Fuel Poverty Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test) (Lab) 1. What
recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for
Energy Security and Net Zero on tackling the health impacts of fuel
poverty. (901795) The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
(Victoria Atkins) The Government’s 2021 fuel poverty strategy
recognised that warm homes can help to reduce health inequalities
and pressure on the NHS. That is a key reason why we are delivering
a...Request free trial
Fuel Poverty
(Southampton, Test)
(Lab)
1. What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of
State for Energy Security and Net Zero on tackling the health
impacts of fuel poverty. (901795)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
The Government’s 2021 fuel poverty strategy recognised that warm
homes can help to reduce health inequalities and pressure on the
NHS. That is a key reason why we are delivering a package of cost
support worth £3,700 per household on average from 2022 to 2025
and investing heavily in fuel efficiency.
Dr Whitehead
The recent Institute of Health Equity Marmot report highlighted
the negative effects of living in cold and uninsulated homes,
including respiratory and circulatory diseases and hampered lung
and brain development in children. Last year, the Energy Systems
Catapult and a number of NHS providers ran a trial of warm homes
prescriptions, with NHS practitioners identifying vulnerable
patients and supporting them with their energy needs. I think
that the Secretary of State has accepted the link between cold
homes and health outcomes. If that is the case, are the
Government considering expanding this approach, or looking for
alternative ways in which the health system and fuel poverty
prevention can go hand in hand?
The hon. Gentleman is right to say that a number of local warm
homes prescription schemes have offered additional support to
help people with health vulnerabilities to stay warm and well.
Such schemes are excellent examples of local collaboration
between the NHS, local government and other partners—tailored, of
course, to the local needs of their areas—and I would be
interested to see whether other parts of the NHS choose to take
up these sorts of ideas in the future.
Urgent and Emergency Care
(Cheadle) (Con)
2. What steps her Department is taking to improve urgent and
emergency care. (901796)
(Meon Valley) (Con)
9. What steps her Department is taking to improve urgent and
emergency care. (901803)
(Northampton South) (Con)
14. What steps her Department is taking to improve urgent and
emergency care. (901809)
The Minister for Social Care ()
A year ago we set out a plan to improve urgent and emergency
care, and the plan is working. Performance this winter has been
better, with ambulance waits down by nearly a third, and we are
learning the lessons from this year to make further improvements
in the year ahead.
It is welcome news that the brand-new £30 million A&E campus
at Stepping Hill Hospital is nearing completion. However, other
buildings on this ageing site are failing and urgently need
replacing. Will my hon. Friend ensure that Stepping Hill remains
at the heart of hospital facilities in Stockport with rebuilt
units, and support new hospital investment and specialist
diagnostic hubs across Stockport?
I am delighted that Stepping Hill Hospital will soon have a new
emergency care campus, with all the benefits that that will bring
to my hon. Friend’s constituents. I know that she is a great
campaigner for her local NHS and has already met the Secretary of
State about the concern she raises. As well as making her
argument so clearly in Westminster, I would encourage her to
continue discussions with her local NHS integrated care board,
which is responsible for local decisions on capital
investment.
Mrs Drummond
Up to £900 million for a brand-new acute hospital is coming to
mid-Hampshire and health experts are making the case that it will
make huge improvements in care, despite some politically inspired
and misinformed opposition. Can my hon. Friend reassure my
constituents that those running our local NHS should be listened
to, and also that the doctor-led urgent treatment centre in
Winchester will continue to provide for three quarters of urgent
cases including X-rays, MRI scans and other tests after the new
acute hospital is built, which we hope will be at junction 7?
I commend my hon. Friend for her hard work on supporting the new
hospital, for the leadership she is providing and for her work on
encouraging residents to have their say in the consultation. I
cannot prejudge the outcome of the consultation but I agree with
her that the new hospital will be great for patients, with its
modern facilities. She is right to say that an urgent treatment
centre can provide excellent emergency care for the majority of
people who attend A&E.
Northampton has been the beneficiary of many welcome new or
improved facilities in recent years, including a children’s
A&E, a main A&E and the announcement of a community
diagnostic centre. However, the missing piece of the jigsaw is an
urgent treatment centre, for which I have been campaigning for
many years now. Will the Minister inform me on the progress on
that centre?
I congratulate my hon. Friend on his successful campaigning for
healthcare in Northampton, which is, as he says, benefiting from
upgrades to the children’s A&E and the main emergency
department and will soon have one of our 160 new clinical
diagnostic centres. He will know that his local NHS integrated
care board will decide whether to fund a new urgent treatment
centre, and I have every confidence in his ability to persuade it
of doing so.
Sir (Rhondda) (Lab)
It is one of the great successes of the past few years that we
now save the lives of a lot more people with an acquired brain
injury. Although we might save them in acute and emergency care,
however, a national strategy for acquired brain injury is a
really important part of ensuring that people have the proper
care thereafter. The Government appointed me and the Minister for
Health and Secondary Care, the right hon. Member for Pendle
()—he is just passing the
hon. Lady a note to inspire her on the subject—to try to publish
one. When does she hope that there will be money available to
ensure that that strategy is one worth having?
I know that the hon. Gentleman is a great campaigner on this
issue; he has worked very hard on it with me in the past, and he
now does so with my right hon. Friend the Minister for Health and
Secondary Care. I assure him that we are in the process of
revising the draft strategy, taking on board feedback from
patients, their families, charities and the NHS, and we will
publish the strategy in due course. I thank all stakeholders for
their continued efforts.
(North Shropshire) (LD)
In January, the average category 2 response time for west
midlands ambulance service was over 43 minutes. We know that the
problems are worse in Shropshire, following stories such as that
of a lady who waited 18 hours before seeing a doctor, having
contracted an infection following radiation therapy for her
cancer treatment. The situation in Shropshire does not seem to be
improving as fast as we would like. What steps is the Minister
taking to resolve the problem?
Across the country, ambulance response times have come down by a
third. We have worked very hard, particularly with areas that
face greater challenges, including Shropshire. I have spoken to
leaders in the local health system about the ongoing challenges.
We are learning lessons about what has worked over the past year,
and from where we have not made so much progress, to ensure that
we do better in areas such as the hon. Lady’s over the year
ahead.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister for her positive answers; they are really
appreciated. Bearing in mind the pressure that GPs are under,
which is leading to more pressure on emergency provision, what
steps are being taken to provide greater incentives for medical
students to take on positions in GP surgeries? That would make a
big difference.
