Written questions by Anderson.

What proportion of patients at (a) Milton Keynes University Hospital and (b) Stoke Mandeville Hospital are discharged to social care.

The data below shows the proportion of patients who were discharged via pathways 1, 2, and 3. These pathways include both National Health Service and local authority funded services, with each pathway being defined as follows:pathway 1 involves discharge at home, or to a usual place of residence, with new or additional health or social care needs, or both;pathway 2 involves discharge to a community bed-based setting which has dedicated recovery support, with new or additional health or social care support, or both, required in the short-term to help the person recover in a community bed-based setting, before they are ready to either live independently at home or receive longer-term or ongoing care and support; andpathway 3 involves discharge to a new residential or nursing home setting, for people who are considered likely to need long-term residential or nursing home care, and should be used only in exceptional circumstances.We do not collect hospital level data on discharge pathways, therefore this data is not available for Stoke Mandeville Hospital. However, we do collect data by trust. For the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, which includes Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in September 2024, 4% of patients were discharged on pathway 1, 0.4% on pathway 2, and 0.4% on pathway 3.For the Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in September 2024, 7.3% of patients were discharged on pathway 1, 1.3% of patients on pathway 2, and 1.3% on pathway 3.

What steps his Department is taking to improve mental health service provision for young people in Buckinghamshire.

It is unacceptable that too many children and young people, including in Buckinghamshire, are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long.The Department is working across Government to consider how to deliver our commitment of access to a specialist mental health professional in every school. We need to ensure that any support meets the needs of young people, teachers, parents, and carers. This includes considering the role of existing programmes of support with evidence of a positive impact, such as Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges.Alongside this we are working towards rolling out Young Futures hubs in every community and working with colleagues at NHS England to consider options to deliver our commitment to recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across both adult, and children and young people’s mental health services.It will be important that these commitments can provide appropriate support for children and young people with a range of mental health needs.

What proportion of emergency department patients at Milton Keynes University Hospital were seen within four hours in each of the last three years.

The following table shows the percentage of accident and emergency attendances to Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, that were admitted, transferred, or discharged within four hours, in each of the last three years:YearPercentage of total accident and emergency attendances admitted, transferred, or discharged within four hours2023/2474.9%2022/2379.1%2021/2283.9%Source: Hospital Accident and Emergency Activity statistics, published by NHS Digital, and available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-accident--emergency-activity

What steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting lists for diagnostic services at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Cutting waiting lists, including for diagnostic tests, is a key priority for the Government. We will provide the number of computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and other tests that are needed to increase capacity and reduce elective and cancer waits. It is unacceptable that, as of August 2024, 23.9% of patients are waiting over six weeks for a test, against an objective in the 2024/25 Operational Planning Guidance for no more than 5% to wait six weeks.The Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has implemented several initiatives to improve access to diagnostic services and to meet the needs of its growing community. This includes the opening of the Lloyds Court Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) in Milton Keynes and the Whitehouse Health Centre CDC in Whitehouse, as part of national efforts to bring essential diagnostic services into the local community.Construction has also commenced for a new three-storey imaging centre at the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital through the New Hospital Programme. This facility will provide a modern central location for several imaging diagnostic services, and will include two MRI scanners, two CT scanners, and a new Ultrasound Department. Locating imaging services in one place will improve efficiency and enhance patient’s experience of the service.