Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that NHS liver transplant centres have the capacity to meet demand for transplants.
Answer
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for organ donation in the United Kingdom and manages the NHS Organ Donor Register and national transplant waiting list. NHSBT publishes data on the transplant waiting list by organ at the following link: https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/about-organ-donation/statistics-about-organ-donation/ NHS England commissions adult liver transplantation as a highly specialised service from six providers across the country. NHS England is revising the Adult Liver Transplantation Service Specification to strengthen requirements for consistent and equitable access to assessment and transplantation across England. This includes the development of referral networks linking local liver services with transplant centres and expectations for timely assessment and access to specialist advice. The revised specification retains the existing eligibility criteria. This complements wider work led by NHS England and NHSBT in collaboration with the Department to strengthen transplant services.
Verdict: AMBER (42/100)
The reply describes concrete action: NHS England is revising the Adult Liver Transplantation Service Specification, including referral networks and expectations for timely assessment. However, it mainly frames this around consistent and equitable access, so it only indirectly addresses whether transplant centres have the capacity to meet demand, which was the core of the question. A member of the public would likely need to ask specifically about capacity to get a clear answer.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is the Department doing about ensuring that NHS liver transplant centres have the capacity to meet demand for liver transplants? | Partially Addressed | Direct | The reply names concrete action: NHS England is revising the Adult Liver Transplantation Service Specification, with referral networks and timely-assessment expectations, within a wider programme. However, it frames this mainly around consistent and equitable access rather than explicitly around whether transplant centres have the capacity to meet demand, so the capacity dimension is only indirectly addressed. |