Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 8 August (HL9823), what work NHS England or the Department of Health and Social Care has undertaken with the Professional Records Standards Body on (1) the Core Information Standard, (2) clinical information that is needed for direct care related to person characteristics and definitions for the NHS data model, and (3) the Unified Information Standard for Protected Characteristics.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service has many longstanding Information Standards and IT systems which already include patient stated gender and gender identity data items, alongside phenotypic sex classification where required. These include the Personal Demographic Service and data sets such as the Mental Health Minimum Data Set and Commissioning Data Sets.
The Professional Records Standards Body (PRSB) has adopted the existing approved NHS Information Standards, rather than the NHS adopting the PRSB standards. Work is currently underway in response to the Sullivan Report and other clinical safety risks, to better define and separate sex and gender data items within the NHS Information Standards and systems area. The PRSB is engaged on this work and will align with such changes to Information Standards.
NHS England previously commissioned the PRSB to support the development of data standards that enable consistent and safe sharing of clinical and demographic information.
On the Core Information Standard, NHS England worked with the PRSB to define a minimum dataset for the exchange of key information between care settings. This standard was published and is available on the PRSB website, although it is not in itself a formal information standard.
On clinical information needed for direct care related to person characteristics and definitions for the NHS data model, the PRSB was commissioned to conduct discovery work with a wide range of clinicians from all specialties. These included Royal Colleges, patient-representative groups, and third sector bodies, which were engaged on the data items required for clinical care which relate to Sex and Gender Reassignment, as well as other provisions within the Equality Act such as ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion and philosophical belief, age, and disability.
NHS England has not engaged with the PRSB on the Unified Information Standard for Protected Characteristics (UISPC). This relates specifically to recording of data related to Protected Characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, to enable the NHS to monitor compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty and address known health inequalities.
Once the UISPC report recommendations are made to the Department, Ministers will review and consider next steps, including how best to consult more widely.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 8 August (HL9823), whether the NHS uses the definitions of the Professional Records Standards Body for gender and gender identity.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service has many longstanding Information Standards and IT systems which already include patient stated gender and gender identity data items, alongside phenotypic sex classification where required. These include the Personal Demographic Service and data sets such as the Mental Health Minimum Data Set and Commissioning Data Sets.
The Professional Records Standards Body (PRSB) has adopted the existing approved NHS Information Standards, rather than the NHS adopting the PRSB standards. Work is currently underway in response to the Sullivan Report and other clinical safety risks, to better define and separate sex and gender data items within the NHS Information Standards and systems area. The PRSB is engaged on this work and will align with such changes to Information Standards.
NHS England previously commissioned the PRSB to support the development of data standards that enable consistent and safe sharing of clinical and demographic information.
On the Core Information Standard, NHS England worked with the PRSB to define a minimum dataset for the exchange of key information between care settings. This standard was published and is available on the PRSB website, although it is not in itself a formal information standard.
On clinical information needed for direct care related to person characteristics and definitions for the NHS data model, the PRSB was commissioned to conduct discovery work with a wide range of clinicians from all specialties. These included Royal Colleges, patient-representative groups, and third sector bodies, which were engaged on the data items required for clinical care which relate to Sex and Gender Reassignment, as well as other provisions within the Equality Act such as ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion and philosophical belief, age, and disability.
NHS England has not engaged with the PRSB on the Unified Information Standard for Protected Characteristics (UISPC). This relates specifically to recording of data related to Protected Characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, to enable the NHS to monitor compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty and address known health inequalities.
Once the UISPC report recommendations are made to the Department, Ministers will review and consider next steps, including how best to consult more widely.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their timetable for the publication of the Unified Information Standard for Protected Characteristics, and whether it will be subject to public consultation.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service has many longstanding Information Standards and IT systems which already include patient stated gender and gender identity data items, alongside phenotypic sex classification where required. These include the Personal Demographic Service and data sets such as the Mental Health Minimum Data Set and Commissioning Data Sets.
The Professional Records Standards Body (PRSB) has adopted the existing approved NHS Information Standards, rather than the NHS adopting the PRSB standards. Work is currently underway in response to the Sullivan Report and other clinical safety risks, to better define and separate sex and gender data items within the NHS Information Standards and systems area. The PRSB is engaged on this work and will align with such changes to Information Standards.
NHS England previously commissioned the PRSB to support the development of data standards that enable consistent and safe sharing of clinical and demographic information.
On the Core Information Standard, NHS England worked with the PRSB to define a minimum dataset for the exchange of key information between care settings. This standard was published and is available on the PRSB website, although it is not in itself a formal information standard.
On clinical information needed for direct care related to person characteristics and definitions for the NHS data model, the PRSB was commissioned to conduct discovery work with a wide range of clinicians from all specialties. These included Royal Colleges, patient-representative groups, and third sector bodies, which were engaged on the data items required for clinical care which relate to Sex and Gender Reassignment, as well as other provisions within the Equality Act such as ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion and philosophical belief, age, and disability.
