Written question asked by Bill O'Brien (Labour) on Thursday, 2 December 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 15 December 2004. It was answered by Lord Hutton of Furness (Labour) on Wednesday, 15 December 2004 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health(1) what additonal resources are being made available to the Commission for Healthcare Improvement to reduce the length of time it is taking to obtain decisions on appeals referred to the Commission;(2) if, when he next meets the Chairman of the Commission for Healthcare Improvement, he will impress upon him the need to speed up decisions on healthcare reviews. Improvement, he will impress upon him the need to speed up decisions on healthcare reviews.

Answer: Mr. Mike O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what additional resources are being made available to the Commission for Healthcare Improvement to reduce the length of time it is taking to obtain decisions on appeals referred to the Commission; and if he will make a statement; [202912] (2) if, when he next meets the Chairman of the Commission for Healthcare Improvement, he will impress upon him the need to speed up decisions on healthcare reviews. [202913] Mr. Hutton: The Healthcare Commission took on its role in handling the independent review stage of the national health service complaints process at the end of July 2004. I understand from the chairman of the Commission that, since then, it has received more requests for independent review than planned for. The Commission will be increasing its capacity appropriately to deal with the level of referrals.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 428 c1149W; 202912;202913
Session: 2004-05
Subjects: Complaints Appeals Administrative delays Health services NHS Reviews Healthcare Commission
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk