asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Answer by Baroness Thornton on 16 June (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 802) which stated that additional funding is provided to primary care trusts in areas where sickle cell disease is prevalent, what funding is provided; and to which primary care trusts; and [HL4415]
Whether additional funding to primary care trusts in areas where sickle cell disease is prevalent is ring-fenced. [HL4416]
Revenue allocations are made to primary care trusts (PCTs) on the basis of the relative needs of their populations. The weighted capitation formula is used to determine PCTs' target shares of available resources, to enable them to commission similar levels of health services for populations in similar need.
The components of the formula are used to weight each PCT's crude population according to their relative need (age, and additional need) for healthcare and the unavoidable geographical differences in the cost of providing healthcare (the market forces factor).
Although there is no specific consideration made for sickle-cell-related disease in determining revenue allocations to PCTs, it will be picked up in the models of utilisation of healthcare in the need element of the formula. The formula used to inform the revenue allocations to PCTs in 2008-09 takes account of “unmet need” to support certain groups within the population, e.g. ethnic minorities groups, which may not receive healthcare services to the same level as others with similar health characteristics.
Once the department has made allocations to PCTs, it is for PCTs to determine how to use the funding allocated to them to commission the services they require to meet the healthcare needs of the local populations they serve. There is no ring-fenced allocation to PCTs to spend on sickle cell disease.
The department deliberately does not break down PCT allocations into funding for individual policy programmes, as this would constrain local innovation and decision taking.
Instead, the approach the department takes is to be clear about the priorities for the NHS through the operating framework. It is then for the National Health Service to decide how best to achieve those outcomes in the light of local needs and circumstances, including the level of resources to invest.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Answer by Baroness Thornton on 16 June (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 801), what are the timescales for implementing the training programme in scanning for stroke risk in young patients with sickle cell disease; and [HL4417]
Further to the Answer by Baroness Thornton on 16 June (Official Report, House of Lords, cols. 801–2), what are the timescales for the implementation of the nine regional managed clinical networks for sickle cell disease and thalassaemia. [HL4418]
Work is under way on these initiatives, but a formal timetable for implementation has not been agreed.