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to talk about the whole
health system. One thing we are doing as part of our work on
urgent and emergency care is preventing people from being
admitted to hospital unnecessarily, or from being brought to
A&E in the first place. Primary care is part of that. In our
investment in expanding medical school places, we are
particularly encouraging medical schools, such as the new Kent
and Canterbury Medical School near me, to train students to work
more outside hospitals, including in primary care.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Bristol South) (Lab)
Despite watering down the targets for ambulance response times
and the A&E four-hour wait, the Government still cannot meet
them. We have heard from Members across the House this morning
how patients are waiting longer. The new targets say that there
will be further improvements in 2024-25, and the Minister has
said that again this morning. Can she let us in on what exactly
they will be?
I am not going to pre-empt the publication of targets for the
coming year, but, as I have said, we will continue to learn
lessons from the progress that we have made this year, including
on ambulance response times, which are down by over a third.
Anyway, I will take no lessons from Labour, because we know the
state of the NHS in Wales.
Social Care
(Waveney) (Con)
3. What progress her Department has made on reforming social
care. (901797)
The Minister for Social Care ()
We are making great progress on our 10-year vision for adult
social care reform. We have introduced the first ever national
career structure for care workers, and we have introduced new
assessments by the Care Quality Commission, which will shine a
light on how well councils are delivering their social care
duties.
I am most grateful to my hon. Friend for that reply. In Suffolk,
where the population is increasingly elderly, social care is
under enormous pressure, and it is a significant challenge to
recruit carers, pay them fairly and provide them with a proper
career path. Therefore, I heard what my hon. Friend said, but
will she consider commissioning a long-term workforce plan for
adult social care equivalent to that for the NHS?
My hon. Friend is right about the importance of the social care
workforce: social care is its workforce. I can assure him that we
already have a plan for the care workforce, set out in the
“People at the Heart of Care” White Paper, and now we are putting
it into practice. Our care workforce pathway is already being
implemented, our new accredited qualification for care workers
will be launched later this year, and we are backing social care
with up to £8.6 billion in extra available funding.
(Washington and Sunderland
West) (Lab)
I was concerned to hear that a constituent of mine was initially
denied access to social care for his mother who suffers from
Alzheimer’s despite her inability to administer her own
medication. Will the Government look to broadening the criteria
of the Care Act 2014 to include those requiring support with
administering medication?
We very much want everybody who needs care to get it and everyone
who is eligible for financial support should get it. That, of
course, is assessed by local authorities. We are introducing Care
Quality Commission assurance of social care commissioned by local
authorities, to make sure people get the care they deserve and to
shine a light on where local authorities are doing a really good
job and where others could do better.
(Ipswich) (Con)
The idea of a social care cost cap has dropped off the agenda
slightly. I know it is incredibly expensive, but I continue to be
contacted by constituents who face losing everything. When often
their loved ones have dementia and it is already emotionally an
incredibly traumatic time, they have the added anxiety of how
they are going to pay for care. The only thing that should matter
is what works and is best for their loved one, but there is a
cloud of anxiety hanging over society, which we all worry about.
Will the Minister confirm that this issue has not lost her
attention and that we will continue to consider whether we can
introduce a cap?
I thank my hon. Friend for his important question on concerns
about the cost of care and how much it costs some people. As he
may know—I remind him—the charging reforms were delayed in 2022
by the Chancellor after we listened to local authorities.
(Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
A fifth of the social care roles in Westmorland and Furness are
currently vacant and unfilled. Coincidentally that is the same
proportion of beds in Morecambe Bay that are occupied by patients
who are unable to get a care package and therefore leave
hospital. The reasons for this are blindingly obvious: the pay
and career structures are derisory for hard-working wonderful
people and there is a complete absence of genuinely affordable
homes for people in those sorts of roles to enable them to live
locally. Does the Minister agree that fixing that crisis in my
community and others should be the priority for the Chancellor
tomorrow, not silly electoral gimmicks?
I recognise the challenges in the hon. Gentleman’s area, although
nationally vacancies in social care have fallen by over 20,000.
We are reforming adult social care careers to make care a career
for the UK workforce. We are putting extra funding into social
care—up to £8.6 billion over two years—and introducing CQC
assurance to make sure local authorities are doing their best on
social care. I would encourage the hon. Gentleman to talk to his
local authority and make sure it is paying a fair rate for the
care it commissions.
Adult Social Care Workforce
(Glenrothes) (SNP)
4. What steps she is taking to help increase recruitment and
retention in the adult social care sector. (901798)
(Luton North) (Lab)
10. What steps she is taking to help increase recruitment and
retention in the adult social care sector. (901804)
(Edinburgh South West)
(SNP)
19. What steps she is taking to help increase recruitment and
retention in the adult social care sector. (901814)
The Minister for Social Care ()
Care is a skilled profession and I want care workers to get the
support and recognition they deserve. In January we took the next
step in our ambitious care workforce reforms, launching the first
ever national career structure for the care workforce alongside
our new nationally recognised qualification.
I know the Minister will want to join me in thanking every single
person who dedicates themselves to working in the social care
sector, including perhaps particularly those who have come to the
UK from overseas to do so, but it is not sustainable to rely on
incoming workers forever. The Migration Advisory Committee has
found that Scotland is now less reliant on migrant workers in the
social care sector than England, through the simple expedient of
paying a decent wage. That might, by the way, also be a good way
to stop doctors in England going on strike; the Minister might
want to look at that. Has the Minister asked the Chancellor to
provide funding in the Budget so that social care workers in
England can enjoy the same pay and conditions as their colleagues
in Scotland, and if not, why not?
I agree with the hon. Gentleman that we are grateful to all who
work in social care, including those who have come here from
other countries to care for our loved ones. We also agree that
international migration is not a long-term answer to our care
workforce needs. That is why we are reforming social care to work
as a career, and we are backing that with extra funding—up to
£8.6 billion extra for social care over two years.
I am afraid the Minister’s warm words about the social care
workforce do not meet the reality check for most people. The
Government’s own statistics show that there are at least 152,000
vacancies in social care in England alone, leaving my
constituents waiting up to 10 weeks to be discharged from
hospital. The Government have been using international
recruitment to plug the gaps and as a result have filled over
11,000 vacancies in the past few years, so can the Minister
confirm whether recruitment and retention in social care will be
better or worse due to Government plans to prevent overseas
social care workers bringing family members to the UK?
As I said a moment ago, vacancies have fallen and the care
workforce grew by more than 20,000 last year. We are seeing
better retention of care workers as well, but we need to go
further. That is why we are reforming social care careers,
introducing the first ever national career structure for the care
workforce and new qualifications and training.
Edinburgh Trade Union Council recently described changes to the
healthcare worker visa route as cruel and inhumane. Many of my
constituents who have relatives in care share its concerns, as do
I. We know the valuable contribution that foreign care workers
make to the sector. Ideologically driven change to visas could
further exacerbate the recruitment and retention crisis that
other Members have so eloquently described. Given that the
Government skipped consultation on these changes, will the
Minister commit to meeting trade unions and social care leaders
in Scotland to understand the impact of these harmful
changes?
