Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2015 to Question 10658, whether the national improvement framework for hepatitis C services will contain guidance on (a) commissioning responsibilities and (b) patient pathways.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Commissioning responsibilities for hepatitis C are divided between NHS England, clinical commissioning groups and local authorities. In the light of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance for the anti-viral drugs, the successful establishment of Operational Delivery Networks across England, and the rapidly widening access to curative treatment to thousands of patients, the draft Improvement Framework does not provide detailed commissioning guidance or patient pathways. NHS England is exploring how such guidance might be developed through its collaborative commissioning arrangements.
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to NHS England's document, Commissioning Intentions 2016/2017 for Prescribed Specialist Services, published in September 2015, what plans are being put in place by NHS regions which will focus on development of hepatitis C Operational Delivery Networks; and how such plans will relate to the national improvement framework for hepatitis C services.
Answered by Jane Ellison
NHS England’s commissioning intentions recognise that following their establishment in August 2015, Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) will need to continue to be developed as a mechanism for ensuring equitable access to expert multidisciplinary team care and treatment for hepatitis C. ODNs are working to develop their plans, based on the published service specification and with the support of local specialised commissioning teams and regional Clinical Directors of specialised commissioning. Work is also underway to establish by February 2016 a national network of ODN clinical leads to share good practice. The formation of ODNs provides an opportunity for local collaborative commissioning conversations about hepatitis C pathways beyond the remit of specialised or health and justice services. In addition, the draft hepatitis C improvement framework includes a numbers of areas pertinent to ODN operation and will therefore support further development of their role.
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of referral times for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service appointments in Plymouth and Devon; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Neither the Department nor NHS England has made any such assessment. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning services locally. Northern, Eastern and Western Devon CCG states that their Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service provider met their locally agreed target of 70% of referrals being within 18 weeks by March 2015. There has been a significant reduction in the number of children and young people waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment at the same time as a 20% increase in referral rates. Discussion has been ongoing to understand the capacity and resources needed to meet the full contract target of 95% of patients being seen within 18 weeks.
On 3 August 2015, NHS England published guidance, developed with partners across the system, to CCGs for developing their Local Transformation Plans for children and young people’s mental health with their local partners, in line with the proposal in Future in mind. These plans will be developed by CCGs working closely with their Health and Wellbeing Boards and partners from across the National Health Service (including NHS England Specialised Commissioning), Public Health, Local Authority, Youth Justice and Education sectors. The plans will clearly articulate the local offer and cover the whole spectrum of services for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, from health promotion and prevention work, to support and interventions for those who have existing or emerging mental health problems, as well as transition between services.
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time for an autism diagnosis in Devon was in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups to discuss good practice in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations. Information on the average waiting time for an autism diagnosis in Devon in each of the last three years is not collected centrally.
General practitioners (GPs) are required to keep adequate records of their attendance on, and treatment of, their patients and this should include details of autism where it is known. For this to work successfully locally services undertaking autism diagnosis should pass information back to the GP who has made the original referral. This is outlined in the recent Autism Statutory Guidance for local authorities and the NHS.
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group last met to discuss Translarna; when it will next meet to discuss that drug; and whether approval for its use can be granted before 1 April 2015.
Answered by George Freeman
In order to ensure the maximum number of patients benefit from new innovative treatments coming on stream, choices need to be made about which specialised services and treatments to invest in. Decisions to fund treatments and drugs are made by NHS England based on their effectiveness following clinical trials or other evidence of effectiveness, and taking into account the views of expert clinicians and other stakeholders.
NHS England has advised that the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) was due to discuss Translarna and other treatments for rare conditions at its meeting on 3-4 December 2014. Following the cancellation of that meeting, CPAG is not expected to discuss Translarna until the current consultation on how NHS England will prioritise which specialised services and treatments to invest in has concluded. The consultation closes on 27 April 2015.
Any prioritisation which is urgent on clinical grounds will continue to be dealt with quickly through NHS England’s existing procedures. The route of individual funding requests remains the same.