Baroness Pinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-01-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the necessity to ensure that private finance initiative hospitals retain maximum use is distorting the siting of full accident and emergency and consultant-led maternity units.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Decisions on reconfiguration are for local commissioners based on identification of local need. NHS England published Planning, assuring and delivering service change for patients on 29 October 2015, a copy of which is attached, providing refreshed guidance for those considering, and involved in, service reconfiguration.
The guidance makes clear that any proposal for service reconfiguration must satisfy the Government’s four tests for change:
(i) strong public and patient engagement;
(ii) consistency with current and prospective need for patient choice;
(iii) a clear clinical evidence base; and
(iv) support for proposals from clinical commissioners.
The guidance includes that commissioners should build proposals by identifying the range of service change options that could improve outcomes within available resources; and that proposals should be clear about the impact of the proposed changes on outcomes for patients.
