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 when both Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority will publish the financial performance data for the first quarter of 2015–16 for NHS foundation trusts and NHS trusts.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority published the financial performance data for the first quarter of 2015-16 on Friday 9 October.

The information can be accessed as follows:

– Foundation Trusts, a copy of the report issued by Monitor is attached; and

– NHS Trusts, NHS Trust Development Authority has released the report on its website only which can be accessed at:

http://www.ntda.nhs.uk/blog/2015/10/09/nhs-trusts-financial-position-for-q1-of-201516/

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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 2014-06-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking with regard to those Clinical Commissioning Groups that have not funded Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services for deaf people.

Earl Howe

The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme is now the responsibility of individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs); however over £400 million is being invested over the spending review period to make a choice of psychological therapies available for those who need them in all parts of England.

Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010 requires service providers and CCGs to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ so that disabled people are not placed at a ‘substantial disadvantage’ compared to non-disabled people, which would include in the provision of psychological therapies to deaf people.