The reconfiguration of local health services is a matter for the local National Health Service. All service changes should be led by clinicians and be in the best interests of patients, not driven from the top down.<\/p>
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It is for NHS commissioners and providers to work together, with local authorities, patients and the public, in bringing forward proposals that will improve the quality, safety and sustainability of healthcare services.<\/p>
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Any changes must be supported by the Government\u2019s four tests for service change, namely:<\/p>
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- support from general practitioner commissioners;<\/p>
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- clarity on the clinical evidence base;<\/p>
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- robust patient and public engagement; and<\/p>
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- support for patient choice.<\/p>
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Once a decision on a local case for change has been made, it is up to the NHS to ensure its local services meet the needs of its population.<\/p>
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More generally, we would expect any local plans for changes to acute services to take full account of the impact on neighbouring hospitals.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/2000", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Earl Howe"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Earl Howe"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-10-27", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-10-27T12:41:26.5594108Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-10-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Accident and Emergency Departments"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s Government what has been the impact since 2009 of the closure of accident and emergency departments on neighbouring hospitals.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3701", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness McDonagh"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness McDonagh"} ], "uin" : "HL2242"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/100037", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/100037/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The information requested is not centrally collected. Departmental officials are aware that the General Medical Council does collect some demographic data about doctors and this is published in its annual report \u2018The state of medical education and practice in the UK\u2019.<\/p>
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The Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England, has registered all general practitioner (GP) practices since April 2012. The CQC\u2019s role is to inspect and regulate GP practices, including those practices run by single-handed GPs. The CQC regulates at a provider level and may remove a practice\u2019s registration where care is not meeting the required standard. Actions taken against an individual GP would be the responsibility of NHS England for contractual issues and the General Medical Council for professional issues.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/2000", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Earl Howe"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Earl Howe"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-10-30", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-10-30T16:18:49.8123222Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-10-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "General Practitioners: Dismissal"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s Government how many general practitioners have been dismissed by primary care trusts, or by the Care Quality Commission, in each year since 2005.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3701", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness McDonagh"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness McDonagh"} ], "uin" : "HL2243"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }