Cardiovascular System: Health Services

(asked on 19th December 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with relevant bodies on (a) the effect on patients of increased demand for vascular services and (b) increasing levels of capital funding for vascular services in Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 13th January 2020

The Government is committed to providing NHS England with increased funding of £33.9 billion every year by 2023/24 through the NHS Long Term Plan agreed last year. The Prime Minister also announced an extra £1.8 billion in addition to the extra £33.9 billion, in cash terms, for local areas to deliver National Health Service frontline services.

The majority of capital investment in the NHS is a local responsibility, with available funds locally directed and prioritised within individual providers and sustainability and transformation partnership/integrated care systems.

The Government has supported this local decision making through the £1 billion boost to NHS capital spending in 2019-20, allowing existing upgrade programmes to proceed and tackling the most urgent infrastructure projects. The Department is not aware of a bid from Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for capital funding as part of any of the waves of sustainability and transformation capital funding that have been awarded, so far totalling £3.3 billion.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working to improve vascular services nationally, including through working alongside regional teams and the ‘Getting It Right First Time’ programmes. Everyone, especially older and vulnerable people, should be able to access compassionate care. The Care Act 2014 enshrines in law that local authorities must assess and meet the needs of people in their area.

The Diabetes Transformation programme has a project in progress across the four Humber clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in respect of multi-disciplinary team foot care which aims to reduce lower limb amputations. This team has recently been expanded to include a vascular surgeon to support swift intervention if required at the early signs of foot disease. Humber CCGs have also provided all general practitioner practices with information to support them in maintaining their skills on how to effectively assess the feet of a patient with diabetes, in order to identify early signs of disease.

Two vascular surgeon consultants have been recruited to Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to cover South and North bank Multi-disciplinary foot care teams.

An evaluation report is in development for Humber Coast and Vale sustainability and transformation partnership strategic planning Board and Elective Care Board.

Reticulating Splines