Health Services: Bournemouth
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of health inequalities on the (a) demand for and (b) cost of delivering NHS services in Bournemouth.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The National Health Service is responsible for determining allocations to the integrated care boards (ICBs). In allocating budgets, they have two aims: equal opportunity of access for equal need; and reducing health inequalities that are amenable to NHS healthcare. There are a range of adjustments made in the core ICB allocations formula that account for the fact that the costs of providing health care may vary in coastal areas like Bournemouth.
The NHS South West Regional Team, whose area includes Bournemouth, provides assurance and support on inequalities, system performance, and productivity. Engagement with key stakeholders in the region is undertaken through the Regional Reducing Inequalities Group.
In response to the NHS’s Statement on Information on Health Inequalities, NHS Dorset publishes an annual report on health inequalities which includes comprehensive information relating to the 24 health inequality indicators by ICBs as a whole, and where relevant by the NHS trust specifically. Further information on the NHS’s Statement on Information on Health Inequalities and the latest annual report on health inequalities is available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-englands-statement-on-information-on-health-inequalities/
https://nhsdorset.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Health-Inequalities-annual-report-2024.pdf
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →