Written questions by Toale.

How many and what proportion of patients received urgent cancer treatment within 62 days of a GP referral in Dorset integrated care board since October 2023.

There were 642 diagnoses of cancer within Bournemouth West constituency between January 2024 and December 2024. Between October 2023 and December 2024, within the Dorset Integrated Care Board (ICB), there have been 7,157 patients treated. Across this time, 69.2% of those treated were within the 62-day target. Performance as of December 2024 for Dorset ICB is 73.2% and exceeding the 70% recovery target.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of mental health services in Bournemouth West constituency.

It is the responsibility of the NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board to make available adequate and appropriate provision to meet the mental health needs of the people in Bournemouth.Nationally, we know that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and that waits for mental health services across England are too long.As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, introduce open access Young Futures hubs in communities, and recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to cut wait times and provide faster treatment.Despite the challenging fiscal environment, the Government has chosen to prioritise funding to deliver expansions of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes, demonstrating our commitment to addressing the root cause of mental health issues and providing support for people with severe mental illness to contribute to the economy by remaining in or returning to work.We have also committed £26 million in capital investment to open new mental health crisis centres, reducing pressure on the busy mental health and accident and emergency services, and ensuring people have the support they need when they need it.

What steps his Department is taking to improve NHS maternity services (a) nationally and (b) in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

The maternity services at University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) have made many improvements since the most recent Care Quality Commission inspection in 2022. Maternity is moving from St Mary’s in Poole to the Beach building at Royal Bournemouth Hospital in April. This is part of the £500 million investment across UHD’s hospitals to help improve healthcare for the residents of Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, and beyond.Since September 2024, the service has become Maternity and Neonatal, working as one department to ensure families in Dorset have the most joined up care. UHD has recruited all obstetric and neonatal consultant posts and continues to have excellent retention rates for midwives and neonatal nurses. UHD have also introduced more senior midwifery posts in the last two years, to ensure more senior support on the labour ward and within its audit and practice development team.Nationally, we continue to work with the National Health Service as it delivers its three-year maternity and neonatal plan to grow our maternity workforce, develop a culture of safety, and ensure women receive safe, compassionate care. We are also looking at how we better support trusts failing on maternity care to make rapid improvements, and we are already training thousands more midwives to better support women throughout their pregnancy and beyond.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of maternity services in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

The maternity services at University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) have made many improvements since the most recent Care Quality Commission inspection in 2022. Maternity is moving from St Mary’s in Poole to the Beach building at Royal Bournemouth Hospital in April. This is part of the £500 million investment across UHD’s hospitals to help improve healthcare for the residents of Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, and beyond.Since September 2024, the service has become Maternity and Neonatal, working as one department to ensure families in Dorset have the most joined up care. UHD has recruited all obstetric and neonatal consultant posts and continues to have excellent retention rates for midwives and neonatal nurses. UHD have also introduced more senior midwifery posts in the last two years, to ensure more senior support on the labour ward and within its audit and practice development team.Nationally, we continue to work with the National Health Service as it delivers its three-year maternity and neonatal plan to grow our maternity workforce, develop a culture of safety, and ensure women receive safe, compassionate care. We are also looking at how we better support trusts failing on maternity care to make rapid improvements, and we are already training thousands more midwives to better support women throughout their pregnancy and beyond.

What the uplift will be to general dental service contracts for 2024-25; and what his planned timetable is to apply such uplift.

The independent pay review body for doctors and dentists recommended a 6% pay uplift for 2024/25. The Government accepted the recommendation and has proposed that National Health Service primary care dentistry contract values be uplifted by 4.64%, net of ...

How many dental practices offered NHS services in Bournemouth West constituency in each year since 2015.

While data is not held for each year since 2015, as of 10 July 2024, there are 18 dental practices currently offering National Health Services in the Bournemouth West constituency. This data is sourced from the Find a Dentist website and is matched to con...

What steps his Department is taking to improve (a) access to and (b) the provision of NHS dentistry in Bournemouth West constituency.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges patients face when 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 the areas that need them most. To rebui...

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of NHS dental provision in (a) Bournemouth West constituency and (b) Dorset.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges patients face when 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 the areas that need them most. To rebui...

How many children aged four and under have been admitted to hospital for tooth extraction due to decay in each of the last five years.

The following tables show the number of Finished Consultant Episodes for tooth extraction, with caries as the primary diagnosis code, from 2018/19 to 2022/23: Age 0 to 4 years old2022/234,383 Age 0 to 5 years2021/227,4962020/214,4412019/2010,5812018/1911...