Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to clinical nurse specialists for patients recovering from a stem cell transplant.

NHS England’s service specification sets out the requirements for equitable and consistent commissioning of specialised care. This specification describes the elements of care in the pathway, including those which reach beyond those paid for by specialised commissioning. The service specification stipulates that a clinical nurse specialist shall be available to provide support to transplants patients.

The service specifications for haematopoietic stem cell transplantation can be accessed at:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/b04-haema-adult.pdf