Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data is collected on patients with complex trauma and personality disorder diagnoses who are placed into private out-of-area placements.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has advised that all providers of National Health Service-funded mental health services, including private providers, are required to submit the mandatory and required fields, where the service is provided, contained within the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) Technical Output Specification and follow the extensive guidance available at the following link:
The MHSDS is able to collect information about out of area placements and people that have had a diagnosis of complex trauma or personality disorder. However, the information requested is not centrally validated.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his department uses AI to automate decision making about access to public services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department develops policy and strategy on the regulation and use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies across health and care. The NHS England Information Governance (IG) Policy Engagement Team are updating their guidance for patients, health care professionals, and IG professionals on the use of AI and patient data in the National Health Service.
Decisions regarding the adoption and deployment of AI tools, including those used for automated decision making, are made at a local level by individual NHS trusts. At present, NHS trusts have autonomy to determine the use of such technologies, taking into account the needs and priorities of their respective organisation, and should evaluate and review the impact of AI deployment within their care settings.
While some trusts may utilise AI to support processes such as prioritisation, access to NHS services is, and will remain, governed by the NHS Constitution. In particular, principle 2 of the NHS Constitution ensures that access is based on clinical need, not on the technology used.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of therapeutic Tier 4 services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s London Region Specialised Commissioning is currently undertaking a tabletop review of Tier 4 (T4) Personality Disorder inpatient provision within the London footprint. This review is being led by the Nursing and Quality and Mental Health teams and covers all units providing national T4 Personality Disorder inpatient services, which are all located in London.
The review has been initiated in response to a number of quality and environmental concerns identified within the provision and is assessing the effectiveness of the current service model, its clinical distinctiveness, equity of access, and its alignment with national policy objectives.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaints regarding Children’s Continuing Care were received in each ICB in the last three years, what percentage of those complaints were upheld or partially upheld and what the average time taken was to resolve these complaints.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that all children, including those with complex health needs, receive appropriate care and support whenever and wherever they need it.
The National Framework for Children and Young People’s Continuing Care, published by the Department, provides guidance to support integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities to assess and agree support for children whose needs cannot be met through existing universal or specialist services.
The Department and NHS England do not centrally collect data on ICB complaints regarding children’s continuing care. We expect ICBs to commission appropriate services to meet the needs of their local populations, including children with complex health needs, and to provide high-quality care in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many referrals have the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman received in each year since 2015 regarding Children’s Continuing Care.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that all children, including those with complex health needs, receive appropriate care and support whenever and wherever they need it.
The National Framework for Children and Young People’s Continuing Care provides guidance to support integrated care boards and local authorities to assess and agree support for children whose needs cannot be met through existing universal or specialist services.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is an independent organisation. The PHSO publishes statistics on the referrals and complaints they receive categorised by organisation and not by type of service provided or age group. Therefore, the Department does not have access to the information requested.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who requested the table-top review of Tier 4 services for personality disorder by NHS England; who is leading that review; and what that review's aims and purpose are.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England London Region Specialised Commissioning is currently undertaking a tabletop review of Tier 4 (T4) Personality Disorder inpatient provision within the London footprint. This review is being led by the Nursing and Quality and Mental Health teams and covers all units providing national T4 Personality Disorder inpatient services, which are all located in London.
The review has been initiated in response to a number of quality and environmental concerns identified within the provision. It will also consider how the current T4 Personality Disorder pathway aligns with national mental health policy, including the NHS Long Term Plan, with a particular focus on the strategic shift from inpatient care towards community-based, multidisciplinary models of support.
The review is assessing the effectiveness of the current service model, its clinical distinctiveness, equity of access, and its alignment with national policy objectives.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to launch a public awareness campaign to help tackle suicide.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department currently has no specific plans to launch a public awareness campaign to help tackle suicide.
The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies eight priority groups for targeted and tailored support at a national level. The strategy also identifies key risk factors for suicide, providing an opportunity for effective early intervention.
The purpose of the Suicide Prevention Strategy is to set out our aims to prevent suicide through action by working across government and other organisations. One of the key visions of the strategy is to reduce stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, so people feel able to seek help – including through the routes that work best for them. This includes raising awareness that no suicide is inevitable.
NHS England published Staying safe from suicide: Best practice guidance for safety assessment, formulation and management to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. The guidance requires all mental health practitioners to align their practice to the latest evidence in suicide prevention, and is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide/
The NHS England Medium Term Planning Framework states that in 2026/27, all integrated care boards must ensure mental health practitioners across all providers undertake training and deliver care in line with the ‘Staying safe from suicide’ guidance.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes transforming mental health services into neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach, expanding talking therapies and giving patients better access to support directly through the NHS App, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commission an independent national review into the use of allocation tools in Children’s Continuing Care, with recommendations on legality, safeguarding and transparency, and lay the report before Parliament.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that all children, including those with complex health needs, receive appropriate care and support whenever and wherever they need it.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of services to meet the varied needs of their local populations, including for children’s continuing care. It is for ICBs to judge the appropriateness of using allocation tools in their local context. ICBs should also ensure that any use is in line with regulatory and privacy obligations and with the principles of the National Framework for Children and Young People’s Continuing Care. The framework, published by the Department, provides guidance to support ICBs and local authorities to assess and agree support for children whose needs cannot be met through existing universal or specialist services.
For these reasons, there are no plans to commission an independent national review at this time.