Tag: Cat Smith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many tonsillectomy operations were carried out in England in the last five years.

Jane Ellison

The information is not available in the form requested.

A count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with a primary or secondary procedure of tonsillectomy from 2010-11 to 2014-15 is below. Equivalent data for 2015-16 is not yet available, and a small number of tonsillectomy procedures are performed in outpatient settings which are not included in these figures.

Year	FCEs
2010-11	48,073
2011-12	47,342
2012-13	48,808
2013-14	52,536
2014-15	52,595

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Note:

An FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that GPs are able to routinely to offer 15 minute, or longer, consultations where necessary for patients with greater needs.

Alistair Burt

It is important that practices are free to meet the needs of individual patients according to clinical need. Therefore there is no requirement on general practitioner practices to offer appointments of a specific length or a specific mix of workforce to meet population need.

However, in recognition of the increased demands being placed on general practice, NHS England has:

1. Placed a requirement on clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the NHS Planning Guidance for 2016/17 to develop and implement a local plan to address the sustainability and quality of general practice, including workforce and workload issues. This is the first time specific requirements have been placed on local commissioners to support and develop general practice.

2. Provided advice about specific ways to invest in general practice for National Health Service leaders as they prepare Sustainability and Transformation Plans for the future. In both of these, there is a dual focus on maintaining quality and access to care in existing services, while also supporting the introduction of new ways of working. Areas where support is required include increased funding, growth and diversification in the workforce, development of premises and information technology, and specific help to develop networks and federations with patient benefit at their heart.

The ‘General Practice Forward View’ released in April 2016, announced a major new programme of development and improvement support for practices over the next three years. This will help groups of practices to redesign care in order to simultaneously release staff time and improve care for patients. As part of the development programme, support and advice will be provided to federations and CCGs on ways to engage patients and voluntary and community sector groups as partners. This will help local people shape priorities, contribute to the co-design of improved services and build assets in the community.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what account was taken of the results of the 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Survey on workplace union representatives in the healthcare sector in bringing forward proposals to cap union facility time in the Trade Union Bill.

Matthew Hancock

There are no current proposals to cap facility time. The reserve powers in the Trade Union Bill, which allow Ministers to set a cap on the time and money spent on facility time, would be used only as a last resort.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many companies which comprised a single person were paid for services by NHS trusts in 2014-15.

George Freeman

The information is not held centrally by the Department.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on passenger safety of removing guards and introducing driver-controlled operation on Northern Rail services.

Andrew Jones

The safety of passengers and rail users is paramount on the railway and the Department for Transport would never do anything to put passengers at risk.

This system has already been in safe use on almost a third of rail services in Great Britain for up to 30 years and we think that it can help to improve the service to passengers. By giving responsibility to the driver to operate the doors, the other staff on board the train could provide a better face-to-face service for passengers. Putting this in the wider context of Northern Rail services, unlike the last Northern franchise in 2004 which included limited plans to invest in services or meet demand, this new franchise will deliver more than 2,000 extra services each week, nearly a 40% increase in capacity and the complete removal of the outdated and unpopular Pacers by the end of 2019.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure patients accessing NHS abortions in England are not harassed by protestors outside NHS hospitals.

Ben Gummer

There have been no representations from National Health Service staff who feel they are being harassed outside NHS buildings by protesters.

Although protesters are democratically entitled to make their views known on abortion and other issues and can do so outside NHS hospitals and other NHS buildings, we would condemn any harassment of NHS staff, patients and others. We would expect NHS trusts, as responsible for providing a safe environment for all using their facilities, to work with the Police and other agencies as appropriate to ensure they have adequate arrangements in place to prevent harassment of staff and patients. If staff are subject to criminal activity such as physical assaults, these should be reported so that employers can take appropriate action.

Currently, NHS trusts have access to Security Incident Reporting Systems which helps NHS Protect measure the nature and scale of security incidents across the NHS, not just those involving physical assaults on staff but also those involving non-physical abuse and theft of/damage to NHS assets.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 26 April 2016 to Question 34277, on disability aids, if he will estimate the cost to the NHS of those delayed days in hospital due to patients waiting for community equipment and adaptions.

Alistair Burt

No estimate has been made of the cost to the National Health Service of delayed days in hospital due to patients waiting for community equipment and adaptions.

The Department collects the unit cost of an excess bed day, which, based on reported costs of stays in hospital beyond statistically derived measures of the expected length of stay for given treatments, was £303 in 2014-15. Whilst this unit cost should generally include only the costs associated with the ward, costing guidance acknowledges that active treatment does continue for some patients. Combining it with information on the number of delayed days would therefore tend to overestimate the gross cost of these delays.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to reduce the financial burden of indemnity costs on general practice.

Alistair Burt

The Department and NHS England committed in the recently published General Practice Forward View to review the current arrangements for indemnity cover for general practitioners. To take this review forward, a General Practice Indemnity Steering Group has been established by the Department with NHS England to look at the rising cost of indemnity, and to bring forward proposals for discussion by the end of July 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what representations she has received on support for charities which provide sexual health advice and services in Northern Ireland.

Mr Ben Wallace

Support for charities which provide sexual health advice and services in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly. Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office have received no representations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost is of each patient who attends a Same Day Walk-In Centre in the Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group area.

Jane Ellison

The data requested are not centrally available. This is a matter for Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group.