Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 22946, what action he will take to deal with clinical commissioning groups found not to have arrangements in place to offer mental health patients a choice of provider.

Ben Gummer

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are required, as part of their statutory obligations, to ensure patients can exercise their legal rights to choice for a first elective referral, including for mental health services.

Choice is an important feature of the Sustainability and Transformation Plans that CCGs have been asked to put in place through the recently-issued NHS Planning Guidance.NHS England is providing guidance and support to help them meet these requirements and will monitor and assure their implementation including through a new Assessment Framework.

If providers or patients have concerns about CCGs ensuring that rights to choice are being appropriately upheld, Monitor as the sector regulator may investigate and specify improvement action by the CCGs, where necessary.