Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department is providing to (a) Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and (b) other local NHS Trusts who are exploring redesigning dermatology services towards the community; and what steps he will take to ensure patient access to dermatology services is maintained.

The commissioning and configuration of dermatology services in England is a local matter. The local National Health Service is best placed to make decisions that ensure services meet the needs of resident populations in the most appropriate way.

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning the vast majority of dermatology services. The majority of patients with dermatological disorders are managed in primary and community care. Wolverhampton CCG is currently re-procuring its community dermatology service which will encompass an extended range of services. This procurement has been undertaken with the knowledge and co-operation of Royal Wolverhampton Trust. The Royal Wolverhampton Trust is also exploring with other trusts how to make the best use of scarce dermatology staff by working with each other more closely.