Written questions by Pinkerton.

What steps his Department is taking to support people with Restless Leg Syndrome in Surrey Heath constituency.

Most services for long-term conditions, including restless leg syndrome (RLS), are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). It is the responsibility of the ICBs, working with clinicians, service users, and patient groups, to develop local services and care pathways that meet patients’ needs. General practitioners (GPs) will utilise the RLS Rating Scale to understand the impact on the patient and then trial treatments. GPs are supported by neurology referral or specialist advice and guidance. There are 27 specialised neurological treatment centres across the National Health Service in England, which provide access to neurological multidisciplinary teams to ensure that patients with RLS can receive specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.The National Institute of Clinical Excellence publishes clinical knowledge summaries (CKS) as a source of information, mainly for NHS staff working in primary care. The CKS on the diagnosis and clinical management of RLS was updated in February 2025, and is available at the following link: https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/restless-legs-syndrome/ We have also launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS and improve care for people with long-term conditions. A central and core part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to make it more accessible, proactive, and tailored for patients.

What recent assessment his Department has made of GP waiting times in Surrey Heath constituency.

The following table shows the percentage of all practice appointments that were delivered on the same day as booking, the percentage of practice appointments which were not usually booked in advance that were delivered within two weeks of booking, and the percentage of practice appointments which were not usually booked in advance that were delivered within four weeks of booking, in the Surrey Heath constituency, from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025:Surrey Heath practicesAppointments delivered on the same day as bookingAppointments not usually booked in advance delivered within two weeks of bookingAppointments not usually booked in advance delivered within four weeks of bookingBartlett Group Practice32.8%92.3%99.1%Camberley Health Centre51.4%91.6%99.1%Chobham and West End Medical Practice58.8%87.1%93.8%Lightwater Surgery47.2%95.9%99.6%Park House Surgery48.0%88.8%92.2%Park Road Group Practice62.1%84.3%96.9%Pirbright Surgery35.0%75.8%92.4%Station Road Surgery35.4%74.2%95.6%Upper Gordon Road Surgery47.9%85.2%96.0%Surrey Heath constituency48.1%86.9%96.9%England average43.5%88.1%96.8% The Surrey Heath constituency outperformed the national average when it comes to delivering appointments on the same day that they are booked, but slightly underperforms when it comes to the percentage of appointments delivered within two weeks of booking.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure air ambulance services are supported during seasonal spikes of serious accidents in Surrey.

Air ambulances provide services through a longstanding and successful independent charitable model. It is for National Health Service commissioners to work in partnership with local providers, including those providing ambulance services, to best meet the health and care needs of the local population in Surrey.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS systems used by (a) GPs and (b) pharmacies are protected against IT outages in Surrey Heath constituency.

Business continuity is a shared responsibility between IT service providers, general practices, and pharmacies. The Frimley Integrated Care Board collaborates with general practices to enhance their resilience planning, which includes reviewing current arrangements, adopting best practices, and preparing for worst-case scenarios. This approach ensures practices are well-equipped to manage any IT disruptions effectively.For example, the Patient System, which is a patient record system used by general practices, can operate in business as usual mode when offline so that local functionality can continue if web services are interrupted. Many sites are prepared for Main Network, Health and Social Care Network, outages so that they can continue to access and share information. Sites are equipped with laptops featuring Virtual Private Network capabilities, which can connect to mobile hotspots if the primary network internet connection is unavailable.All National Health Service community pharmacy owners are required to have a business continuity plan in place to address temporary service suspensions under their terms of service. All registered community pharmacy premises are regulated by the General Pharmaceutical Council, which sets expectations regarding business continuity planning and IT resilience. Pharmacies are expected to develop robust plans that incorporate proactive risk assessments, preparedness measures, and comprehensive response and recovery strategies. These plans must ensure that essential services, such as medication dispensing and patient care, can continue during disruptions, including power outages, network failures, or physical security breaches.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of (a) adult and (b) child dental care in Surrey Heath constituency.

Dental Statistics - England 2023/24, published by the NHS Business Services Authority on 22 August 2024, is available from the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324The data for the NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board, which includes the Surrey Heath constituency, shows that 39% of adults were seen by a National Health Service dentist in the previous 24 months up to June 2024, compared to 40% in England, and that 55% of children were seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 12 months up to June 2024, compared to 56% in England.The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the level of care for Parkinson in Surrey Heath constituency.

