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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average time taken in England for the ambulance service to take a patient from their home to the nearest fully-equipped accident and emergency department.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England has advised that it does not collect data on the average time taken in England for the ambulance service to take a patient from their home to an accident and emergency department.

The Government is clear the reconfiguration of front line health services is a matter for the local NHS. Services should be tailored to meet the needs of the local population, and proposals for substantial service change must meet the four tests of reconfiguration which are: (i) support from GP commissioners; (ii) strengthened public and patient engagement; (iii) clarity on the clinical evidence base and (iv) support for patient choice.

Locally driven elements of reconfiguration mean delivery will largely be managed by NHS England, who will work closely with commissioners, the Trust Development Authority and Monitor, and only approve the progression of proposals to consultation that have local support. We are aware that NHS England, in their guidance ‘Planning and delivering service changes for patients’, emphasise that NHS service change planners include an analysis of distance and travel times, the impact of these on transport users, as well as the ambulance service. A copy of this guidance is attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how the reorganisation of accident and emergency departments in England has affected the time taken for a patient with a serious emergency to be taken from their home to the nearest fully-equipped accident and emergency unit.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England has advised that it does not collect data on the average time taken in England for the ambulance service to take a patient from their home to an accident and emergency department.

The Government is clear the reconfiguration of front line health services is a matter for the local NHS. Services should be tailored to meet the needs of the local population, and proposals for substantial service change must meet the four tests of reconfiguration which are: (i) support from GP commissioners; (ii) strengthened public and patient engagement; (iii) clarity on the clinical evidence base and (iv) support for patient choice.

Locally driven elements of reconfiguration mean delivery will largely be managed by NHS England, who will work closely with commissioners, the Trust Development Authority and Monitor, and only approve the progression of proposals to consultation that have local support. We are aware that NHS England, in their guidance ‘Planning and delivering service changes for patients’, emphasise that NHS service change planners include an analysis of distance and travel times, the impact of these on transport users, as well as the ambulance service. A copy of this guidance is attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the necessity to ensure that private finance initiative hospitals retain maximum use is distorting the siting of full accident and emergency and consultant-led maternity units.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Decisions on reconfiguration are for local commissioners based on identification of local need. NHS England published Planning, assuring and delivering service change for patients on 29 October 2015, a copy of which is attached, providing refreshed guidance for those considering, and involved in, service reconfiguration.

The guidance makes clear that any proposal for service reconfiguration must satisfy the Government’s four tests for change:

(i) strong public and patient engagement;

(ii) consistency with current and prospective need for patient choice;

(iii) a clear clinical evidence base; and

(iv) support for proposals from clinical commissioners.

The guidance includes that commissioners should build proposals by identifying the range of service change options that could improve outcomes within available resources; and that proposals should be clear about the impact of the proposed changes on outcomes for patients.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what strategic oversight is provided to acute hospital trusts in determining the location of specialties in hospitals within that trust.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England has advised that it does not collect data on the average time taken in England for the ambulance service to take a patient from their home to an accident and emergency department.

The Government is clear the reconfiguration of front line health services is a matter for the local NHS. Services should be tailored to meet the needs of the local population, and proposals for substantial service change must meet the four tests of reconfiguration which are: (i) support from GP commissioners; (ii) strengthened public and patient engagement; (iii) clarity on the clinical evidence base and (iv) support for patient choice.

Locally driven elements of reconfiguration mean delivery will largely be managed by NHS England, who will work closely with commissioners, the Trust Development Authority and Monitor, and only approve the progression of proposals to consultation that have local support. We are aware that NHS England, in their guidance ‘Planning and delivering service changes for patients’, emphasise that NHS service change planners include an analysis of distance and travel times, the impact of these on transport users, as well as the ambulance service. A copy of this guidance is attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there is an expectation that an area with a population of over 400,000 should be served by a fully-equipped accident and emergency service.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The detailed configuration of services is a matter for local commissioners.