Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons his Department discontinued the nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals policy unit; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

As part of the DH 2020 plan, the Department is making significant changes to the way it works. The Department’s approach is to flexibly access professional advice from a wide range of sources, including arm’s length bodies, regulators and professional bodies, rather than from a fixed standing team of internal advisers.

These changes do not affect the role of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), who as CNO of the Department already advises, and will continue to advise all Ministers and the Department on the range of nursing issues.

All staff in the Department, including staff in the current nursing, midwifery and allied health professions policy unit are eligible to apply for new roles in the organisation or to apply for a voluntary early severance scheme.