Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that the concerns of local populations are taken into account in decisions about NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans.

David Mowat

NHS England released guidance to the local areas developing Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) entitled ‘Engaging local people’ in September 2016 which can be found on their website. This guidance from NHS England to the STP Footprints highlights the need for public engagement and suggests ways of doing this.

We expect that most areas will take a version of their STP to their organisation’s public board meeting for discussion between late October and the end of the year. We would also expect that most areas will publish their plans, for more formal engagement, during this period. Every area will be working to a different timeframe, based on its own circumstances and how well-progressed its plan is.

Proposals are at a draft stage but we expect all local leaders to be talking to the public and stakeholders regularly. It is vital that people are able to shape the future of their local services.

No changes to the services people currently receive will be made without local engagement and, where required, consultation. There are longstanding assurance processes in place to make sure this happens.