The Government values the contribution which migrants makes to the NHS

We have commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on the economic and social impacts of the UK’s exit from the EU and also on how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy.
The Government will want to ensure that decisions on the long-term arrangements are based on evidence. The commission that we have asked the MAC to undertake is very much part of this. The MAC are due to publish their final report by September 2018.

Interventional radiology is a sub-specialty of clinical radiology. In the Cancer Workforce Plan for England which was published in December 2017, Health Education England (HEE) set out the case for the need to target additional training support for clinical radiology, histopathology, oncology and diagnostic and therapeutic radiography.

As committed to in the Cancer Workforce Plan, HEE increased the number of clinical radiology training programmes by 35 in 2017, which will lead to 35 additional clinical radiology posts each year for the next five years.

Clinical radiology has achieved a 100% fill rate over the last four years. HEE will consider whether further action is required to increase net supply beyond 2021 in the light of the longer-term workforce strategy.

Interventional radiology is a sub-specialty of clinical radiology. In the Cancer Workforce Plan for England which was published in December 2017, Health Education England (HEE) set out the case for the need to target additional training support for clinical radiology, histopathology, oncology and diagnostic and therapeutic radiography.

As committed to in the Cancer Workforce Plan, HEE increased the number of clinical radiology training programmes by 35 in 2017, which will lead to 35 additional clinical radiology posts each year for the next five years.

Clinical radiology has achieved a 100% fill rate over the last four years. HEE will consider whether further action is required to increase net supply beyond 2021 in the light of the longer-term workforce strategy.

The Department continues to monitor and analyse overall staffing levels across the National Health Service and adult social care, and we are working across Government to ensure there will continue to be sufficient staff to deliver the high quality services on which patients rely following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.

On 8 December the UK and EU Commission reached an agreement which delivered on the Prime Minister’s number one priority, to safeguard the rights of people who have built their lives in the UK and EU, following the UK’s exit from the EU.

The latest nationality statistics show as at March 2018 4,558 more EU nationals excluding the UK (EU27) employed in NHS trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups than in June 2016.

The agreement will guarantee the rights of the 158,000 EU nationals working in our health and care system. It means that EU citizens living lawfully in the UK and UK nationals living lawfully in the EU by 29 March 2019 will be able to stay and enjoy broadly the same rights and benefits as they do now.

In addition to this, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid) recently announced that doctors and nurses have been removed from the Tier 2 visa cap, meaning the NHS will be able to recruit to understaffed medical positions.

The regional breakdown of seven-day interventional radiology services is as follows:

NHS England have advised that in the answer given by the previous Minister of State (Mr Philip Dunne MP) to Question 117849, the number of hospital trusts who stated that interventional radiology (IR) was available for patients seven days a week was incorrectly given as 109. The following table, which shows a regional breakdown for seven day access to IR, provides the actual figure of 107.

We have corrected the official record.

Source: NHS trusts’ responses to the seven Day Hospital Services self-assessment survey, March 2017 (published in October 2017)

The table attached is a count of finished admission episodes with a main or secondary procedure of interventional radiology by Government office region of treatment per 1,000 people population, for the years 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17.

The data provides a count of the number of interventional radiology procedures, not the number of individual patients as the same person may have multiple procedures.

This information is not collected centrally.

By August 2017 there has been an increase of 844 doctors working in radiology since 2010, equivalent to an increase of 25.2%.

NHS England is aware that there is a shortage of interventional radiologists and is working with the Royal College of Radiologists on exploring options to increase access to training and to fast track training for new services such as mechanical thrombectomy.

This information is not held centrally. National data is held on the total number of day beds available across a wide number of clinical interventions.

The latest data for Quarter 2 of 2017/18 shows the average daily number of day only beds was 12,379.

Further data surrounding bed availability is published online by NHS England at:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/bed-availability-and-occupancy/

The table below is a count of finished admission episodes with a main or secondary procedure of interventional radiology by Government office region of treatment, for the years 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. Activity of English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector are included.

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Digital

This data provides a count of the number of interventional radiology procedures, not the number of individual patients as the same person may have multiple procedures.

The seven day services self-assessment survey completed by trusts in March 2017 included information on the availability of clinical interventions, including interventional radiology (IR), on a seven day basis for patients admitted to hospital in an emergency. The data showed that 73.65% of hospital trusts who responded to this survey (109 out of 148 trusts) stated that IR was available for these patients seven days a week.

Information on the twice yearly collection is available on the NHS England website at:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/seven-day-hospital-services/progress

National Health Service regions have access to this report and will be able to consider any variation.

Specialised Commissioning commissions services that utilise interventional radiology (IR), these include specialised cardiac, hepatology, vascular and cancer services. Where reviews of services are undertaken there is scope to consider comparison between IR and other surgical techniques.

NHS England has received the report produced by the Medical Technology Group, ‘Keeping Britain Working: How medical technology can help reduce the cost of ill health to the UK economy’, outlining case studies with the potential to deliver efficiency savings and these have been shared with the relevant commissioning bodies.

The information on seven day services and availability of seven day interventional radiology measured in acute trusts in September 2017 is available on the NHS England webpages at:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/seven-day-hospital-services/progress

The seven day services self-assessment survey completed by trusts in March 2017 included information on the availability of clinical interventions, including interventional radiology (IR), on a seven day basis for patients admitted to hospital in an emergency. The data showed that 73.65% of hospital trusts who responded to this survey (109 out of 148 trusts) stated that IR was available for these patients seven days a week.

Information on the twice yearly collection is available on the NHS England website at:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/seven-day-hospital-services/progress

National Health Service regions have access to this report and will be able to consider any variation.