Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to assist the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust since it has been placed into special measures.

This is a matter for NHS Improvement. Special Measures for Quality is a targeted and time-limited regime agreed between the Care Quality Commission and NHS Improvement.

We have been advised by NHS Improvement that a range of support has already been provided to Royal Cornwall Hospitals National Health Service Trust, including an Improvement Director to support the Trust in the development of an overarching improvement plan; buddying arrangements with the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust and Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust to provide peer executive support and improvement expertise; as well as a range of other clinical improvement activities. There is national dedicated funding available to any trust that is placed in Special Measures for Quality. Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust will have full access to this resource to support improvement activities.