Asked by: Lord Hart of Tenby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the forthcoming workforce implementation plan will be funded to ensure any recommendations for increased NHS staffing levels are delivered.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
A final workforce implementation plan for England will be published later in the year, taking into account the outcomes of the Spending Review.
We recognise the importance of workforce training to underpin effective long-term National Health Service planning in England. We have already made commitments in this Spending Review into the next Spending Review period – for example on medical training places. At the forthcoming Spending Review, we will consider proposals from the NHS for a multi-year funding plan for clinical training places, based on the workforce requirements of the NHS plan.
Funding of education and training in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland is a matter for each of the devolved administrations in each nation.
Asked by: Lord Hart of Tenby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) clinical commissioning groups in England and (b) local health boards in Wales are held to account for local prescribing policy decisions which restrict patient access to drugs and borderline substances recommended for reimbursement.
Answered by David Mowat
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for decisions on commissioning health services to best meet the needs of their local population and are accountable for local prescribing policy decisions. In commissioning services CCGs will reflect the needs of local people and support improvements in health and healthcare outcomes.
NHS England therefore has no plans to monitor the implementation of local prescribing policies.
Arrangements for prescribing medicines in Wales are the responsibility of the Welsh Government.
Asked by: Lord Hart of Tenby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to implement prescribing guidelines to limit variations in the provision and quality of NHS services between (a) clinical commissioning groups in England and (b) local health boards in Wales.
Answered by David Mowat
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for decisions on commissioning health services to best meet the needs of their local population and are accountable for local prescribing policy decisions. In commissioning services CCGs will reflect the needs of local people and support improvements in health and healthcare outcomes.
NHS England therefore has no plans to monitor the implementation of local prescribing policies.
Arrangements for prescribing medicines in Wales are the responsibility of the Welsh Government.
Asked by: Lord Hart of Tenby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients there are on orthodontic treatment waiting lists in each primary care trust area in England.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The information requested is not held centrally.
Consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times are collected separately for 18 treatment functions (divisions of clinical work based on main specialty). These treatment functions are listed in the National Health Service Data Dictionary at:
www.datadictionary.nhs.uk/data_dictionary/data_field_notes/t/tr/treatment_function_code_(referral_to_treatment_period)_de.asp?shownav=1
Referral to treatment waiting times for all other treatment functions, including orthodontics, are not reported individually.
Primary care trusts were abolished on 31 March 2013 as part of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, and their functions taken over by clinical commissioning groups.