Tag: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the costs of running different education systems in respect of local education authority maintained schools, academies, and free schools.

Lord Nash

The current dual system, where maintained schools and academies (including free schools) have different requirements on a number of key areas including funding, financial compliance, performance oversight, parental complaints and how they are required to adhere to legislation, does not provide consistent expectations on professionals or clarity and assurance for pupils and parents.

This government believes a single system with all schools as academies, which affords greater autonomy to professionals and is governed by a single legal framework along with clear and robust accountability, will provide a level playing field for all and the conditions for future success. It will give clarity on roles and responsibilities and secure efficiency. Running a dual system diverts resources, time and focus away from the classroom.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take in the light of the findings of 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.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they are making in ensuring that the NHS collects data on whether return out-patient appointments are being delayed beyond the clinically recommended time due to insufficient capacity or targets for new patients that are prioritised over returns.

Lord Prior of Brampton

There are no plans to collect additional data on out-patient appointments.

Many patients will require further planned stages of treatment after their waiting time clock has stopped. This treatment should be undertaken without undue delay and in line with when it is clinically appropriate and convenient to the patient to do so.

Patients requiring initial or follow-up appointments for clinical assessment, review, monitoring, procedures or treatment must be given a clear expectation of the timeframe for this, as required by best clinical evidence. If the planned procedure is then delayed beyond that timeframe, a new waiting time clock should start and be reported in the waiting time statistics, to ensure that these patients are kept in sight.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the waiting times for treatment in the accident and emergency department of 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 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the safety of the NHS 111 service in the East Midlands.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The commissioning of NHS 111 services is led by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). The safety and effectiveness of NHS 111 services are subject to constant review by commissioners, who monitor performance and investigate complaints and clinical incidents through existing clinical governance arrangements. In addition the services are subject to inspection by the Care Quality Commission.

NHS England advises that it has asked local CCGs to conduct a full investigation into recent serious allegations about the NHS 111 service in the East Midlands. This investigation is being coordinated by North Derbyshire CCG, and NHS England will continue to maintain oversight of progress. The investigation report is due at the beginning of December.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they and the NHS 111 service give to qualified nurses about the prioritisation of complex cases and more routine calls, in the light of the targets set for that service.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government has seen successes with the NHS 111 service since its launch, with over a million calls offered to the NHS 111 service in August, of which 93.6% were answered within 60 seconds.

The Government expects all NHS 111 centres to be appropriately staffed to offer people safe care and advice and treatment at all times and has asked NHS England for assurances that the NHS 111 service is doing all it can to help patients. Furthermore the Care Quality Commission has announced it will inspect and rate NHS 111 services by September 2016 to give additional assurances that minimum levels of quality are attained.

New Commissioning Standards for Integrated Urgent Care were published last week by NHS England. Developed jointly with commissioners and providers, the Commissioning Standards will support the transformation of urgent care services; introducing the clinical hub employing a broader range of clinical skills, direct booking into general practitioner appointments, improved clinical governance and staff development amongst other developments. Commissioners will now complete their plans to achieve the Commissioning Standards. A copy is attached.

The commissioning of NHS 111 services is led by local Clinical Commissioning Groups and the safety and effectiveness of NHS 111 services are subject to constant review by local commissioners, monitoring performance and investigating complaints and clinical incidents through existing clinical governance arrangements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they plan to make to the recent article published in the Journal of Public Health reporting on the costs and benefits of health checks for 40 to 74 year olds.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Public Health England (PHE) provided a response to Capewell et al’s article on NHS Health Check, which appeared in the same issue of the Journal of Public Health.PHE’s Chief Executive also responded in letters published in the Guardian and the British Medical Journal (BMJ), and through a special e-bulletin to NHS Health Check stakeholders. Copies of the article and responses have been placed in the Library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the assessment by Monitor that the capping of agency staff rates could result in a shortage of staff working for the National Health Service.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Price caps for agency staff: proposed roles and consultation was published by the NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) and Monitor on 15 October 2015. A copy has been attached. The aim of the price caps is to reduce spending on agency staff and to bring the pay of agency workers in line with those of substantive staff employed in the NHS.

The NHS TDA and Monitor are currently consulting on these proposals. Any decision on introducing price caps will be subject to the results of the consultation.

The proposed price caps do include mechanisms that enable an overriding of the rules should there be any potential compromise to patient safety.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will announce their response to the consultation on changes to the NHS tariff objection mechanism.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government’s response to the consultation ‘Fair and transparent pricing for NHS services: A consultation on proposals for revising the objection mechanism to the pricing method’ will be published shortly.