Written questions by McIntyre.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the NHS 10-Year health plan (a) prioritises areas of economic deprivation and (b) effectively meets the needs of working people.

The focus of the 10-Year Health Plan is to ensure the National Health Service is there for anyone who needs it whenever they need it. We cannot do this without tackling health inequalities, including for working class people and those living in areas of economic deprivation. Addressing healthcare inequalities is a fundamental part of the Health Mission and the 10-Year Health Plan.Our reimagined NHS will be designed to tackle inequalities in both access and outcomes, as well as giving everyone, no matter who they are or where they come from, the means to engage with the NHS on their own terms.Furthermore, patients will be able to leave feedback easily and confidently, which will amplify patient voices, particularly for those who face worse healthcare access, experiences, and outcomes.

What steps he is taking to support phlebotomists in Gloucester.

Local organisations are responsible for supporting their workforce, including staff in phlebotomy roles. We are aware of local industrial action in Gloucester. This is a local issue for the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to manage, working in partnership with trade unions.

What steps he is taking to improve access to treatment for people with alopecia areata in Gloucester.

The Government is committed to supporting all those living with dermatological conditions, including alopecia areata. Dermatology services are being transformed to make sure that patients are seen on time. NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Programme for Dermatology is working with National Health Service trusts to deliver rapid clinical transformation. The work brings together clinicians and operational teams to work collectively to transform patient pathways, reduce unnecessary appointments, and improve access and waiting times for patients.In March 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended ritlecitinib as an option for treating severe alopecia areata in people 12 years old and over. The NHS is legally required to make funding available for treatments recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of publication of the guidance, opening the way for patients across the country, including in Gloucester, to access this treatment.It is a clinician’s responsibility to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of their patient, whilst ensuring they are taking account of appropriate national guidance on clinical effectiveness, as well as the local commissioning decisions of their respective integrated care board (ICB), in this case the NHS Gloucestershire ICB.

What steps he is taking to increase (a) funding and (b) support for research into endometriosis.

The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Over the past 10 years, the NIHR has invested approximately £11.2 million into research with a focus on endometriosis and continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of women’s health, including endometriosis.To support further research into women’s health, in 2024 the NIHR launched two new funding calls for studies seeking to improve the health and wellbeing of women. Details of the successful funding awards will be published on the NIHR’s website later this year.

What steps his Department is taking to help tackle medication shortages in Gloucester constituency.

The Department has a responsibility to work with medicine license holders in the United Kingdom to help ensure continuity of supply. We monitor and manage medicine supply issues at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand and therefore measures are not specific to Gloucester.We have inherited ongoing global supply problems that continue to impact medicine availability under the new government. We know how frustrating and distressing this can be for patients, and we are working closely with industry, the National Health Service, manufacturers and other partners in the supply chain to resolve issues as quickly as possible to make sure patients can access the medicines they need.Medicine supply chains are complex, global and highly regulated and there are several reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the UK and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution issues and regulatory issues. There are approximately 14,000 licensed medicines and the overwhelming majority are in good supply.While we cannot always prevent supply issues from occurring, we have a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise and mitigate risks to patients. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product, expediting regulatory procedures, sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, use of Serious Shortage Protocols, and issuing NHS communications to provide management advice and information on the issue to healthcare professionals including pharmacists, so they can advise and support their patients.The resilience of UK supply chains is a key priority, and we are committed to helping to build long term supply chain resilience for medicines. We are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve our ability to mitigate and manage shortages and strengthen our resilience.

What recent steps he has taken to help improve ambulance waiting times in Gloucester.

We are committed to improving urgent and emergency care performance and getting ambulance response times, including in Gloucester, back to the NHS Constitution’s standards. We are clear, however, that there are no quick fixes and to turn things around will take investment and reform.Recent action includes the Autumn Budget, which announced £25.6 billion of additional healthcare funding over the next two years; and the publication of the ‘Road to recovery: the government's 2025 mandate to NHS England’ on the 30th January, which set prioritised delivery instructions for the NHS including for urgent and emergency care. This is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-to-recovery-the-governments-2025-mandate-to-nhs-england/road-to-recovery-the-governments-2025-mandate-to-nhs-england In Spring, we will publish a 10-Year Health Plan which will set out the reforms needed to build a health service that is fit for the future.

What recent steps his Department has taken to improve access to NHS dentistry in Gloucester.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to Integrated Care Boards across England. For Gloucester constituency, this is NHS Gloucestershire ICB.

What steps his Department is taking to help improve access to treatment for people with functional neurological disorder.

The majority of services for people with neurological conditions, including functional neurological disorder (FND), are commissioned locally. Integrated care board commissioners are best placed to configure services for their populations, and will be supported by clinical guidance.At a national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with neurological conditions, including FND, such as the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and the Neurology Transformation Programme. In 2023, the National Neurosciences Advisory Group developed a clinical pathway for FND, which is available at the following link: https://www.nnag.org.uk/optimal-clinical-pathway-adults-fnd-functional-neurological-disorder NHS England is in the process of updating the Specialised Neurology service specification. This will include FND, which is not included in the current published version. Service specifications are important in clearly defining the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England to provide specialised care. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) also has guidance in place to support clinicians in the diagnosis of suspected neurological conditions, including FND. The NICE guidance, Suspected neurological conditions: recognition and referral, updated in October 2023, includes guidance on FND, and outlines symptoms that are often common in FND, such as recurrent dizziness, limb or facial weakness, numbness and tingling, and difficulties with memory and concentration. The guidance also outlines that the severity of the symptoms of FND often fluctuate and increase during times of stress.The NICE is also currently developing a guideline on rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders and acquired brain injury, with further information available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ng10181 FND will be included in the final guideline, which the NICE expects to publish in September 2025.

What steps he is taking to support adult social care providers in Gloucester.

To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025-26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.The additional funding available to Gloucestershire in 2025-26 means that they will see an increase to their Core Spending Power of up to 6.6% in cash terms.Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population, which is why, under the Care Act 2014, they are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people.

Whether he will take steps to implement a National Cardiovascular Disease Plan.

The Government is committed to ensuring fewer lives are lost to the biggest killers, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). That is why, building on the 2019 NHS Long Term Plan commitment to prevent 150,000 heart attacks, strokes and dementia cases by 2029, this Government has set a CVD-specific mission ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and strokes by 25% within a decade.The Department and NHS England are working together at pace to understand the scale of the CVD challenge and the greatest opportunities for progress.This includes through building on action already taken as part of the NHS Long Term Plan to improve the timely identification and treatment of CVD risk factors, such as high blood pressure, raised cholesterol and atrial fibrillation, and drawing on what we have we have heard from the public, patients and staff through the 10-Year Health Plan engagement exercise.The 10-Year Health Plan, once published, will set out the Government's overarching vision for delivering on its health mission, including how we deliver the critical shift from a focus on treating illness to preventing conditions such as CVD.

How many dentists have been recruited under the dental recruitment incentive scheme in Gloucester.

Within the NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB), seven dentists have been recruited under the dental recruitment incentive scheme. ICBs continue to work with practices in their area to support recruitment to these posts.This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

What steps his Department has taken to reduce the waiting lists for child and adolescent mental health services in Gloucester.

It is the responsibility of NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board to make available appropriate provision to meet the mental health and other care needs of children and young people in Gloucester.Nationally, we will recruit 8,500 additional mental hea...