Tag: Heidi Alexander

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what changes have been made in 2016 to the level of data recorded and published on the nationality of NHS staff.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Department does not record or publish data on the nationality of staff working in the National Health Service. Data on nationality is published twice a year by NHS Digital and turnover data is published quarterly and available by nationality.

Nationality is a data item within the National Workforce Data set used with a range of other data items to support workforce planning, analysis of staff movement and equality monitoring. It is not mandatory, but self-declared.

In 2015 and 2016 requests for nationality data on NHS staff in England were published on the supplementary information part of the NHS Digital website, rather than as part of the routine Hospital and Community Health Services statistical publications. In 2016, following NHS Digital’s public consultation, NHS Digital now routinely publish tables showing the self-declared nationality of staff in staff groups and regions, bi-annually, together with quarterly turnover statistics which show the nationality of joiners and leavers to and from the NHS in England.

The latest nationality data was published in March 2016 and the next set will be published in December 2016 showing the position at September 2016.

The latest turnover data published in September 2016 covers the 12 month period to 30 June 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health of 11 January 2016, Official Report, column 238WH, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of unsuccessful applicants for nursing training courses who met the entry criteria.

Ben Gummer

Information relating to the number and proportion of unsuccessful applicants is not collected by the Department.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service collect and publish figures on the number of applications and the number of applicants accepted by subject for full-time undergraduate courses. However this data does not provide information on how many of the unsuccessful applicants to nursing would meet the entry criteria.

The existing cap on the number of student places imposed by Health Education England means universities are limited to only offering places made available within the cap, plus a percentage above this to account for applicants offered places choosing other universities. Universities cannot accept more candidates who may meet entry criteria places as the number of places is capped.

As part of the reforms to health higher education we are abolishing this cap, enabling universities to recruit as many eligible applicants as they choose.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what risk assessment was carried out on his policy to impose a new contract on junior doctors.

Ben Gummer

Sir David Dalton, who led recent negotiations on behalf of the National Health Service, advised my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health that the offer made to the British Medical Association (BMA) was developed with the input of a senior reference group of NHS leaders and shared with a wider group of senior NHS leaders, all of whom agreed it to be fair and reasonable for doctors in training and for the service. In negotiations, agreement had been secured with the BMA on approximately 90% of the issues discussed. Sir David’s letter advised the government “to do whatever it deems necessary to end uncertainty for the service and to make sure that a new contract is in place which is as close as possible to the final position put forward to the BMA”.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what enhancement to pay rates officials in his Department receive for working on Saturdays and Sundays.

Ben Gummer

Civil Servants at the Department are contracted to work Monday to Friday. Senior Civil Servants are not eligible to claim any paid overtime for weekend or late working outside of contracted hours.

In the majority of cases, for civil servants in the delegated grades (AO-G6), overtime is paid in exceptional circumstances and must be agreed in advance with the appropriate senior official. The rate for paid overtime is dependent on the official’s grade and/ or the day worked.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what dates ACAS conciliation talks between his Department and the BMA on the junior doctors’ dispute have taken place; at what time each such meeting started and finished; and for what dates future such meetings are planned.

Ben Gummer

The first round of ACAS meetings took place on 26 to 30 November 2015 and resulted in strike action being postponed. Following the ACAS meetings, the Department, NHS Employers and the British Medical Association (BMA) continued to discuss proposed changes to the junior doctor contract.

Constructive talks ran until 4 January when the BMA announced that, contrary to the understanding of the management side negotiators, they did not feel that enough progress had been made and announced further dates for industrial action in January and February.

The Department and NHS Employers asked the BMA to agree to ask ACAS to return to the talks. Meetings were held with ACAS on the 8, 14 and 15 of January. Further meetings were scheduled this week.

We are pleased that on 19 January 2016 the BMA agreed to suspend further action planned for 48 hours from 26 to 28 January, with cover for emergency care. However, they have not agreed to suspend action planned for 10 February when junior doctors will withdraw their labour, including from providing any emergency care.

The Government and junior doctors want to do the same thing by improving patient care at weekends and we look forward to further constructive discussions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 25603, on NHS: Finance, how many meetings Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority has had with NHS trusts to agree plans to improve the financial position of those trusts since 5 February 2016.

Ben Gummer

As part of Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority’s fundamental roles, they have regular contact with all trusts and foundation trusts regarding financial planning. This contact is undertaken in various ways from face to face meetings with senior leaders to larger scale events.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which hospitals he has visited in an official capacity in 2016; and what the date was of each such visit.

Jane Ellison

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his team have visited the following hospitals in an official capacity in 2016 to date.

Secretary of State for Health

29 January 2016 Kings College Hospital, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, King’s Health Partners

5 February 2016 Coombe Wood Perinatal Mental Health Unit, Park Royal Centre for Mental Health, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

14 April 2016 Oxford University, Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

Lord Prior

6 January 2016 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust

20 January 2016 East Surrey Hospital, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

3 February 2016 St Thomas Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

18 February 2016 Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

16 March 2016 Southmead Hospital, North Bristol NHS Trust

22 March 2016 Guy’s Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

24 March 2016 Royal Derby Hospital, Derby Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust

24 March 2016 Lings Bar Hospital, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

12 April 2016 Royal Brompton Hospital, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust

Ben Gummer

14 January 2016 Watford General Hospital, West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust

21 January 2016 Salford Royal Hospital, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust

21 January 2016 St Mary’s Hospital, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

15 February 2016 Royal Cornwall Hospital, at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

16 February 2016 Mount Gould Hospital, Livewell Southwest

16 February 2016 Tiverton and District Hospital, Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust

17 February 2016 Dorset County Hospital, Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

17 February 2016 Southampton General Hospital, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

29 February 2016 St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

14 March 2016 St Thomas’ Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

Alistair Burt

3 March 2016 St Pancras Hospital, Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust

11 March 2016 Wythenshawe Hospital, University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust

17 March 2016 Kings College Hospital, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

14 April 2016 Clock View Hospital and Ashworth Hospital, Mersey Care NHS Trust

George Freeman

7 March 2016 CityLabs, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Oxford Rd, Manchester

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his team have visited the following primary care services in an official capacity in 2016 to date.