I am grateful to international care workers who have come to the
UK to look after loved ones. Their work has contributed to
reducing vacancies and increasing the supply of social care, but
we need to get the balance right between international
recruitment and our homegrown workforce. We are carrying out
ambitious reforms of our adult social care workforce, and
therefore it is right, alongside that, to ensure that we have the
right numbers of people coming here from overseas for social
care. That is why we have worked with the Home Office on changes
to visas.
(South West Bedfordshire)
(Con)
The managers of the wonderful care home I visited in Dunstable on
Friday were annoyed by the number of job applicants for care
places who were making the interview stage and then not arriving
on the day. Can the Minister have a word with ministerial
colleagues at the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that
job coaches are certain that jobseekers are not wasting the time
of care homes? It is not fair, and those who work in care homes
are busy people with a lot to do.
I work closely with colleagues in the Department for Work and
Pensions on the recruitment of people looking for jobs in social
care, and I will raise that point with my colleague in the
Department.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Denton and Reddish)
(Lab)
It was the Minister’s party that promised to fix the crisis in
social care “once and for all”. With vacancy rates almost three
times above the national average and turnover rates for new staff
at more than 45%, it is clear that the Government failed.
Labour’s plan for a national care service with clear standards
for providers and a new deal for staff will give social care the
fundamental reset it needs. The Government have done it with our
workforce plan, and they have half-heartedly tried it with
dentistry. Does the Minister want to copy our homework once
again?
Let us be honest, Labour has no plan for social care. Whatever
the shadow Minister says, it is unfunded. There is no funding
committed to it and it is not meaningful. Those of us on the
Conservative side of the House are reforming adult social care.
We not only have a plan, but it is in progress.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(East Dunbartonshire)
(SNP)
I have asked the Secretary of State a number of times how she
intends to recruit and retain social care staff, particularly
with the visa changes coming into effect next Monday, stopping
those from overseas coming to fill skills gaps from bringing
their spouse or dependants with them. I ask again: how does the
Secretary of State intend to improve the recruitment and
retention of staff in the social care sector while her colleagues
effectively work to undermine her?
We are grateful to international workers coming to support us in
social care and improving supply, but we have to get the balance
right between international recruitment and our domestic
workforce. In England, we are reforming social care careers to
make social care work a career for our homegrown workforce, and I
encourage her to make sure the SNP does the same in Scotland.
Maternity Services: North London
(Hampstead and Kilburn)
(Lab)
5. What discussions she has had with the North Central London
integrated care system on the potential closure of maternity
services in north London. (901799)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care ()
Improving maternity care is a year 2 priority in our women’s
health strategy for this year. Any decisions around maternity
services need to be focusing on improving outcomes for mums and
babies. However, decisions on the local reconfiguration of
services are made by local integrated care boards and local
trusts.
The maternity unit at the Royal Free Hospital in my constituency
is facing closure. Last week, I met with doctors from the unit
who told me that the Royal Free is uniquely placed to help
mothers with diabetes, pregnant women with HIV, and mothers who
require interventional radiology. The Royal Free is the only
local provider that offers this life-changing treatment 24 hours
a day, seven days a week. Does the Minister agree that the Royal
Free maternity unit has to stay open for the sake of those
vulnerable groups of women?
I thank the hon. Lady for raising her concerns, but as I said,
this is a public consultation. It runs for 14 weeks and will
close on 17 March. I urge her to raise her concerns as part of
that consultation. It is absolutely crucial that we keep
expertise in our maternity services, but I understand that the
local proposals by the trust and the integrated care board
outline plans for £40 million of significant additional
investment into maternity services. Those decisions are for the
local ICB and the local trust. The deadline is 17 March, and I
urge the hon. Lady to ensure she takes part in that process.
(Broxbourne) (Con)
Remaining in north London, can I bring to those on the Treasury
Bench my concern over the quality of nursing care at Barnet
Hospital? An elderly constituent of mine, who is in her 80s, was
admitted there recently. She asked to use the lavatory but was
told no one could take her, and was handed a nappy; she waited
three hours until someone could actually take her to the loo. She
is a coeliac, but was not offered any food for coeliacs during
her 10-day stay because nobody had read her notes. She was also
moved around her bed by her arms despite having a broken
shoulder, which nobody knew as nobody had read her notes.
I am very sorry to hear about the experience of my hon. Friend’s
constituent. That level of care is absolutely unacceptable. I
know he has raised this particular issue with the Patient Safety
Commissioner, Henrietta Hughes, but I am very happy to meet with
my hon. Friend and his constituent to discuss those complaints,
because that care is not acceptable.
Gynaecology Treatment
(Chesham and Amersham) (LD)
6. What steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for
gynaecology treatment.(901800)
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care ()
At Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, the number of
gynaecology patients waiting more than 52 weeks reduced by over
30% between August and December, but I sympathise with the many
women who are still waiting too long. NHS England has been doing
targeted work to help trusts with the most long waiters to
support gynaecology patients in the community where appropriate,
and to find specialist services that can treat them as quickly as
possible.
My local NHS trust recently stated that the average wait for a
gynaecology appointment is 18 weeks, with patients starting
treatment within 24 weeks, but that does not include those on
cancer pathways. One of my constituents who had been identified
as having abnormal cells in her cervix waited more than 60 weeks
for a diagnostic assessment. She is one of many contacting me
with tales of long delays for gynaecology appointments and paying
to go private out of desperation. What steps is the Department
taking to reduce waiting times for gynaecology assessments and
treatment for those on cancer pathways?
Significant investment is going in to reduce both general wait
times and cancer wait times. More patients on the cancer pathway
have been seen than ever before; nearly 220,000 patients were
seen last December following an urgent GP referral for suspected
cancer, representing 117% of December 2019 levels. We continue to
keep this under review and continue to strive to make the system
go faster and reduce the elective backlog.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Erith and Thamesmead)
(Lab)
NHS figures from December show that the number of women waiting
for gynaecological treatment reached another record high of
nearly 600,000. That number has tripled since 2012. A Labour
Government will cut NHS waiting lists in England by funding 2
million more appointments a year. What can the Minister say to
the women waiting urgently for treatment?
I would say that we are sticking to our plan to back the NHS to
cut waiting lists and make our NHS fairer, simpler and faster.
When there is no strike action, that plan is working. We already
eliminated the longest waits, and, in November, we saw the
biggest fall in waiting lists outside of the pandemic in more
than a decade, alongside record investment in things like women’s
health hubs. We are prioritising women’s health.
Primary Care
(Hertford and Stortford)
(Con)
7. What steps her Department is taking to improve access to
primary care. (901801)
(Buckingham) (Con)
8. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of primary care
provision in rural communities. (901802)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
We have met our manifesto commitment to deliver a record extra 50
million GP appointments annually. Our primary care recovery plan
addresses increased GP access and expands community pharmacy
services nationwide with Pharmacy First. Our NHS dentist reform
plan also allocates resources for 2.5 million appointments,
targeting rural and coastal communities.
