Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the findings of the report from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust on UK Cystic Fibrosis Service Resourcing 2019 to 2021, published on in June 2022, whether the Government is taking steps to ensure cystic fibrosis centres have fully staffed Multi-Disciplinary Teams, including cystic fibrosis specialist social workers and clinical psychologists.

England’s adult and paediatric cystic fibrosis service specification sets out national standards for cystic fibrosis services, including the importance of multi-disciplinary teams involving clinical psychologists and social workers. There are regular discussions between regional commissioning teams and providers, which include reviewing compliance with service standards and service quality issues in the services commissioned.

Service specifications are contractual documents between commissioners and providers. However, it does not mandate the number of staff in a multi-disciplinary team, as that is determined by the local trust according to the size of the service and the needs of the patient population. There are no plans to review staffing levels in cystic fibrosis multi-disciplinary teams.