Oral Answers to Questions

Annette Brooke Excerpts

Tuesday 25th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Paul Burstow]

The last comment was pretty cheap, and no Government Member has suggested that the future of the cancer networks is in doubt. Indeed, in the coming financial year, the funding is secure. As we move to the new arrangements, it will be for the NHS commissioning board to decide the appropriate arrangements for commissioning in the future. We are clear that the expertise of those groups could, should and will continue to be used to support commissioning in the future.

[Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

4. What steps he is taking to improve co-ordination of social care and health care for the benefit of patients.

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Paul Burstow)]

We have set out in the White Paper “Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS” and the Health and Social Care Bill how we will deliver the coalition programme for Government commitment to promote greater integrated working. This includes local authorities taking the lead role in the future in joining up local NHS services, social care and health improvement via council-led health and well-being boards.

[Annette Brooke]

Can my hon. Friend assure me that there will be a joined-up approach when addressing patients’ interests and complaints when they straddle social care? Perhaps a single point of contact for a complaint would be a good step forward from what we have now.

[Paul Burstow]

My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the need to integrate not only the way in which we deliver and plan services, but the way in which we manage complaints. That is why the Government have included in the Bill our proposals for the establishment of local healthwatch and healthwatch England. Local healthwatch will have the ability to deal with complaints and also have the capacity to refer concerns about services to the Care Quality Commission so that it can take the necessary steps to investigate. In that way, we will deliver a more integrated system for dealing with such complaints.