The integrated care boards (ICBs) in England are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their population, including for Parkinson’s disease. The Government expects ICBs to take account of the relevant guidelines and best practice in designing their local services.Once diagnosed, and with a management strategy in place, the majority of people with Parkinson’s can be cared for through routine access to primary and secondary care. NHS England commissions the specialised elements of Parkinson’s care that patients may receive from 27 specialised neurology centres across England, which provide access to neurological multidisciplinary teams to ensure that patients with Parkinson’s can receive specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.There are also national initiatives to support service improvement and better care for patients with neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease. This includes the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and the Neurology Transformation Programme. NHS England is updating its Specialised Neurology service specification, which includes Parkinson’s disease. Service specifications define the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England, which provide specialised care.We acknowledge the significant neurology workforce challenges across the country, including a need for more neurologists and specialist nurses. We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the National Health Service and improve care for people with long-term conditions, and a central and core part of the plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to make it more accessible, proactive, and tailored for patients.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of increasing research investment into Parkinson’s disease in Surrey.

The Government’s responsibility for delivering Parkinson’s disease research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation.Whilst no assessment has been made of the potential merits of increasing research investment into Parkinson’s disease in Surrey, the Government is continuing to invest in Parkinson’s disease research. For example, the UK Dementia Research Institute, primarily funded by the Government, is partnering with Parkinson’s UK to establish a new £10 million research centre dedicated to better understanding the causes of Parkinson’s and finding new treatments.The NIHR welcomes high quality funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including Parkinson's disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that healthcare services can (a) recruit and (b) retain occupational therapists in Surrey Heath constituency.

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place and with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care. These staff include allied health professionals such as radiographers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists.The Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, to ensure that we retain more of our skilled and dedicated staff. NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that healthcare services can (a) recruit and (b) retain speech therapists in Surrey Heath constituency.

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place and with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care. These staff include allied health professionals such as radiographers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists.The Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, to ensure that we retain more of our skilled and dedicated staff. NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that healthcare services can (a) recruit and (b) retain physiotherapists in Surrey Heath constituency.

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place and with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care. These staff include allied health professionals such as radiographers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists.The Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, to ensure that we retain more of our skilled and dedicated staff. NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.

What steps he is taking to help support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of radiographers in Surrey Heath constituency.

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place and with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care. These staff include allied health professionals such as radiographers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists.The Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, to ensure that we retain more of our skilled and dedicated staff. NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.

What steps he is taking to help improve access to care need s assessments for (a) deaf and (b) blind people in Surrey Heath constituency.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that deaf and blind people can access needs assessments. Under the Equality Act (2010), local authorities must also make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are performing against their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including their duty to undertake needs assessments. Needs assessments for deaf and blind people will form part of the CQC’s overall assessment of local authorities’ delivery of adult social care. In that context, the CQC will report on how local authorities work with deaf and blind people when there is something important to highlight, such as something being done well, innovative practice, or an area for improvement. The CQC is assessing all 153 local authorities in England. So far, the CQC has published over twenty assessments, including an assessment for Surrey County Council, with further information available at the following link:https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reports/surrey-1124By identifying local authorities’ strengths and areas for improvement, CQC assessments facilitate the sharing of good practice and help us to target support where it is most needed. These steps will help to improve access to needs assessments for everyone who needs it, including deaf and blind people.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of hospital access to medical equipment in the Surrey Heath constituency.

Individual National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts are responsible and accountable for their own purchasing decisions, which will include medical equipment. NHS organisations are independent commercial entities, and it is for an NHS procuring authority to satisfy itself on how best to obtain quality and value for money through its procurement activity. Local NHS organisations have access to a wide range of procurement routes, but the Government has put in place a range of initiatives to help NHS bodies make informed choices about the products and the route through which they are bought. These include NHS Supply Chain, a national body which is responsible for procuring and delivering most consumables, medical equipment and other supplies into the NHS. NHS Supply Chain was set up to leverage the collective buying power of the NHS to drive savings and provide a standardised range of clinically assured quality products at the best value.

What steps his Department is taking to help reduce CAHMS waiting times in Surrey Heath constituency.

We know children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need and that waits for mental health services are too long across England. We are determined to change that.Nationally, the Government is providing £7 million of funding to extend support for 24 Early Support Hubs that have a track record of helping thousands of young people in their community. We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England and roll out Young Futures Hubs to provide open access mental health support for children and young people.In addition, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across children and adult mental health services in England to ease pressure on busy mental health services.Responsibility for onward commissioning of mental health services sits with integrated care boards (ICB). It is the role of local ICB decision-makers to consider the implications of mental health services, specific to each geography and including the perspectives of healthcare professionals, patient advocacy groups, and local authorities.