NHS England has not engaged with the PRSB on the Unified Information Standard for Protected Characteristics (UISPC). This relates specifically to recording of data related to Protected Characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, to enable the NHS to monitor compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty and address known health inequalities.
Once the UISPC report recommendations are made to the Department, Ministers will review and consider next steps, including how best to consult more widely.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 4 December 2024 (HL1918), what steps they are taking ensure the appropriate use of sex-specific language in the NHS, as set out in the Women's Health Strategy for England, published on 30 August 2022 (CP 736).
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government and the National Health Service know the importance of using accurate and factual language in relation to biological sex as part of health communications. The Department’s longstanding position is that health information should be as clear as possible, and that language should be used that appropriately reflects sex as defined as a protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have given to (1) NHS trusts, and (2) NHS England, regarding (a) recruiting additional, or (b) terminating existing, equality, diversity and inclusion roles.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service trusts should be working to address inequalities to ensure the best possible outcomes for all patients, as well as tackling the abuse and discrimination that some NHS staff face in the workplace. Local NHS leaders are best placed to take an evidence-based approach to how they approach this challenge and resource this work.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 4 November 2024 (HL1879), whether they will issue guidance to NHS England and NHS Trusts on reducing equality, diversity and inclusion spending to help deliver the 2-percent administration savings announced at Budget 2024.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Guidance was published on 14 May 2024, and required all departments and arm's length bodies to set controls on all equality, diversity, and inclusion related expenditure. No further guidance was issued by the Department to National Health Service trusts.
The Government is committed to creating a fair health system that tackles health inequalities effectively, whilst deriving maximum value from taxpayers’ money.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 9 October 2024 (HL1031), how equality, diversity and inclusion principles are embedded in the duties of NHS staff; and whether they are included in staff contracts, and reflected in the assessment of bonuses, promotion, or performance.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We expect National Health Service organisations to implement policies and procedures that are in line with employment law and good human resources practice, including the Equality Act 2010 and other relevant legislation.
NHS leaders are responsible for setting the tone and culture of their organisation, and that is why NHS England’s equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) improvement plan does require chairs, chief executives, and board members to have distinct objectives on improving inclusion in their organisation. There is no national directive to embed EDI duties in staff contracts or systems for pay and performance.
It is right that the NHS addresses prejudice and discrimination where it exists across the NHS workforce, and that staff feel more empowered to tackle health inequalities and deliver great care and patient experience.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the quality and veracity of data gathered by (1) NHS services, and (2) homecare medicines companies, relating to the provision, quality and performance of homecare services.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
As part of the quality assurance and governance processes, homecare providers are assessed monthly against their contractual Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which include the monitoring of delayed deliveries, missed doses and patients’ adverse events, complaints and incidents. The National Homecare Medicines Committee (NHMC) holds regular face-to-face meetings with providers at which they share national aggregated KPI data. But the capturing and monitoring of this data is to provide support for the individual trusts managing their contracts and there is no routine data collection which is then published.
NHS England is undertaking a piece of work to understand the issues in homecare to inform future improvement actions. A project by the National Homecare Medicines Committee NHMC to review the national KPIs, which includes publication of performance against them, is already underway and final documents are expected for approval in December 2023 and for publication in April 2024.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government why performance data for homecare medicines services providers is not published.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
As part of the quality assurance and governance processes, homecare providers are assessed monthly against their contractual Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which include the monitoring of delayed deliveries, missed doses and patients’ adverse events, complaints and incidents. The National Homecare Medicines Committee (NHMC) holds regular face-to-face meetings with providers at which they share national aggregated KPI data. But the capturing and monitoring of this data is to provide support for the individual trusts managing their contracts and there is no routine data collection which is then published.
NHS England is undertaking a piece of work to understand the issues in homecare to inform future improvement actions. A project by the National Homecare Medicines Committee NHMC to review the national KPIs, which includes publication of performance against them, is already underway and final documents are expected for approval in December 2023 and for publication in April 2024.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of patient satisfaction in homecare medicines services considering (1) all services, and (2) satisfaction with specific providers.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
As part of the quality assurance and governance processes, homecare providers are assessed monthly against their contractual Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which include the monitoring of delayed deliveries, missed doses and patients’ adverse events, complaints and incidents. The National Homecare Medicines Committee (NHMC) holds regular face-to-face meetings with providers at which they share national aggregated KPI data. But the capturing and monitoring of this data is to provide support for the individual trusts managing their contracts and there is no routine data collection which is then published.
NHS England is undertaking a piece of work to understand the issues in homecare to inform future improvement actions. A project by the National Homecare Medicines Committee NHMC to review the national KPIs, which includes publication of performance against them, is already underway and final documents are expected for approval in December 2023 and for publication in April 2024.