I thank the Secretary of State for her response, and I thank the
Minister for Health and Secondary Care, my right hon. Friend the
Member for Pendle (), for visiting the
community diagnostic centre and minor injuries unit at the Herts
and Essex Hospital yesterday and all the fantastic staff
there.
Frontier Estates committed to building a GP surgery as part of
the wider Stortford Fields development. However, citing inflated
build costs, it now questions the viability of the plans despite
months of negotiations and efforts by the local NHS to find a
solution. Will my right hon. Friend work with colleagues in the
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with whom I
have already met on this issue, to ensure that Frontier really
engages with the process and builds the surgery it promised my
constituents?
I congratulate my hon. Friend on the enormous amount of work she
has done in her constituency to secure that community diagnostic
centre. We have rolled out some 160 or so of those centres across
England —we want to do more—and they are supplying some 6 million
tests and scans for patients across England.
On the important issue that my hon. Friend raised, my officials
and Levelling Up officials are already considering how primary
care infrastructure can be better supported in the planning
process to ease the pressure on primary care estates,
particularly in areas of housing growth. I know that she will
continue to be as conscientious in her campaigning on that as she
is on other matters.
Rural communities need local, easily accessible primary care.
Since Long Crendon surgery closed during the pandemic, patients
in that village and surrounding villages have been displaced,
mainly to Brill and Thame, for GP appointments. For the
vulnerable and those without private cars, the absence of regular
bus services can mean an unaffordable £25 at least in taxis to
see a GP. I have raised many times an innovative approach to
building a new health centre in Long Crendon by the parish
council, which has the land and the agreement by the ICB for the
rent to put Unity Health in there—we just need the money to build
it. Will my right hon. Friend break down every barrier to help us
get that health centre built in Long Crendon?
Again, I very much admire the effort and determination that my
hon. Friend is showing to stand up for his constituents. He will
know that sadly I am constrained from commenting on individual
cases, but what I do know is that the innovation he is showing
alongside his parish council—and, indeed, I would hope, his local
integrated care board—is the approach we want to adopt across our
rural and coastal communities to ensure that they, too, have the
access to primary care that we all expect.
(Walsall South) (Lab)
Equal access to primary care is so important, but the use of
physician associates is downright dangerous. Does the Secretary
of State agree that patients have the right to see a qualified GP
and not be fobbed off with a two-tier primary care system?
I understand the concerns—we have seen them in the media—but,
please, we in this House have a responsibility to our
constituents and to professionals working in healthcare,
including our clinicians and physician associates. In fact,
physician associates have been working in the NHS for some two
decades. They are there to work with doctors to assist them,
freeing up doctors’ time to focus on the tasks that only they are
qualified to do. We have been very careful to listen to the
concerns raised, which is why we recently announced intentions to
regulate them. But, please, we must all take that responsibility
for ensuring that we are not spreading concern. Actually, these
roles can have a very positive effect on healthcare system.
(Mid Bedfordshire)
(Lab)
My constituents are fed up with battling to see a GP. I have been
working hard across party lines with local councillors and the
ICB, but I was surprised to hear from the Prime Minister in
response to a question last week that only £2 million was
allocated to my ICB for primary care, and that it should raid its
hospital refurbishment budget instead. Could the Secretary of
State advise me which part of the much needed hospital investment
should be overlooked to compensate for the failure to invest in
primary care locally?
Again, it is for integrated care boards to assess the needs of
their area. If there are concerns about access to primary care,
we are keen to give them the autonomy to make decisions about how
they spend their budget. We have set expectations of integrated
care boards in a couple of respects—in particular, we expect them
to use the money that we have provided for dental care and we
have set clear expectations that integrated care boards will
introduce at least one women’s health hub in their area this
year.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee.
(Winchester) (Con)
While we are talking about the recovery of primary care and the
Secretary of State is at the Dispatch Box, the recovering access
plan released last May talked about high-quality online
consultation, text messaging services and online booking tools.
They were due in July, but that became August and then December,
and I understand that it has now been delayed indefinitely due to
a claim made against NHS England in what is a £300 million
project. That delay is hitting access to primary care. Will the
Secretary of State update the House?
We are determined to bring not just primary care but the whole
NHS up to speed with technology. We are firm advocates of the
idea that technology can help free clinicians’ time and ensure
that they are spending time looking at their patients rather than
at computer screens. In primary care, we are working to ensure
the digital telephony services that have played such a critical
role in providing those 50 million additional appointments, as I
described. I will take away my hon. Friend’s points, and look
into them carefully.
(St Albans) (LD)
I have been corresponding with the Primary Care Minister, the
right hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Dame ), and her predecessors about
urgently needing to protect general practice locations in city
centres from outdated Treasury rules that potentially force them
to move to ring-road locations. The Minister’s latest reply
suggested that the ICB could use capital funding to pay for new
premises, but my ICB claims that that is against the rules. Would
she and her officials please urgently meet me and my local ICB to
bottom out what the rules are and urgently protect our city
centre GP locations?
I will ask the relevant Minister to write to the hon. Lady.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
(Ilford North) (Lab)
The simple fact is that the Conservatives have been in power for
14 years, and general practice has never been in a worse state.
Despite slogging their guts out, GPs are struggling because this
Government have cut 2,000 GPs since 2015, making it even harder
for patients to get an appointment. Given that, why has the
Government decided that the NHS needs what the Institute for
Fiscal Studies has described as the biggest funding cut since the
1970s?
It has been a very long time since Labour were in government, but
even the hon. Gentleman knows that Ministers will never comment
on fiscal events the day before they occur. Let me introduce some
facts into his analysis. We have now delivered on our manifesto
commitment for 50 million more general practice appointments per
year, with 363.8 million booked in the last 12 months. That
compares with 312 million deliveredin the 12 months to December
2019. [Interruption.] If the hon. Gentleman stopped shouting,
perhaps he would be able to hear me. About 62,000 more
appointments were delivered per working day last December,
excluding covid vaccinations. We have our primary care recovery
plan, and it is working. Of course there is more to do, but even
the hon. Gentleman would not be so churlish as to deny those
extra 50 million appointments.
Tobacco and Vaping: Legislation
(South Antrim) (DUP)
11. When she plans to introduce a tobacco and vapes bill.
(901805)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care (Dame )
The hon. Member will know that, shockingly, smoking kills 80,000
people across the UK every year, and costs society £17 billion in
ill health and loss of productivity. The Government will
introduce the tobacco and vapes Bill shortly. I am delighted to
say that Northern Ireland Ministers announced just this morning
that we will legislate for the whole of the United Kingdom.
