After months of lobbying the Department for Health, Alicia Kearns MP has secured the commitment that patient data will be more easily shared across Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) as part of the Health and Care Bill, currently proceeding through Parliament.

Patients in rural areas – particularly Rutland and the Vale – are often between hospitals, and at present, bureaucratic boundaries prevent their data from being shared between CCGs, leading to patients often being prevented from the choice they deserve.

In an intervention in Parliament, Alicia Kearns MP raised the fact that residents of Rutland and Melton see specialists across the East Midlands, across a variety of CCGs – and whether the new Integrated Care Systems (ICS) will improve interoperability of data.

Health Minister Ed Argar replied that clinicians will be able to send patients to hospitals outside the ICS area, and that interoperability will be at its heart.

Alicia Kearns, MP for Rutland and Melton, said:

“Patients are people, not numbers on a bureaucratic list. That’s why I’ve been so firm with the Government that people who live in rural areas must not be discriminated against on the basis of where we live.

“The Integrated Care Systems will give patients across Rutland, Melton, the Vale and Harborough villages better healthcare, with better options for patients.

“I welcomed this confirmation by Minister Argar in Parliament, and will continue to press the Government on making sure rural areas aren’t left behind.”