Secretary of State for Health

15 January 2016 Hillfoot Surgery, Pudsey, West Yorkshire

Alistair Burt

11 February 2016 Copes Pharmacy Ltd, London

11 March 2016 Five Oakes Family Practice, Manchester

Jane Ellison

4 February 2016 The Acton African Well Woman Clinic, Hillcrest Surgery, London

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his team have visited the following residential and nursing homes in an official capacity in 2016 to date.

Secretary of State for Health

5 February 2016 Coombe Wood Perinatal Mental Health Unit, Park Royal Centre for Mental Health, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Ben Gummer

15 February 2016 St Julia’s Hospice, Cornwall Hospice Care

Alistair Burt

25 February 2016 The Betty and Asher Loftus Centre, London

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his oral contribution of 5 January 2016, Official Report, column 18, what the evidential basis is for the statement that changes to nurses’ training will allow for training 10,000 more nurses over the course of the current Parliament.

Ben Gummer

As set out by the Chancellor in the Spending Review in November 2015, universities will be able to provide up to 10,000 additional training places by the end of this Parliament. This is for nursing, midwifery and allied health subjects.

In 2014, 57,000 applicants applied for 20,033 nursing places on the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) system. Nursing, midwifery and the allied health subjects are popular to study with British students, with nursing the fifth most popular subject on UCAS in 2014. Universities want to train more students for these professions and have the capacity to expand moderately quickly if allowed. There are already examples of universities, such as The University of Bolton and Keele University where these institutions have expanded to deliver additional places for nursing and physiotherapy respectively; with other universities also looking to expand.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 26014, what the baseline year is for the commitment to train 10,000 more nurses, midwives and other allied health professionals over the course of the current Parliament.

Ben Gummer

As announced by the Chancellor in the Spending Review in November 2015, the Government has committed to remove the cap on the number of students studying nursing, midwifery and the allied health professions from 1 August 2017. This will enable universities to offer up to 10,000 new training places for students to start these courses in this Parliament.

This reflects estimates on the level of unmet demand for places in the current system where, as an example, for nursing, around two out of three nursing applicants who currently apply for a place are turned down.

The Government is working with health and higher education delivery organisations to determine an appropriate baseline as part of implementing the reforms.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which primary care services he has visited in an official capacity in 2016; and what the date was of each such visit.

Jane Ellison

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his team have visited the following hospitals in an official capacity in 2016 to date.

Secretary of State for Health

29 January 2016 Kings College Hospital, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, King’s Health Partners

5 February 2016 Coombe Wood Perinatal Mental Health Unit, Park Royal Centre for Mental Health, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

14 April 2016 Oxford University, Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

Lord Prior

6 January 2016 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust

20 January 2016 East Surrey Hospital, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

3 February 2016 St Thomas Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

18 February 2016 Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

16 March 2016 Southmead Hospital, North Bristol NHS Trust

22 March 2016 Guy’s Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

24 March 2016 Royal Derby Hospital, Derby Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust

24 March 2016 Lings Bar Hospital, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

12 April 2016 Royal Brompton Hospital, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust

Ben Gummer

14 January 2016 Watford General Hospital, West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust

21 January 2016 Salford Royal Hospital, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust

21 January 2016 St Mary’s Hospital, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

15 February 2016 Royal Cornwall Hospital, at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

16 February 2016 Mount Gould Hospital, Livewell Southwest

16 February 2016 Tiverton and District Hospital, Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust

17 February 2016 Dorset County Hospital, Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

17 February 2016 Southampton General Hospital, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

29 February 2016 St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

14 March 2016 St Thomas’ Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

Alistair Burt

3 March 2016 St Pancras Hospital, Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust

11 March 2016 Wythenshawe Hospital, University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust

17 March 2016 Kings College Hospital, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

14 April 2016 Clock View Hospital and Ashworth Hospital, Mersey Care NHS Trust

George Freeman

7 March 2016 CityLabs, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Oxford Rd, Manchester

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his team have visited the following primary care services in an official capacity in 2016 to date.

Secretary of State for Health

15 January 2016 Hillfoot Surgery, Pudsey, West Yorkshire

Alistair Burt

11 February 2016 Copes Pharmacy Ltd, London

11 March 2016 Five Oakes Family Practice, Manchester

Jane Ellison

4 February 2016 The Acton African Well Woman Clinic, Hillcrest Surgery, London

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his team have visited the following residential and nursing homes in an official capacity in 2016 to date.

Secretary of State for Health

5 February 2016 Coombe Wood Perinatal Mental Health Unit, Park Royal Centre for Mental Health, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Ben Gummer

15 February 2016 St Julia’s Hospice, Cornwall Hospice Care

Alistair Burt

25 February 2016 The Betty and Asher Loftus Centre, London