I thank the Minister for that answer. I just want to say that the
age-related Bill on the sale of tobacco products will create the
first generation of smoke-free people in the United Kingdom. All
politics is local, and it is vital that we have the same
legislation in Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland, smoking
contributes to at least 1,300 smoking-related cancers per year.
Some 13.9% of the people in my constituency continue to smoke,
irrespective of the guidance given. I am glad to hear the
Minister’s assurance on the legislation, but will the Government
engage with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure it is on
their priority list?
Dame
I can tell the hon. Gentleman that the Secretary of State met the
Northern Ireland Health Minister just yesterday. I absolutely
assure him that all parts of the United Kingdom will be included
in the once-in-a-generation public health intervention that will
save millions of lives.
(Harrow East) (Con)
I urge my right hon. Friend to get on with introducing the Bill,
because every single day we delay, more people die of cancer and
other smoking-related diseases. Equally, in creating the first
generation of people who will not be allowed to buy cigarettes or
tobacco products—that is excellent—does she agree that one
concern is that young people are now taking up vaping instead of
smoking, and that vaping is clearly a path towards nicotine
addiction?
Dame
Yes. My hon. Friend raises an incredibly important point. There
is no doubt that tobacco and vaping companies are now trying to
recruit children, putting vapes, including many illegal vapes,
next to the sweet counter with extraordinary flavours such as
bubble gum and berry blast, which are clearly not designed, as
was originally proposed, for adult smokers to be able to quit
smoking by moving to vaping. He is absolutely right and we will
bring forward this once-in-a-generation legislation shortly.
Community and District Nurses
(Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
(Alba)
12. What steps she plans to take to improve the recruitment and
retention of community and district nurses. (901806)
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care ()
We have delivered our manifesto commitment of 50,000 more nurses
six months early. There are now almost 361,000 nurses working
across the NHS. As part of that, community nursing has grown by
over 9% since 2019.
There has been a crisis brewing in community-facing nursing over
the past decade, with the number of district nurses down by 40%
and health visitor numbers in England and Wales falling by almost
a third. What guarantees will the Minister provide that this
vital workforce will be supported, when health budgets in all the
nations of the UK are under increasing strain and NHS funding
faces a £2 billion black hole, and cuts to spending in England
have a consequential impact on budgets in Scotland?
Record funding is going into our NHS. In addition to the 9%
increase in community nursing since 2019, we are investing over
£2.4 billion in education and training through the NHS long term
workforce plan, which commits to increasing training places for
district nurses by 41% by the end of the decade. Since 2010, we
have delivered over 63,300 more nurses and midwives into our
NHS.
Draft Mental Health Bill
(Sheffield, Hallam) (Lab)
13. When she plans to respond to the Joint Committee on the Draft
Mental Health Bill’s report entitled “Draft Mental Health Bill
2022”, published on 19 January 2023. (901807)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care ()
I put on record my thanks to the members of the pre-legislative
scrutiny Committee, which scrutinised our draft Mental Health
Bill. We are looking at the recommendations and will respond to
the Committee’s report shortly.
It is now over a year since the Joint Committee report on the
draft Mental Health Bill was published. Despite repeated promises
of reform, the Government have failed to act. More than 50,000
people are held under the Mental Health Act 1983. It is an
outrage to them and to campaigners that reform has been
de-prioritised. Will the Minister confirm when the Government
plan to bring a formal Bill to Parliament and what conversations
they have had with the Chancellor in the run-up to the Budget to
ensure the reforms are properly resourced?
As I have said, we have published our draft Bill, it has
undergone pre-legislative scrutiny and I shall respond to the
Committee’s recommendations shortly, but this is not just about
legislative reform. As a result of the £143 million that we have
invested in crisis support, we have already seen less use of the
Mental Health Act 1983 because people are being seen earlier: our
crisis cafés and crisis telephone services, for example, have led
to a 15% reduction in the use of the Act.
Dame (Thurrock) (Con)
It is a number of years since we promised to reform mental health
legislation that reflects a time when people with severe mental
ill health were viewed as problems to be managed rather than as
individuals. I believe that we on these Benches, as
Conservatives, should be doing everything we can to empower
people and respect their liberties. It simply is not right that
in the 21st century people’s health conditions are being managed
through the forced administration of drugs, which pays no respect
to their liberties. May I reiterate the urgency with which
measures should be introduced, particularly as people with lived
experience have relived their trauma to provide the benefit of
their experiences?
I absolutely entirely agree. That is why the Government published
the draft Bill in January last year, and why it underwent
pre-legislative scrutiny. I gave evidence to the Committee, and
we are working our way through its detailed recommendations and
will publish our response shortly. However, that is in addition
to our significant reform of mental health services, particularly
earlier intervention and crisis cafés. We have seen the impact of
that: 15% fewer detentions under the Mental Health Act, 8% fewer
admissions to hospitals and 12% fewer admissions from our mental
health crisis telephone centres, which are now available across
England 24/7.
Healthcare for Women
(West Ham) (Lab)
15. What steps she is taking to improve healthcare for women.
(901810)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
Women’s health is one of my top priorities. As we approach
International Women’s Day, we have already improved access to
contraception and the treatment of urinary tract infections
through Pharmacy First, announced £50 million of funding for
research on maternity disparities and other health conditions
affecting women, and set the expectation that each integrated
care board area will have at least one women’s health hub
operating this year.
Ms Brown
For more than a decade I have been raising the appalling, often
agonising treatment of many women who need hysteroscopies in the
NHS. They are being left with unnecessary trauma and are
reluctant to engage further with doctors, which is quite simply
life-threatening. However, the medical establishment continues to
resist change and the Government shirk their leadership role.
Earlier this year the Secretary of State set out her priorities
for the women’s health strategy, and access to pain-free
hysteroscopy was not included. Why?
I thank the hon. Lady for her work in this regard, and I
absolutely acknowledge the issues that women are experiencing
with this highly invasive procedure at what is often an extremely
distressing time in their lives. We are waiting for the Royal
College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to update its
guidelines on best practice in hysteroscopies. Following
consultation last year that is under peer review, and is due to
published soon. However, as the hon. Lady knows, I am clear that
it should not be the responsibility of women in those very
distressing circumstances to ask for pain relief. Clinicians must
assume that a woman wants it, and discuss that with her before
the procedure.
(Stafford) (Con)
I welcome the Government’s recent refresh of the women’s health
strategy and the addition to it of birth trauma. However, I am
currently chairing a national inquiry into birth trauma, and we
are hearing from mothers throughout the United Kingdom about some
of the severe mental health conditions that they are facing,
including postpartum psychosis. I have been particularly
concerned to hear about the risk of suicide among new mothers.
What action are the Government taking to address this?
