Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of healthcare provision in prisons; and what steps he is taking to ensure that prisoners have timely access to appropriate medical treatment.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England commissions prison health care services into every prison in England. Every prison has onsite health care services including, primary care, mental health, dentistry, and substance misuse teams. This includes the care and management of those with long term conditions such as diabetes. All prisons offer a range of appointments to meet the needs of patients, and this includes routine appointments and urgent appointments.
NHS England commissions health care in prison that is the equivalence of community health care. The National Service Specification for primary care defines what this means for patients who require support. Access to health provision is available to every person in prison at any stage of their sentence, and this begins at the point of entry. NHS England also commissions health needs assessments across prisons to determine the needs and requirements of the prison population.
NHS England is reviewing the National Primary Care Service Specification to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the prison population.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of healthcare provision in prisons for inmates with diabetes; and what steps he is taking to ensure that diabetic prisoners have timely access to appropriate medical treatment.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England commissions prison health care services into every prison in England. Every prison has onsite health care services including, primary care, mental health, dentistry, and substance misuse teams. This includes the care and management of those with long term conditions such as diabetes. All prisons offer a range of appointments to meet the needs of patients, and this includes routine appointments and urgent appointments.
NHS England commissions health care in prison that is the equivalence of community health care. The National Service Specification for primary care defines what this means for patients who require support. Access to health provision is available to every person in prison at any stage of their sentence, and this begins at the point of entry. NHS England also commissions health needs assessments across prisons to determine the needs and requirements of the prison population.
NHS England is reviewing the National Primary Care Service Specification to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the prison population.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with NHS Trusts and clinical directors on ensuring surgical trainees have adequate access to operating theatres.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has held no discussions with National Health Service trusts and clinical directors on surgical trainees’ access to operating theatres.
It is the responsibility of individual employers to ensure their staff have appropriate access to ongoing training and professional development to provide safe and effective care.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that highly specialised national services for patients with (a) rare diseases and (b) complex surgical needs will continue to be (i) commissioned and (ii) managed at a national level following the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Working under the ‘UK Rare Diseases Framework’, the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases.
Ministers and senior DHSC officials are working with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead the formation of a new joint centre. Whilst this transformation takes place, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds and will work collaboratively to put plans in place to ensure continuity of care and that there are no risks to patient safety.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help protect the (a) National Centre for Pancreas Transplantation and (b) the national service for inherited DNA repair disorders from local budgetary pressures.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pancreas transplantation in England is nationally commissioned by NHS England as a highly specialised service from six National Health Service trusts. It is a retained service and continues to be commissioned directly by NHS England rather than delegated to integrated care boards due to its complexity, low patient numbers, and the need for consistent national standards. As such, pancreas transplantation is funded directly by NHS England through national specialised commissioning arrangements, with funding managed through NHS England’s regional teams, with national oversight. This helps to ensure that highly specialised services are not impacted by variations in local funding decisions.
The national service for DNA Repair Disorders at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust is commissioned by NHS England as a highly specialised service. It is also a retained service due to its complexity, low patient numbers, and the need for consistent national standards. As such, the DNA Repair Disorders Service is also funded directly by NHS England through national specialised commissioning arrangements, with funding managed through NHS England’s regional team, with national oversight, to help ensure that highly specialised services are not impacted by variations in local funding decisions.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a list of those specialised services that are classified as highly specialised.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All highly specialised services are commissioned nationally by NHS England. The list of specialised services currently commissioned by NHS England is available on the NHS England website, in the worksheet entitled Service Code, with column F indicating whether the service is classified as a highly specialised, at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-england-service-codes/
Further information on each of the services is available on the NHS England website via the Prescribed Specialised Services Manual, at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/PRN00115-prescribed-specialised-services-manual-v6.pdf
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list all the highly specialised services that are currently commissioned nationally by NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All highly specialised services are commissioned nationally by NHS England. The list of specialised services currently commissioned by NHS England is available on the NHS England website, in the worksheet entitled Service Code, with column F indicating whether the service is classified as a highly specialised, at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-england-service-codes/
Further information on each of the services is available on the NHS England website via the Prescribed Specialised Services Manual, at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/PRN00115-prescribed-specialised-services-manual-v6.pdf
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the merits of highly specialised services being commissioned directly by individual hospital trusts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In preparation for the merger of the Department and NHS England and the integration of their functions under one organisation, and alongside the 10 Year Plan's ambitions to establish integrated care boards as strategic commissioners of local health services that are responsible for all but the most specialised commissioning, the NHS England Executive is undertaking a review of all of its commissioning functions to make recommendations on the most appropriate future arrangements. This work is ongoing and includes consideration of highly specialised services and the need to commission these services at the most appropriate scale in the future, in accordance with the Government’s ambitions in this area.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list all the highly specialised services that are currently commissioned (a) regionally and (b) locally by NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Highly specialised services are commissioned by NHS England as part of its responsibilities for prescribed specialised services. This function is undertaken by NHS England’s national highly specialised services team which is supported by regional commissioners covering each area of the country. The responsibility for highly specialised services has not been delegated to integrated care boards as part of the programme of delegation of specialised services.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a full list of specialised services currently commissioned by NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The list of specialised services currently commissioned by NHS England is available on the NHS England website, in the worksheet entitled Service Code, with column M indicating whether the service is commissioned by NHS England or an integrated care board (ICB), with the word GREEN indicating an ICB and RED indicating NHS England, at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-england-service-codes/
Further information on each of the services is available on the NHS England website via the Prescribed Specialised Services Manual, at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/PRN00115-prescribed-specialised-services-manual-v6.pdf