Tag: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 6 January (HL4745), on what evidence the forecast in Health Education England’s (HEE) commissioning and investment plan for 2016–17 of a rise in podiatry workforce demand of 1.5 per cent between 2015 and 2020 is based; and why HEE decided to reduce the number of commissioned education and training courses in podiatry in 2016–17 by 9.7 per cent compared to 2015–16.

Lord Prior of Brampton

National Health Service future workforce demand is based on a comprehensive collection of NHS provider forecasts taken up by Health Education England (HEE) and discussed both locally and nationally with commissioners and professional leaders as to likely direction of travel.

In order to afford the expansion of priority areas such as adult nurse, paramedic and mental health training numbers, HEE has taken a risk assessment based approach to deciding on where to focus commissions for training places in 2016/17.

The HEE commissioning and investment plan – 2016/17 includes a forecast increase in the level of podiatry commissions of 36.4% by 2020.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of students at university who are prescribed medical treatment for mental health issues.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We have made no assessment of the number of students at university who are prescribed medical treatment for mental health issues as this information is not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many university students aged 19 to 25 use the NHS low-income scheme.

Lord Prior of Brampton

73,591 NHS low-income scheme applications were processed in 2015, for England, Scotland and Wales, where the claimant was a student aged between 19 and 25; determined by the age of the main claimant on the date the application was processed. The data may not include students aged 19 – 25 where their partner is the claimant. No distinction is made between a student attending further or higher education.

It is possible that a claimant might submit more than one application annually. A breakdown of the numbers of these applications resulting in full Help with Help Cost support is not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that the adoption of new medical device technology by the NHS is not frustrated by the five-year length of NHS Supply Chain Framework Agreements, given the life cycle of some inventions.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The framework agreements awarded by NHS Supply Chain primarily cover existing products and services. National frameworks reduce the duplication of effort faced by suppliers trying to ‘sell their’ products into the National Health Service on a trust by trust basis by providing a single route, compliant with European Union public procurement regulations.

The scope and duration of each framework agreement takes into account the nature of the product category, including an assessment of whether the product market is emerging or fast moving.

In addition, NHS Supply Chain hosts an Innovation Scorecard enabling suppliers to introduce truly innovative products into the NHS following a submission through the online tool on the organisation’s website. If a product is deemed to be innovative, the product can be fast-tracked and made available to the NHS through NHS Supply Chain’s online and national catalogues usually within a six month period.

The Accelerated Access Review, announced by the Minister for Life Sciences in November 2014 will make recommendations to Government on speeding up access to transformative new medicines and technologies for NHS patients, using data from initiatives such as the CDF and EAMS, as well as greater use of procurement purchasing power to accelerate cost effective uptake of innovations.

Its key aims are to improve care and outcomes by giving patients quicker access to new treatment and improve the longer-term affordability of the product pipeline. The Review published an interim report in October 2015 and will make further recommendations to Government by April 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-03-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which procurement projects in which the Strategic Projects Team has been involved have been suspended pending the review of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group contract with UnitngCare LLP for older people’s and adult community services.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We are advised that NHS England is awaiting finalisation of its review of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group contract with UnitingCare LLP before considering what action might be required with regard to the Strategic Projects Team.

We understand that NHS England will not be making any commitments on any other current procurements until the review is complete and NHS England has had time to consider the findings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-03-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the NHS Trust Development Authority will publish the findings of the review of whistle blowing and governance at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

Lord Prior of Brampton

This is a matter for the NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA).

We understand that the NHS TDA commissioned Verita to conduct an independent review of the procedures carried out by Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust in investigating recent whistleblowing and human resource concerns. The NHS TDA has confirmed its commitment to publication of its report of the review.

The NHS TDA is currently clarifying publication arrangements in the light of legal advice and in liaison with the Department. A publication date will be arranged as soon as possible.

The NHS TDA has confirmed that the timetable for publication of the Verita report is independent of any issues relating to the Trust’s role in providing services to patients in Staffordshire.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to procure independent advice for whistleblowers in the NHS, in the light of the recommendation in the Freedom to Speak Up report by Sir Robert Francis.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We are committed to improving openness in the National Health Service and ensuring whistleblowers receive proper support. Every NHS trust will have a ‘Freedom to Speak up Guardian’ who will support whistleblowers and foster an open and honest culture. The National Guardian will lead, advise, and support the local guardians in carrying out investigations on how concerns are being handled, share good practice, report on national or common themes, and identify any barriers that are preventing the NHS from having a truly safe and open culture.

The Whistleblowing Helpline was established in 2003 by the Department of Health to provide advice to NHS staff and employers on the raising of concerns and on the protection of employees who do raise concerns. The Department holds regular meetings with the provider of the Helpline, Mencap, to keep its performance under review.

In the context of changes in the broader health and care system, such as the establishment of the National Guardian and the local guardians network, the Department is considering what role the Helpline should play in ensuring support for whistleblowers. The Department extended the existing contract to allow the Helpline facility to continue operating while future options for the Helpline are considered.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the open letter from the British Dental Association to the Chairman of the General Dental Council (GDC) of 1 April on the GDC’s spending on external legal advice, redundancy payments and related external PR services during the Professional Services Authority whistle-blowing inquiry, and what action they intend to take in the light of that assessment.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The General Dental Council (GDC) is an independent statutory body. Ministers take a keen interest in the performance of the GDC and its plans for improvement, particularly in light of the Professional Standards Authority’s (PSA) performance review and publication of its investigation into concerns raised by a whistleblower. A copy of the PSA’s report, A report on the investigation into the General Dental Council’s handling of a whistleblower’s disclosure about the Investigating Committee, is attached.

The GDC is required under the Dentist Act 1984 to prepare a statement of accounts and for those accounts to be audited. These accounts would cover all expenditure including that during the PSA investigation. The statement of accounts and auditor’s report are then published and properly scrutinised, including being certified and reported on by the Controller and Auditor General and being laid before Parliament and the Scottish Parliament by the Privy Council.

The Department has no plans to ask the National Audit Office to carry out a value for money examination of the GDC’s financial management.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what mechanisms are in place to safeguard patients from delays to return hospital appointments beyond the clinically recommended time.

Lord Prior of Brampton

All follow up appointments (also known as planned, surveillance or recall appointments) should take place when clinically appropriate. It is for clinicians to make decisions on when they see patients, in line with their clinical priority, and patients should not experience undue delay at any stage of their referral, diagnosis or treatment. Moreover, the appropriate interval for follow up appointments will vary between different services or specialties, and between individual patients, depending on the severity of their condition.

To ensure that patients are seen at the appropriate time, NHS England guidance is clear that when patients on planned lists are clinically ready for their care to commence and reach the date for their planned appointment, they should either receive that appointment or be transferred to an active waiting list. At that point, a waiting time clock will be started and their wait reported in the relevant statistical return, so that patients are not waiting on ‘hidden’ lists.

Furthermore, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) also assesses providers against the new fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fail. One of these standards requires that care and treatment must be appropriate and reflect service users’ needs and preferences. Another requires that care and treatment must be provided in a safe way. The CQC will require a provider to improve where it is not meeting these standards.

No assessment has been made of the clinical risks to patients of follow-up appointments being scheduled beyond clinically recommended times, as the risks will also vary between services, specialties and patients. It is for clinicians to make these judgements.

The information requested on delays to review outpatient appointments is not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the new review into the governance of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust will take account of evidence submitted to the independent review of the handling by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust of concerns raised by and related to Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright.

Lord Prior of Brampton

These are matters in the first instance for NHS Improvement. The Verita report, Independent review of the handling by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust of concerns raised by and related to Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright, was commissioned by the NHS Trust Development Authority – a forerunner organisation – independently of Government.

NHS Improvement is commissioning a governance review to consider issues highlighted by the Verita report. A copy of the terms of reference for the new governance review are attached.

Verita was originally requested (under specific terms of reference) to review and provide a dedicated report on the handling by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust of concerns raised by and related to Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright. Governance issues that fell outside of those terms of reference will be considered in the new review, to ensure thorough investigation.

The new review will take into account evidence provided by Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright and others in the course of the Verita review.