Let me put on record my admiration for my hon. Friend’s action in
sharing her own experiences in order to improve healthcare for
women across the country. She will know of yesterday’s important
announcement about suicide prevention, elements of which
addressed exactly the concerns that she has rightly raised.
Thanks to her hard work, we have also announced that within eight
weeks or so of giving birth mums will be asked by GPs whether
they are okay, and we hope very much that that will open up the
conversation with women who may be struggling.
(Glasgow Central)
(SNP)
Amma Birth Companions has just been recognised in the 2024 GSK
IMPACT awards. The charity is doing really important work to
support vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees who would
otherwise face giving birth alone. Will the Secretary of State
meet the charity to discuss its work and research, given the
disparities that continue for this group of women?
The hon. Lady describes a very interesting piece of work. I will
ask my ministerial colleague to meet the charity, as we want to
support women. Indeed, part of our work across the women’s health
strategy is ensuring that maternity services are not just safe,
but trusted by mums-to-be.
Sir (Northampton North) (Con)
With regard to healthcare for women, a gynaecologist who claimed
that Hammersmith would be better if it were “Jew free” has been
ruled as not racist, but merely
“comfortable with using discriminatory language”,
according to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service. He was
merely suspended for three months and is due to start seeing
patients again in a few weeks. I am concerned that this doctor
may be a danger to Jewish patients. I am also concerned that the
tribunal is defective and its decision is grossly unreasonable.
Will the Secretary of State instruct Government lawyers to begin
judicial review proceedings against the tribunal?
I sincerely thank my right hon. and learned Friend for raising
this issue. As the Prime Minister set out on the steps of Downing
Street last week, there are people whose ideology and dogma are
in direct conflict with our country’s shared values. Just as we
will not stand for that across the country, nor will I stand for
it in our NHS. I have already written to NHS England and
regulators, setting out their responsibilities and our
expectations of them, and I can assure my right hon. and learned
Friend that I will be looking into this issue with great urgency
and great care.
Topical Questions
(Weston-super-Mare) (Con)
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental
responsibilities.(901820)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
I am committed to making our NHS faster, simpler and fairer for
all, including families, which is why the Government have
recently introduced baby loss certificates. Nothing can diminish
the pain of losing a baby, but we hope that this formal
recognition of a life lost can help families to live alongside
their grief. Indeed, since we announced the launch some two weeks
ago, more than 37,000 certificates have been requested by
parents.
That same commitment to families is why we are rolling out
Martha’s rule across England, giving patients and their families
the automatic right to a rapid review of their case—24 hours a
day, seven days a week. Families and carers know when something
is not right or their loved one’s condition is deteriorating.
Martha’s rule not only recognises this powerful instinct, but
allows anyone concerned to act on it and to make sure that the
NHS listens.
With your permission, Mr Speaker, for which I am very grateful, I
would like to alert the House to a written ministerial statement
and a detailed letter from NHS England that has been laid this
morning. It addresses a historical issue whereby women who
received radiotherapy above the waist to treat Hodgkin lymphoma,
and who were therefore at a higher risk of breast cancer, were
not given annual checks. Yesterday, the NHS wrote to the 1,487
women affected in order to inform them. We expect all women to be
offered a scan within the next three months, and NHS England has
established a helpline and briefed GPs and relevant charities.
The vast majority of this group of women will already have been
receiving screening on a three-yearly basis, but NHS England
wants to ensure that they receive annual tests, in line with the
clinical guidance.
I wanted to alert hon. Members to that because, with the letters
having been sent out yesterday, it is perfectly possible—indeed,
probable—that they will start to receive queries from their
constituents. I will of course keep the House updated. I
emphasise, however, that what I have given is a summary, and I
would encourage hon. Members to look at the very detailed letter
from NHS England in order to reassure their constituents that we
are scooping up everybody we can to look after them at this very
troubling time.
Like many people here, I was delighted by last month’s NHS
dentistry recovery plan. How many new NHS dental appointments
does the Secretary of State expect to be available in my
constituency of Weston-super-Mare, and by when?
I thank my hon. Friend for supporting our dental recovery plan.
Indeed, he is one of many colleagues who campaigned hard for it.
I am pleased to inform him that dental activity, as measured by
courses of treatment, has increased by 15% on the previous year
in his local integrated care board area, and our plan will
support further increases to dental access through some 2.5
million additional appointments across the country, including in
his constituency. The first measure, namely new patient premiums,
went live on Friday, and we hope to have the results very
soon.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
(Ilford North) (Lab)
With a general election in the air, I welcome what the Secretary
of State has said about baby loss certificates and Martha’s
rule—there is genuine cross-party agreement on this. I also thank
her for advance notice of today’s important written ministerial
statement.
However, with a general election in the air and given the
Secretary of State’s principled, vocal and consistent opposition
to funding the NHS by abolishing the non-dom tax status, on a
scale of one to 10—one being utterly shameless and 10 being
highly embarrassed—how red-faced will she be when the Chancellor
adopts Labour’s policy tomorrow?
One of the joys of being at the Government Dispatch Box is that
not only do we have to deal with very serious matters, such as I
have just set out, but we get to have a knockabout on the Labour
party’s electioneering. The hon. Gentleman will know the
Conservatives’ proud record on funding our NHS since 2010. I
invite him to wait for tomorrow’s Budget to see what more this
Conservative Government are doing to support our constituents,
and to help our economy grow for a bright future.
The Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the hon.
Member for Lewes (), has said that the policy
will be
“as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike.”[—[Official Report, 28
February 2023; Vol. 728, c.
710.]](/search/column?VolumeNumber=728&ColumnNumber=710&House=1)
As she speeds down the A23 back to Lewes, to defend her
constituency against the Liberal Democrats, how on earth will she
feel with all those embers of the Conservatives’ 14-year record
blowing in her face?
Is it not now clear that, with the Government having adopted
Labour’s workforce plan, Labour’s dentistry recruitment plan and
now Labour’s NHS funding plan, when it comes to a record to be
proud of, and when it comes to finding the answers, only Labour
can deliver an NHS that is fit for the future?
The Leader of the Opposition is a former barrister, and
barristers like to rely on evidence, so let me give some evidence
on what the Labour-run NHS in Wales looks like. People are almost
twice as likely to be waiting for treatment under the Labour-run
Welsh NHS—21.3% of people in Wales are waiting for hospital
treatment after a consultant referral, compared with 12.8% in
England. Patients in Labour-run Wales are, on average, waiting
five weeks longer for NHS treatment than patients in England, and
the number of patients in Wales who are escaping to seek
treatment in England has increased by 40% in two years. But don’t
worry, folks, according to the Leader of the Opposition this is
the blueprint—
Mr Speaker
Order. I remind everyone that these are topical questions. It is
about the many Members I need to get in, rather than the
ping-pong over the Dispatch Box. Let us move on to as a good example.
