Tag: Justin Madders

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2016 to Question 42381, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the immigration status of NHS employees from other EU countries when the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Department for Exiting the European Union is leading the United Kingdom’s negotiations to leave the European Union and establish the future relationship between the EU and the UK, working very closely with other departments to ensure the British public and business interests get the best possible deal when the UK leaves the EU.

Arrangements have been made for the Department of Health and the Home Office to meet and discuss the health and social care EU workforce in the near future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department will implement the recommendations of the Deane Review into Self-Employment, published in February 2016.

Margot James

The Government is considering all the recommendations made in Julie Deane’s independent review of self-employment and will respond in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on patient safety of the 10 per cent headcount reduction initiative introduced by St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Mr Philip Dunne

Responsibility for determining appropriate staffing levels rests with hospital trusts. In making their assessment, trusts should focus on the numbers and skill mix needed to deliver quality care, patient safety and efficiency.

We are advised by NHS Improvement that St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is implementing a financial recovery plan, part of which involves reducing pay costs by 10% by 31 March 2017.

We are further advised that the Trust plans to achieve financial sustainability by not recruiting to certain posts as and when they become vacant. We understand that the Trust is also reviewing its expenditure on discretionary pay and on employing temporary bank and agency staff.

We are assured that the Trust will take all necessary steps to ensure staff can continue to deliver services safely and effectively and that any posts judged essential to delivering services safely and effectively will continue to be filled.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what level of funding has been (a) requested by and (b) allocated to NHS England for (i) 2017-18, (ii) 2018-19 and (iii) 2019-20.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Spending Review settled the level of funding that the National Health Service in England will receive over the course of this Parliament, with the NHS England Chief Executive a full party to the discussions with HM Treasury. As the Chief Executive said at the time the Spending Review was announced, “our case for the NHS has been heard and actively supported’’. Regular discussions around the finances of the NHS continue to take place between my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the Chief Executive of NHS England.

The NHS will be receiving £10 billion more per year in real terms by 2020-21 compared to 2014-15. The following table sets out the financial settlement allocated to the NHS.

NHS budget for Spending Review period

Revenue and capital combined	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21
Total (£ million)	100,500	105,975	109,337	111,824	114,929	119,035
Real terms increase on previous year (%)		3.7%	1.3%	0.3%	0.7%	1.3%
Real terms increase on 2015-16 baseline (£ billion)		3.8	5.3	5.8	6.7	8.4
Real terms increase on 2014-15 baseline (£ billion)	2.0	6.0	7.0	8.0	9.0	10.0

Note:

These figures differ from the NHS Total Departmental Expenditure Limit (TDEL) figures announced at the Spending Review due to a number of technical adjustments, including transfers of functions. The main transfer of function is the move of 0-5 public health services from NHS England to local government. There are a small number of other transfers including the move of the Leadership Academy to Health Education England. To ensure comparability of numbers, in this table £500 million has been removed from the 2015-16 baseline, representing 6 months of funding for 0-5 public health services between 1 April and 30 September 2015 and these other planned transfers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the NHS workforce he expects to receive a real-terms pay increase over the next four years; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

The Government announced that it would fund public sector pay increases at an average of 1% for four years from 2016/17. For National Health Service staff, the NHS Pay Review Body and Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration will take evidence from a range of stakeholders, including Government, trades unions, NHS Providers, NHS Employers, NHS England and Health Education England and will make recommendations to Government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to guarantee that all patients who had their operations cancelled as a result of the proposed industrial action by junior doctors will be offered another date for their operation within the next 28 days.

Ben Gummer

The NHS is making every effort to rearrange treatment for people whose operations were cancelled as quickly as possible.

We recognise that cancellations by the hospital are upsetting and inconvenient for patients, which is why there is a pledge on cancelled operations in the Handbook on the NHS Constitution. When a patient’s operation is cancelled by the hospital at the last minute (on or after the day of admission, including the day of surgery) for non-clinical reasons, the hospital should offer another binding date within a maximum of the next 28 days or fund the patient’s treatment at the time and hospital of the patient’s choice.

For operations that were cancelled before the day of admission, the pledge does not apply. However, the NHS Constitution includes the right “to access services within maximum waiting times, or for the NHS to take all reasonable steps to offer you a range of alternative providers if this is not possible”. Patients have the right to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. If this is not possible, and where patients request it, the organisation responsible for commissioning the patient’s care must investigate offering a range of suitable alternative providers that would be able to see or treat the patient more quickly than the original provider. The commissioning organisation must take all reasonable steps to meet patients’ requests.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have been employed on a zero hours contract in Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the most effective way to implement the use of rapid diagnostic technology for the purpose of accurately diagnosing infections in hospitals.

Ben Gummer

An expert group has been looking at how we can improve access to rapid diagnostic testing as part of the implementation of the UK Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy. The group is currently formulating its conclusions and intends to start working with stakeholders to implement improvements across the system from 2016; a part of this work will include an economic analysis to support the rapid adoption of new tests.

The Department has been feeding this work into the Accelerated Access Review, which will make recommendations to Government on speeding up access to transformative new medicines and technologies, including diagnostics, for National Health Service patients. The review is due to report in April 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that the conclusions of appraisals currently being undertaken by NICE are revisited in the light of the conclusions of the Accelerated Access Review: Interim Report, published October 2015.

Ben Gummer

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body responsible for developing its guidance in line with its published methods and processes. It will be for NICE to consider the impact of any relevant recommendations from the Accelerated Access Review on its guidance – either published or in development.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on the agreement of a long-term arrangement to control the cost of medical indemnity cover for out-of-hours GPs.

Alistair Burt

The Department and NHS England are committed to addressing the issue of increasing medical indemnity costs for general practitioners (GPs), including those working out of hours.

Increasing costs of indemnity cover associated with out of hours work may discourage GPs from undertaking out-of-hours shifts in primary care.

The Department was represented at a roundtable event held by NHS England on 17 November 2015 to develop a shared understanding of how to address rising medical indemnity costs. A range of stakeholders, including the British Medical Association and Medical Defence Organisations (MDOs), also attended.

On 9 December 2015, NHS England announced a winter indemnity scheme to offset the additional indemnity premium for GPs who wish to work additional sessions for their out-of-hours providers. In addition they have negotiated changes to the products offered by MDOs to bring down costs of indemnity for extended access.

Discussions are ongoing between the Department and NHS England on a long-term solution.