Tag: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Care Quality Commission reports of acute hospital inspections in 2014 and 2015 recommended increased staffing levels.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of safety and quality of health and adult social care services. The CQC has provided the following information.

CQC inspections of acute trusts include an assessment of how trusts are meeting the legal registration requirement on staffing.This requires providers to have sufficient numbers of suitably skilled and experienced persons to deliver safe care. The CQC can take enforcement action where providers do not meet the registration requirements.

For acute National Health Service trusts and acute NHS foundation trusts, the CQC found 38 breaches of the staffing registration requirement in 2014 and four between 1 January 2015 and 30 June 2015. These figures include CQC re-inspections and include locations for specialist acute trusts.

The CQC does not provide a rating of staffing levels and does not make recommendations on the appropriate number of staff a trust should employ.

The CQC has issued 106 ratings of acute NHS trusts and acute NHS foundation trust hospital sites in 2014, and 97 in 2015 up to 30 September 2015. These figures include locations with more than one published rating in the period and include locations for specialist acute trusts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether Monitor and the Care Quality Commission apply a consistent approach in relation to safety, quality and financial requirements of NHS foundation trusts and NHS trusts.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Robert Francis’ second report into the failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust led to major changes in the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) regulatory regime, and to Monitor’s and the NHS Trust Development Authority’s (NHS TDA) routine oversight of providers and assessment of aspirant foundation trusts. It has also resulted in closer working relationships between the three bodies responsible for regulation and oversight, particularly around the sharing of information and intelligence.

The currentrelationship between the CQC and Monitor is set out in a Memorandum of understanding and Operational Annexes which are attached. These outline how the two organisations work together, including on safety and quality issues. This includes the co-ordination and sharing of information following a CQC inspection and CQC providing a briefing document for Monitor which includes a review of the provider’s compliance from a quality of care perspective. The Operational Annex also specifically states, ‘each organisation will openly share relevant information on safety, quality, financial and governance risks at a licenced provider where appropriate’.

The Government sponsors each of the regulators, and provides stewardship of the health and care system as a whole, and in this role works with the regulators on an individual and collective basis to ensure that the regulatory system is as consistent and effective as possible. Both the Government and the system regulators are clear that it is in the interests of future care quality that the finances of acute trusts are healthy; and many of the improvements that are needed to improve quality of care will also improve efficiency.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they have given to acute trusts about how to respond to Care Quality Commission inspection report recommendations to increase staffing levels whilst meeting Monitor requirements to reduce spending.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government has been clear that acute trusts are responsible for delivering high quality care within available resources. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) looks at staffing levels as part of its rating of safety in its programme of comprehensive inspections. These assessments include ward level discussions of acuity levels and achievement of planned staffing levels. Where an acute trust is failing to use staff in the best way to support patient care, the CQC is right to make that public. Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority are responsible for ensuring that acute trusts are providing high quality care in a financially sustainable manner. It is in the interests of future care quality that the finances of acute trusts are healthy; and many of the improvements that are needed to improve quality of care will also improve efficiency.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many junior doctors have applied for a Certificate of Good Standing from the General Medical Council in each year since 2005.

Lord Prior of Brampton

A Certificate of Good Standing is now called a Certificate of Current Professional Status (CCPS).

The Department does not hold information on the number of junior doctors that have applied for a CCPS and is unable to estimate how many junior doctors will apply for a CCPS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of how many junior doctors will apply for Certificates of Good Standing from the General Medical Council in each year up to 2020.

Lord Prior of Brampton

A Certificate of Good Standing is now called a Certificate of Current Professional Status (CCPS).

The Department does not hold information on the number of junior doctors that have applied for a CCPS and is unable to estimate how many junior doctors will apply for a CCPS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-09-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what account they are taking of the submission by the Nuffield Trust on National Health Service funding in the 2015 Comprehensive Spending Review.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government has been clear that it wants to engage and harness a wider range of expertise as part of the 2015 Spending Review process and accordingly welcomes the submission of the Nuffield Trust.

Rising demands and continued fiscal constraint means that the National Health Service faces challenges in ensuring that it remains financially sustainable in the future. The Government believes that the answer to these challenges lies in changing the way services are delivered and keeping people well and independent for longer.

This is why the Government has committed to fully meeting the additional funding requirement – £8 billion per year over and above inflation by 2020-21 – identified by the NHS Five Year Forward View.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-09-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the most recent annual figure for the turnover of chief executives of National Health Service organisations.

Lord Prior of Brampton

This information is not held centrally.

However, leadership experience and stability are an important factor in running successful National Health Service organisations. This is precisely why one of the new functions of NHS Improvement, working with other organisations such as Health Education England, will be to create and support the new generation of NHS leaders.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-09-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average length of tenure of chief executives in the National Health Service.

Lord Prior of Brampton

This information is not collected or held centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the cost of the special administration process in relation to Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust.

Earl Howe

The appointment of Trust Special Administrators (TSAs) to Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust in April 2013 was made by Monitor. The TSAs’ final proposals were accepted by Monitor in January 2014, and by the Secretary of State in February 2014.

In an announcement on 13 March 2014, Monitor stated that the costs of the process to date had been £7,250,000, with an additional £250,000 incurred by the team of administrators in expenses.

Following the Secretary of State’s acceptance of the proposals, the TSAs have remained in post to continue with the day to day management of the Trust and to work on implementing the proposals.

In the announcement Monitor anticipated that the overall cost of the TSA contract for the lifetime of the project would be between £12 million and £15 million.

Monitor’s announcement can be found on its website at:

www.gov.uk/government/news/mid-staffs-monitor-announces-next-steps

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why funding for the selective dorsal rhizotomy procedure was withdrawn by NHS England in the case of Jake Foster who suffers from Leigh’s disease.

Earl Howe

Since 1 April 2013, NHS England has been responsible for commissioning specialised services. As a procedure, Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) falls within this remit.

SDR is not typically considered as a treatment for patients with Leigh’s Disease. For this reason, NHS England has not to date considered developing or publishing a policy on the use of SDR for this condition.