(Harrogate and Knaresborough)
(Con)
T2. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I am talking to my local
integrated care board about establishing the first centre of
dental excellence in North Yorkshire, to be located in Harrogate,
to build on the dental recovery plan. Does my right hon. Friend
the Secretary of State agree that boosting capacity is critical
to catching up from the pandemic, and that centres of dental
excellence are a very good way to achieve it?(901822)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care (Dame )
I completely agree with my hon. Friend that we need more capacity
in our dental workforce, and I know he will be a big advocate for
his constituency. We set out in the first ever NHS long-term
workforce plan that we will increase dentistry training places by
40% by 2031-32. Our dental recovery plan sets out many different
measures to improve capacity.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(East Dunbartonshire)
(SNP)
Later this month I will be 10 years cancer free, having survived
melanoma first as a teenager and again in my early 20s. Can the
Secretary of State look me in the eye and guarantee that she is
doing all she can to prevent others from getting the same
diagnosis ?
Again, I thank the hon. Lady for sharing her experience, and of
course we are doing all we can. I know that the SNP Scottish
Government share our determination to ensure that cancer
treatment continues to improve. England is diagnosing earlier and
treating more. We have seen cancer survival rates improve by
almost 10 percentage points since 2005, but we also know that
four in 10 cancers could be prevented, which is exactly why we
are bringing forward the smoke-free generation work. Of course,
if the Scottish Government would like us to help with some of
their waiting lists, we genuinely stand ready to do so.
(South West Bedfordshire)
(Con)
T3. The general practice estates and technology transformation
fund supported projects in my constituency and was appreciated by
my local integrated care board. What evaluation has been made of
it, and will it be continued?(901823)
Dame
I have had a number of meetings with my hon. Friend and know that
he is determined to resolve some of these long-standing issues in
his constituency. I have assured him that ICBs have the freedom
to increase capital for primary care in their region, so long as
their plans remain within their overall capital allocation. I
will certainly be happy to meet him again to talk about what more
measures we can take to support his constituents.
(York Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
T4. I held my first dental summit since the publication of the
Government’s dental recovery plan, which I have to say was met
with disappointment and frustration. The reason for that is that
is not enough funding or flexibility, or the resolution to the
contract. Will the Minister set out the timetable for when the
dental contract will be resolved?(901824)
Dame
I am very surprised and disappointed to hear the hon. Lady say
that. We are delivering 2.5 million more appointments through the
new patient premium, which started last Friday. We will have
information within a month to see which dentists have taken up
this generous new patient premium to ensure that many more people
get access to dentistry. Not only that, but we have golden hellos
to attract dentists to areas that are underserved, mobile dental
vans and, importantly, a new focus on Smile4life. That is going
to ensure that all babies and young children have that fabulous
smile for life.
Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)
T5. The Pharmacy First service has proved popular in Amber
Valley, but some pharmacists report confusion because the ear
infection service applies only to under 18s and patients are
being referred to pharmacies when they should not be. Will the
Minister either extend the service to over-18s or ensure that NHS
communications are clear that this service is only for
children?(901825)
Dame
My hon. Friend raises an important point. He will be aware that a
decision was taken that ear wax removal services are better done
in the community and that ear syringing can cause problems. That
area is under review and I am happy to write to him to address
the specific point he makes about over-18s and children.
Dame Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)
T7. I absolutely agree that we should redouble our efforts to
recruit and retain more home-grown carers, as the Welsh
Government are doing by paying them all at least the real living
wage, but in the short term we have to rely on foreign workers.
From her earlier answers, it appears that the Social Care
Minister is happy to deprive them of the enjoyment of their own
family life, while we expect them to give our relatives loving
care. Will she think again and speak to Home Office colleagues
about dropping this totally inhumane ban?(901828)
The Minister for Social Care ()
As the hon. Lady will have heard me say earlier, we are grateful
to international care workers who come to care for our loved ones
in this country. We need to get the balance right between
international recruitment and our home-grown care workforce. On
the question specifically on dependants, I say to her that every
care worker who comes here to do work in the UK has a choice as
to whether to come here or not.
(Chelmsford) (Con)
T8. I thank the Health and Secondary Care Minister for visiting
the new medical school in Chelmsford yesterday. This is the first
time that students have ever been able to train as doctors in
Essex in its history, and the results are phenomenal. This is
living proof of the Government’s commitment to train the NHS
staff of the future. What progress is he making to increase work
placements for students so that we can train even more doctors,
nurses and people for important roles such as physician
associates?(901829)
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care ()
I thank my right hon. Friend for her question and her kind invite
to visit her constituency. I pay tribute to all the work she has
done to secure investment in Anglia Ruskin University. She is
right to highlight the importance of delivering clinical
placements as part of the long-term workforce plan. I assure her
that we are working closely with NHS England and partners in
health and education to ensure that happens.
(Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
(SNP)
Medicine shortages have doubled in the UK in the last two years.
There might be some global pressures, but two issues have
particularly affected the UK: first, the post-Brexit regulatory
framework; and secondly, the fact that the pound has tanked,
making it more expensive to buy medicines. What are the
Government doing to undo that Brexit dividend?
The hon. Gentleman sounds like a broken record, as usual. The
Department has no evidence to suggest that EU exit is leading to
sustained medicine shortages. Shortages occur for a wide range of
reasons and are affecting countries all over the world.
(Mid Norfolk) (Con)
Rural Norfolk is experiencing a dental crisis and a generation of
children are in danger of going without dental care. I welcome
the dental recovery plan, but I notice that it will be four or
five years before we get more dentists. Last week, NHS Norfolk
and Waveney integrated care board announced a £17 million
underspend on dentistry. Will the Minister agree to meet with me
and the ICB to work out how we get more money out now to help
dentistry in Norfolk today?
One of the many ways we have tackled access to dental care is to
ensure that those dentists who have a contract to conduct NHS
work are using them to the top of their licence. We are
encouraging dentists to do that through the new patient premium
and a higher rate paid for units of dental activity. There is so
much more to the plan. Labour keeps trying to claim credit for
our plan, but the truth is that our plan promises 2.5 million
appointments while its plan promises a miserly 700,000.
(Luton South) (Lab)
It is imperative that we tackle the scourge of mental ill health
in children and young people. Labour will ensure access to mental
health support in every school and establish an open-access
mental health hub in every community, paid for by charging VAT on
private school fees. Why will the Government not adopt that
plan?
I have a news flash for the hon. Lady: we are already doing all
that work. Mental health support teams are being rolled out in
schools—44% of pupils now have access to a mental health support
team, rising to 50% shortly. Over 13,800 schools and colleges now
have a trained senior mental health lead. Only last week we
announced 24 early support hubs for 11 to 25-year-olds—they will
not need a referral; they can drop in. There are 24/7 helplines
available that can be accessed through 111. That is what we are
doing.
