Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Paragraph: 46
The wording of the statement by the Minister for Women and Equalities suggested that the...
Conclusion
The wording of the statement by the Minister for Women and Equalities suggested that the three clinics she referred to were new initiatives, driven by the Government Equalities Office in response to its consultation. The three pilot clinics in question had, in fact, already been announced and were a product of planning by NHS England. It is not clear that the Government Equalities Office had any input into these pilots. The inclusion of the clinics in the consultation response statement served only as a distraction from the lack of any real change to the gender recognition process.
Paragraph Reference:
46
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
49. NHSEI is committed to the commissioning of a new service model for adults in the future, building clinical capacity in primary care and sexual health services, to reduce waiting times. DHSC and NHSEI welcome the positive feedback and impact the pilot clinics are having for patients during the current evaluation phase. The pilot clinics have been established to understand and evidence whether these services can be delivered in new ways that produce improved outcomes for patients. It is important that they are evaluated so that assurance can be given to patients and clinicians – particularly GPs and sexual health clinicians who may be interested in specialising in this area of medicine – that the new models are clinically safe and effective. All pilots are being evaluated by an independent third party (Rocket Science, a consultancy) and this will inform the development of a new service specification against which new services can be commissioned on a permanent basis. NHSEI Regional teams, working as part of Integrated Care Systems, will use the findings to consider how to adopt them in their regions, tailored to local needs and circumstances. The process for awarding any permanent contracts would have to follow procurement regulations. NHSEI is committed to ensuring that any grounds made in reducing waiting times through the pilots are not lost in the transition to commissioning permanent new service models.