National Health Service

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Tuesday 10th October 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord O'Shaughnessy]

The noble Lord makes an excellent point. It is true to say that in this country we are very good at creativity and innovation but not always very good at spreading it round. In a way, that is one of the biggest challenges the NHS faces. I would merely highlight a couple of areas where the NHS is working well. The first is the test beds programme, which is working with industry, taking new innovations and spreading them round. Secondly, we have committed to publishing our response to the accelerated access review by the end of the month on how to make sure the most transformative drugs, devices and therapies are taken up throughout the system.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, can I ask the Minister about the sustainability and transformation programmes? Has he seen the report issued by the King’s Fund last week that said we have fewer acute beds in this country than almost any comparable country? It also pointed out that the plan of many STPs is to reduce acute care numbers even further. I fully accept that we could use our beds and discharge patients more effectively, but the King’s Fund warns that STP plans to further cut acute beds are unsustainable. Will the Government consider that?

[Lord O'Shaughnessy]

Simon Stevens, the head of the NHS, made an important point several months ago about reconfigurations. Any reconfiguration has to meet four criteria: clinical need, popular support and so on. He added a fifth, which was about taking out beds. Those STPs are judged on their ability to meet the changing needs of their population. If there are proposals to take out beds which mean that those needs will not be met, such reconfigurations will not be accepted.