(Witham) (Con)
Mid and South Essex integrated care board is seeking to remove
vital community health services from St Peter’s Hospital in
Maldon. Will the Minister meet me and our right hon. Friend the
Member for Maldon (Sir ) to discuss the
proposals? They will affect both our constituencies and are
causing a great deal of concern.
I would be very happy to meet my right hon. Friends to discuss
those concerns.
(Edinburgh West) (LD)
I thank the Secretary of State for her offer to help cut waiting
lists in Scotland. I listened to the frankly delusional
statements from the SNP Benches about the state of the NHS in
Scotland. We are in dire straits and suffer the same problems,
particularly about GPs and appointments disappearing. When are we
going to see an improvement in appointment availability?
Dame
The hon. Lady will no doubt be extremely envious of the fact that
in England there are 50 million more GP appointments now every
year, which is a fantastic achievement by this Government. She
will want to look at what is happening in Scotland, which has
some of the worst health outcomes in western Europe, and
challenge SNP Ministers over drug and alcohol death rates and
falls in life expectancy.
Sir (North East Somerset)
(Con)
Will my right hon. Friend explain an anomaly in the “Agenda for
Change” pay deal as it affects non-NHS providers? People working
in the NHS for non-NHS providers may be eligible for extra money
if the organisation they work for is in financial difficulties,
but not if it is not. So badly run organisations are being
rewarded and well-run organisations are being penalised, which
seems to me to be perverse.
I am happy to meet my right hon. Friend to discuss the matter. We
have reached pay settlements with the “Agenda for Change” unions,
and we continue to reach pay deals with other unions. We are also
supporting non-NHS providers whose contracts are dynamically
aligned. It is a complex area, so I am more than happy to meet my
right hon. Friend to discuss his concerns.
(Vauxhall)
(Lab/Co-op)
The Secretary of State will know that NHS England is expected to
announce the decision about the primary children’s centre for
cancer treatment in south London and south-east London. Evelina
London Children’s Hospital in my constituency is one of the only
specialist centres in south London. Does she agree that the final
decision should be made as soon as possible in order to benefit
staff, patients and families? Will she join me in visiting
Evelina London?
I thank the hon. Lady for her question. In fairness, colleagues
from across the House have been raising this issue with me
because it affects a large population of London and the
surrounding areas. I must leave it to NHS England to finish its
consultation process, but I would be very happy to visit not just
the Evelina but our other wonderful hospitals that look after
children.
(Erewash) (Con)
Given the expansion of health services through Pharmacy First,
what action is my right hon. Friend the Minister taking to ensure
that communities such as Sandiacre in my constituency, whose
branch of Boots is due to close at the end of the month, are not
left without access to such vital services?
Dame
I am very happy to discuss that matter with my hon. Friend, who
is a huge advocate for her constituency. It is always
disappointing when a community pharmacy closes, but she will know
that the launch of Pharmacy First on 31 January expanded the
value and contribution of all our community pharmacies. It has
been met with a £645 million investment over this year and
next.
Mr (East Londonderry)
(DUP)
On access to primary care provision, will the Secretary of State
assure the House that she will liaise with Health Ministers in
the devolved Departments to ensure that rural communities do not
lose out because of their isolated locations?
I am very happy to give that assurance. I was delighted to meet
Minister Swann yesterday to discuss his plans for Northern
Ireland healthcare, including access to primary care.
(Peterborough) (Con)
I remind Members of my entry in the Register of Members’
Financial Interests. The Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency’s international recognition procedure will
ensure faster access to innovative treatments, but it will
realise its full potential only if it is matched by the National
Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s evaluation process.
What is my right hon. Friend the Minister doing to ensure that
the two processes are aligned?
My hon. Friend will be aware that there have been delays with
approvals by the MHRA and NICE. We are keen to ensure that those
delays are reduced, and I am delighted to tell the House that
significant progress has been made in both organisations. I am
happy to work with my hon. Friend and both organisations to
ensure that progress continues to be made.
(Somerton and Frome) (LD)
Figures obtained by the British Dental Association project that
£8 million of the NHS budget in Somerset is going unspent. Will
the Minister explain to my constituent, who is suffering in
dental agony, why that is happening?
Dame
I encourage the hon. Lady to hold her integrated care board to
account. We invest more than £3 billion a year in dentistry, and
our dental recovery plan means that significant money is
available for NHS dentistry. It is for the integrated care board
to commission those units of dental activity, which now offer
more money—a minimum of £28 per UDA. I am happy to meet the hon.
Lady if she finds she is not getting anywhere with her ICB.
(Southend West) (Con)
I am currently working with a brilliant local pharmacist, Fizz,
to open a new NHS dental practice in Belfairs in my constituency.
Premises and dentists have been lined up, but we need the ICB to
commission the service. Will the Minister meet me, my local ICB
and Fizz to unlock that vital service as soon as possible?
Dame
I am delighted to hear about that really good news for my hon.
Friend’s constituents—I know she works tirelessly for them. Of
course, I will be very happy to meet her.
(Tiverton and Honiton)
(LD)
Wendy Hart had a high white blood cell count when she was
discharged from the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. Her husband,
Terence, described a dreadful, pointless 60-mile round trip home
and back to hospital before Wendy died of sepsis. Will the
Minister consider distances between acute hospitals and rural
communities when reviewing hospital discharge guidance?
I am very sorry to hear about what happened to the hon.
Gentleman’s constituent. I send my condolences to her family and
loved ones. Clearly, it is very important that discharge
decisions are led by clinicians, who can make a clinical decision
about whether somebody is medically ready to be discharged. I
have no doubt that the family may well take up that decision with
local NHS organisations.
(Colchester) (Con)
No doctor wants to be on strike, so I welcome the new deal with
the consultant unions. It shows that by being reasonable,
pragmatic and acting in good faith, unions can deliver for their
members. Does my right hon. Friend agree?
My hon. Friend knows only too well the importance of industrial
action and the impact it can have on patients and on the NHS as a
whole. I am pleased that the BMA has announced today, following
the previous settlement that was narrowly rejected in its ballot,
that it has been able to get back around the table with my
officials and me. We have been able to find a fair and reasonable
settlement that the BMA will advocate for and recommend to its
members. We hope that that shows those who are choosing to strike
that constructive negotiations, and trying to sort out some of
the concerns that we know clinicians have, can be dealt with in a
reasonable manner, which is of benefit not just to staff, but to
patients.
Sir (Rhondda) (Lab)
How many people were treated for acquired brain injury last
year?
The hon. Gentleman has caught me off guard—I will write to him. I
am keen to continue working with him on that issue. As he knows,
we have already shared draft details of the acquired brain injury
strategy with him and members of the all-party parliamentary
group, and I am very keen to continue working collaboratively on
that issue with him.
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