What steps he is taking to support people with digestive system disorders in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Government is committed to putting patients first, by making sure that they are seen on time and that they have the best possible experience of care, including those with digestive system disorders. We have committed to getting back to the National Health Service constitutional standard that at least 92% of people should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, and we have already made progress, exceeding our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, with over three million more delivered between July 2024 and January 2025.In January, we published the Elective Reform Plan. This commits to pathway reform starting in five areas, with gastroenterology being one. The commitment is to develop an integrated pathway across primary, community, and secondary care for common gastroenterology conditions. We will also drive the rapid adoption of remote monitoring in appropriate gastroenterology pathways, which reduces consultant-led outpatient appointments by over 50%.The plan also commits to work with patients, carers, and their representatives to publish the standards patients should expect to experience while they wait for care, including for those waiting for gastroenterology services.

What steps his Department taking to support menopausal women with mental health issues in Surrey Heath constituency.

We know that too many people, including menopausal women with mental health issues, are not receiving the mental health care they need, and that waits for mental health services are too long across England, including in Surrey Heath.As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we are committed to prioritising women’s health, and we will also recruit 8,500 mental health workers across children and adult services to help ease pressure on busy mental health services.We are working with NHS England to consider options to deliver this commitment alongside the refresh of the Long Term Workforce Plan.In addition, NHS England is working on menopause workforce support packages for employees and developing a range of tools and interventions that will help to upskill more general practitioners in menopause care, including awareness of mental health symptoms during menopause, and improve access to treatments.

What steps he is taking to improve public awareness of autism in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Government is committed to creating a more inclusive society where autistic people are supported to thrive. As part of implementing its All Age Autism Strategy 2021 to 2026, Surrey County Council is working to: support autistic children, young people and adults to understand what their autism means for them, their strengths and skills so that they can live fulfilling lives; ensure autistic people are understood, welcomed and can access community services, for example, transport, leisure facilities, shops, youth clubs and community events; tackle stigma attached to autism in the community; and ensure information about where to find advice, signposting and support across education, health, care and the community is easily accessible to all.

What steps he is taking to support people with autism with their mental health in Surrey Heath constituency.

We know that too many people, including autistic people, are not receiving the mental health care they need, and that waits for mental health services are too long across England, including in Surrey Heath. We are determined to change that.As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will recruit 8,500 mental health workers to help ease pressure on busy mental health services. We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, introduce open access Young Futures hubs in communities, and modernise the Mental Health Act.

What steps he is taking to support individuals suffering with dementia in Surrey Heath constituency.

Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.NHS Frimley ICB has been working with Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) and Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SABP) to ensure that FHFT geriatricians can refer patients directly into Surrey Heath memory clinics within SABP rather than necessarily having to go through general practitioners to request referrals. This process should bring about more rapid assessments and diagnoses for those patients suspected of having dementia. The Standard Operating Procedures of the Surrey Health Older Adults Mental Health Service, which includes the Memory Clinics, have also been reviewed and found to meet the requirements of facilitating appropriate referral routes and service inclusion criteria.Improvement work is also in progress to enhance dementia training and access to specialist support for staff on the SABP older adult mental health ward dealing with dementia at The Meadows Unit.In addition, NHS Frimley has a contract in place with Younger People with Dementia, a charity established to provide support services throughout the working week to people diagnosed with dementia under 65 years old. Though the Surrey Heath Better Care Fund, NHS Frimley ICB has also continued to provide dementia advisors, via the Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Advisor Service, for all those who have been diagnosed with dementia.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of dementia care in Surrey Heath constituency.

Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.NHS Frimley ICB has been working with Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) and Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SABP) to ensure that FHFT geriatricians can refer patients directly into Surrey Heath memory clinics within SABP rather than necessarily having to go through general practitioners to request referrals. This process should bring about more rapid assessments and diagnoses for those patients suspected of having dementia. The Standard Operating Procedures of the Surrey Health Older Adults Mental Health Service, which includes the Memory Clinics, have also been reviewed and found to meet the requirements of facilitating appropriate referral routes and service inclusion criteria.Improvement work is also in progress to enhance dementia training and access to specialist support for staff on the SABP older adult mental health ward dealing with dementia at The Meadows Unit.In addition, NHS Frimley has a contract in place with Younger People with Dementia, a charity established to provide support services throughout the working week to people diagnosed with dementia under 65 years old. Though the Surrey Heath Better Care Fund, NHS Frimley ICB has also continued to provide dementia advisors, via the Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Advisor Service, for all those who have been diagnosed with dementia.