the redesign of outpatient services. The 2019-20 framework is available via the following link:
Further to this, at the Government’s request, NHS England and NHS Improvement are also working with clinical leaders across the system to review our performance standards and will update on this in due course.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 medicinal cannabis prescriptions prescribed on the NHS in 2019.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
NHS England and NHS Improvement is using extant systems to monitor use of the unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use in England. In England, these systems monitor the number of items dispensed and associated costs in primary care and the volume of products used and associated cost in secondary care. NHS England and NHS Improvement Controlled Drug Accountable Officers are also collecting local intelligence in both the National Health Service and independent sector.
The NHS Business Services Authority is only able to provide information on prescriptions for cannabis-based medicines that have been prescribed and submitted to it. The NHS Business Services Authority does not hold information on prescriptions for cannabis-based medicines which have been issued but not fulfilled.
The following table shows the number of items for Nabilone, Sativex and Epidyolex (licensed cannabis-based medicines) and unlicensed cannabis-based medicines that were prescribed on an National Health Service prescription, dispensed in the community and submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority for reimbursement between January and October 2019 (October 2019 is the most recent dispensing data held by the NHS Business Services Authority).
Month | Licensed Cannabis-based medicines | Unlicensed cannabis-based medicines | ||
Nabilone | Sativex | Epidyolex1 | ||
January 2019 | 44 | 167 |
| 2 |
February 2019 | 36 | 159 |
| 1 |
March 2019 | 51 | 171 |
| 2 |
April 2019 | 49 | 156 |
| 2 |
May 2019 | 59 | 176 |
| 2 |
June 2019 | 47 | 187 |
| 2 |
July 2019 | 54 | 158 |
| 2 |
August 2019 | 46 | 174 |
| 1 |
September 2019 | 58 | 179 | 0 | 1 |
October 2019 | 46 | 173 | 0 | 1 |
Total | 490 | 1,700 | 0 | 16 |
Grand Total | 2,206 | |||
Note:
1 Epidyolex was unlicensed prior to September 2019; no NHS prescriptions for Epidyolex have been submitted at the time this data was produced. In addition to the above, approximately 185 patients have accessed Epidyolex though the manufacturer’s (GW Pharma) early access programmes, ahead of a licensing decision by the European Medicines Agency.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 implement NICE guidelines on the diagnosis of eating disorders.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Clinical commissioning groups and providers of healthcare are expected to have regard to national guidance, including National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, and are responsible for developing their own local approaches to its implementation, taking into account local priorities and needs.
NICE’s guideline on eating disorders: recognition and treatment makes it clear that a person’s body mass index is just one of the factors that should be taken into account to determine whether to offer treatment for an eating disorder, but that it should not be used on its own.
This is reiterated in guidance issued to commissioners and providers of adult eating disorder services in August 2019 with the aim of improving both timely access to, and the quality of evidence-based treatment in eating disorder services for adults and older adults. This is available at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/aed-guidance.pdf
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) nurses, (b) GPs, (c) midwives and (d) mental health specialists are working in (i) Medway and (ii) West Kent.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care or in GP surgeries, local authorities or other providers.
The following table shows the number of nurses and health visitors, midwives and mental health staff as at September 2019, the latest available data at Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, Kent Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Medway NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Medway CCG and NHS West Kent CCG, full time equivalent (FTE).
| Nurses and health visitors | Midwives | Mental health staff |
Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust | 811 | 0 | 1,625 |
Kent Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust | 1,084 | 0 | 68 |
Medway NHS Foundation Trust | 1,020 | 159 | 21 |
NHS Medway CCG | 5 | 0 | 0 |
NHS West Kent CCG | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Note:
CCGs are National Health Service bodies responsible for the planning and commissioning of health care services for their local area. They are made up of a governing body directly employed by the CCG and local general practitioner (GP) practice members within the area of the CCG.
The following table shows the number of doctors, nurses and other direct patient care staff employed in general practice as at September 2019 within the areas NHS Medway CCG and NHS West Kent CCG. These are in addition to those nurses employed directly by the CCG in the previous table. The figures presented include GP registrars and GP locums, FTE.
| All general practitioners | All nurses in general practice | All direct patient care staff in general practice |
NHS Medway CCG | 115 | 69 | 69 |
NHS West Kent CCG | 250 | 111 | 118 |
Note:
Figures shown here do not include general practice staff working in prisons, army bases, educational establishments, specialist care centres including drug rehabilitation centres, walk-in centres and other alternative settings. figures contain estimates, for practices that did not provide fully valid general medical practice GP, nurse or direct patient care staff records.