Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues to clinical commissioning groups and NHS trusts on recommended travel times to local health services.

Mr Philip Dunne

It is for local commissioners to ensure services are provided in a manner that combines quality of provision with timeliness of access, taking into account local geography and other issues.

When considering service reconfiguration, NHS England has issued guidance on Planning and Delivering Service Change for Patients, and as part of this guidance specify that: ‘Based on evidence and national clinical reference groups’ advice, commissioners need to determine the appropriate range of providers and interplay of key access requirements such as travel time.’

The guidance can be found at:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/plan-ass-deliv-serv-chge.pdf

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