HL Deb 29 February 2000 vol 610 cc64-5WA
Lord Clement-Jones

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the statement by Baroness Hayman on 17 June 1999 (H.L. Deb., col. 446), what progress had been made towards including cochlear implant services in the list of National Health Service specialised services. [HL1090]

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

There are no current plans to amend the list of specialised services issued with previous guidance. The list is intended to act as a working brief for National Health Service regional offices to use in reviewing current service arrangements over time and does not preclude action being taken on any service if appropriate.

Lord Clement-Jones

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the statement by Baroness Hayman on 17 June 1999 (H.L. Deb., col. 447) that users should be "involved in the development of the new arrangements and have confidence in them", what are the arrangements to ensure potential and actual users of cochlear implant services and specialist mental health services for deaf people are consulted. [HL1092]

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

Since the new commissioning arrangements were introduced in April 1999 there have been no major reviews by commissioners of either the cochlear implant service or the specialist mental health service for the deaf, but the Department of Health is in regular touch with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People and the National Deaf Children's Society.

The National Service Framework for Mental Health, published in September 1999, draws attention to the benefits of involving service users and carers in the planning and delivery of services. The new NHS Performance Framework, against which future service performance will be assessed, sets out six performance domains, the fifth of which is patient/user experience.