Tag: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to strengthen the transparency and governance arrangements of the NHS Strategic Projects Team.

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 whether the timetable for publishing the review of whistle blowing and governance at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is linked to the role the trust is to play in the provision of services to patients in Staffordshire.

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 establish a new whistleblowing reporting line for NHS professionals who wish to report abuse, neglect or safeguarding concerns.

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.

There are a number of routes for NHS staff to report a suspected or known wrongdoing, either to their employer or to a prescribed person including their professional body, or the Care Quality Commission (CQC). All whistleblowing concerns raised with the CQC are forwarded to the local inspector for consideration. This allows the CQC to identify problems or concerns in local services that it may need to act upon.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the General Dental Council’s (GDC) response to the British Dental Association’s Freedom of Information request of 18 March, whether they will ask the National Audit Office to carry out a value-for-money examination of GDC’s financial management.

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 assessment they have made of the clinical risks to patients of follow-up appointments being scheduled beyond clinically recommended times.

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 what is the timetable for the new review into the governance of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

Lord Prior of Brampton

This is a matter for NHS Improvement, which advises that it is currently undertaking a tender process to appoint a provider for the governance review of the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust. It is expected that the review will begin in July 2016 and will report in the autumn.

NHS Improvement advises that it will publish the final review report in full.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-07-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the National Audit Office investigation into the collapse of the Uniting Care Partnership Contract in Cambridge and Peterborough, what further reviews are being undertaken into the circumstances of the failure, and whether the outcomes of those reviews will be published.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department welcomes the National Audit Office (NAO) report. Decisions about the Strategic Projects Team (SPT) are, however, for NHS England. Following an internal review and the NAO report, NHS England identified concerns about the work of the SPT. As a result, the SPT will close and all its ongoing commitments will be reviewed with a view to bringing them to a conclusion.

NHS Improvement advises that it also welcomes the NAO report and is working closely with NHS England and the Department to consider assurance processes for such complex transactions. NHS Improvement further advises that its focus since May has been liaison with the NAO on its report and joint consideration with NHS England of the assurance issues raised.

NHS England confirms that the NAO investigation supports the findings of its previously published independent review. Before the NAO investigation, NHS England had already commissioned a follow-up review focusing on the role of external advisors, the effectiveness of the Gateway review process, and the role of the clinical commissioning group leadership and governing body. This work continues and NHS England expects to publish findings later this summer.

More widely, NHS England has been undertaking assessments of current and planned novel contracts and is developing an assurance framework for contracts of this sort. This is being informed by the findings of the Uniting Care reviews.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-09-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with NHS Improvement and the Care Quality Commission on the quality, safety and effectiveness of services at the Royal Blackburn Hospital.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

No such assessments have been made. The provision of accident and emergency (A&E) services at the Royal Blackburn Hospital is a matter for the local National Health Service. The NHS in East Lancashire has established an A&E delivery board to oversee system performance and the effective delivery of urgent and emergency care locally.

Ministers consult weekly with NHS Improvement and the Care Quality Commission about A&E performance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the report of the Centre for Health and the Public Interest on contracting in the National Health Service.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Under NHS England’s Standard Financial Instruction both clinical commissioning groups and commissioning support units have an obligation to provide NHS England with details of all contracts entered into with third party suppliers. These arrangements are then subject to review by NHS England’s Commercial and Legal Teams.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to delay publication of their response to the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group until they have met representatives of the herbal profession to discuss the outcome of that report.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government does not intend to delay publication of its response. The Report on the Regulation of Herbal Medicines and Practitioners is Professor Walker’s independent advice to Government. Prominent members of the herbals sector were members of the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group and, as the Report acknowledges, this advice was informed by the input of this Group.