Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the care and discharge planning provided to Mr Ravi Mehta by NHS South East London Integrated Care Board; and what steps they are taking to ensure that, since September 2025, individuals wh
Answer
Our statutory hospital discharge and community support guidance, published jointly with NHS England, sets out that integrated care boards (ICBs), and local authorities (LAs) are responsible for planning and delivering local hospital discharge services. Working together, it is for ICBs and LAs to deliver an appropriate support package, based on an individual’s assessed needs, to enable safe discharge. In Mr Mehta’s case, NHS England and NHS South East London ICB continue to work with him, his family, and relevant professionals to support his safe discharge from hospital. All decisions are informed by clinical oversight and governance, in order to arrange safe, effective and appropriate care. On the wider issue of personal health budgets, the Department and NHS England remain committed to maximising personalisation and choice for all individuals in receipt of NHS continuing healthcare, including through personal health budgets, where appropriate. NHS England’s personal health budget programme focusses on working with ICBs to reduce unwarranted variation in the delivery of personal health budgets, where there is a legal right to have one. A revised personal health budget quality framework is expected to be published by March 2027, to provide greater clarity for ICBs on how to strengthen operational delivery and meet the expectations set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.12% vibes
Verdict: AMBER (52/100)
The reply clearly explains who is responsible for discharge planning and says that NHS England and the South East London ICB are working with Mr Mehta, his family and professionals on his safe discharge. It does not give an explicit judgement on the quality of that planning. The reply only partly answers the second part of the question: it describes existing discharge guidance and a forthcoming personal health budget framework, but it does not set out specific steps taken since September 2025, so the asker would likely need to follow up for that detail.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is the department's assessment or view of the care and discharge planning provided to Mr Ravi Mehta by NHS South East London Integrated Care Board? | Addressed | Direct | The reply sets out who is responsible for discharge planning (ICB and local authority), states that NHS England and the South East London ICB are working with Mr Mehta, his family and professionals on his safe discharge, and says decisions are clinically governed, which together give the department's position on the planning provided to him. It stops short of an explicit evaluative judgement on the quality of that planning. |
| What steps is the department taking, since September 2025, to ensure appropriate care and discharge planning for individuals who [remainder of question truncated in the source text]? | Partially Addressed | Direct | The reply describes existing discharge guidance, the ICB/LA delivery model, and a forthcoming personal health budget quality framework due by March 2027 with concrete aims, but it never identifies steps taken since September 2025, and the truncated question text leaves the target group unclear. The answer therefore covers the subject only in part and does not clearly tie its actions to the period asked about. |