Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients and for how many years NHS England plans to recruit into each of the complex invasive cardiology Commissioning through Evaluation projects.

NHS England is currently progressing three commissioning through evaluation (CtE) schemes relating to invasive cardiology. A maximum full year annual budget of £9 million has been allocated, but the period of budget allocation will depend on the final length of the schemes themselves, which will be tailored with the assistance of National Institute for Health Care Excellence (NICE) to capture sufficient evaluative data over the scheme period.

NHS England has allocated funding to each of the schemes based on early estimates of patient numbers and the key evaluative questions to be answered by the end of each scheme. Patient numbers will need to be contained within these parameters.

NHS England is currently assessing a significant number of applications from providers who have expressed an interest in acting as a participating centre in each of the three schemes. Once this process is complete, and the selected centres are confirmed, we will be able to complete contractual arrangements and confirm a ‘go live' date with each centre. Unfortunately we are therefore unable to give a specific date for patient recruitment to start at this stage.

NHS England expects CtE schemes to typically run for two to three years but the final length of each of the invasive cardiology schemes is not yet finalised as they are being tailored with the assistance of NICE to capture sufficient evaluative data over the scheme period. The length of the schemes may also be influenced by early findings from the evaluation or by the publication of research data exploring similar parameters. The numbers of patients to be seen by each of the schemes is not yet finalised since it will depend on the final tariff negotiated with participating providers, and the length of each scheme.