NHS Dentists: North Shropshire Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
1. What progress his Department has made on improving access to NHS
dentists in North Shropshire constituency. The Secretary of State
for Health and Social Care (Steve Barclay) Last year, we announced
a number of reforms to the NHS dental system, making the NHS more
attractive and helping patients to access care. Treatments and
dental care delivered in England went up by a fifth between 2021
and 2022....Request free trial
NHS Dentists: North Shropshire
(North Shropshire) (LD)
1. What progress his Department has made on improving access to
NHS dentists in North Shropshire constituency.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
Last year, we announced a number of reforms to the NHS dental
system, making the NHS more attractive and helping patients to
access care. Treatments and dental care delivered in England went
up by a fifth between 2021 and 2022.
In North Shropshire, the number of adults seen by a dentist
between 2019 and 2022 fell by more than 10%, from 47.5% to 35.4%,
and the number of children seen by a dentist in that time has
fallen by just about 10%, from 59% to 49.8%. Constituents report
not being able to access a dentist, and are being turned away
from their NHS dentists as they seek to take on only private
work. Can the Secretary of State reassure me that he is taking
steps to ensure that dentists in rural areas will continue to
provide NHS services, because this healthcare problem will
continue into the future?
We recognise that we need to do more. That is why we are making
NHS dentistry more attractive by creating more bands of units of
dental activity, having a minimum UDA value, and increasing to
110% the amount of activity that dentists can do. Indeed,
Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin NHS trust, for example, was above
the national average in the 24 months until June 2022. We are
putting reforms in place to build more capacity.
Elective Care Waiting Times
(Brentford and Isleworth)
(Lab)
2. What steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times
for NHS treatments.
Mr (South West Hertfordshire)
(Con)
15. What recent progress he has made on reducing the number of
patients waiting more than 18 months for elective care.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
The elective recovery plan sets out clear steps to eliminate long
waits, and that is supported by £8 billion of revenue funding and
£5.9 billion in capital over three years.
The waiting list for elective care has risen to more than 7
million people, including one constituent who is unable to work
while waiting months for an orthopaedic assessment, and another
who has been waiting three years for a prostate operation. Both
have had to seek emergency care while they wait for an
agonisingly long time. Is it not true that the longer the
Conservatives stay in power, the longer patients will wait?
On the last bit of the question, the average waits in Wales are
20.4 weeks as of April, and in England they are 13.8 weeks, which
is the exact opposite of the point the hon. Lady raises. We are
taking action. We are boosting diagnostic capacity; 111 community
diagnostic centres are now open. We are increasing treatment
capacity through our surgical hubs programme. We are giving
patients choice, which is not available in Wales under the Labour
Administration—we are giving them more choice. We are also making
better use of the independent sector, which some on the Labour
Front Bench support but others do not.
One of my constituents has now been waiting 14 months for a
hysterectomy, while another waited years to receive a much-needed
hip replacement. That is way over the 18-week standard set out by
the NHS Constitution. Can the Secretary of State tell the House
what is being done to get wait times down to that 18-week
mark?
We recognise the challenges from the pandemic, and that is why we
are boosting capacity, particularly through our community
diagnostic centres. The additional capacity has already delivered
more than 4 million extra tests and scans. We are rolling that
programme out with the target of 160, and 111 are already in
place.
Cancer Outcome Targets
(Basildon and Billericay)
(Con)
3. What steps he is taking to implement section 5 of the Health
and Care Act 2022.
The Minister for Social Care ()
In accordance with section 5 of the Health and Care Act 2022, the
Secretary of State’s mandate to NHS England for this year set out
ambitious objectives to improve outcomes for cancer patients,
including the specific aims of improving one-year and five-year
survival of all cancers.
Mr Baron
Many on the Conservative Benches are pleased that section 5 is
finally being implemented, but we would urge the Government to
ensure, when consulting on the NHS mandate, that the focus is on
outcomes such as the one-year survival rate to encourage earlier
diagnosis, and is not watered down in favour of softer objectives
such as patient experience surveys, because patients may not be
aware of how badly the NHS compares on international survival
rates, as recent research from the King’s Fund has shown.
I congratulate my hon. Friend on his commitment to ensuring that
we are focused on cancer outcomes and on his successful campaign
for that to be included in the NHS mandate, which it has been, as
I just mentioned. The best way to improve outcomes for cancers is
by catching cancer early. That is one reason why we have a range
of metrics, including process metrics, which measure early
diagnosis and therefore help us to achieve our ambitions on
outcomes. Other metrics such as patient experience are important
as well.
(Halton) (Lab)
I agree with the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr
Baron). One of the problems is the time it takes from the GP’s
referral to the consultant at the hospital and the treatment then
starting; there are still concerns about delays in that. What is
the Minister doing to speed up the process from not just the GP’s
referral to the consultant but from the consultant to treatment
starting?
The hon. Member is right that the duration is very important. One
reason why we are focused so much on increasing early diagnosis
is because we know that the sooner we diagnose people, the more
likely they are to have a successful outcome from cancer
treatment. We are seeing improvements in cancer survival. For
instance, in 2010, two thirds of people would survive for one
year after a cancer diagnosis; now the figure is three quarters.
The NHS is working very hard on further improving cancer
diagnosis, and we have reduced the number of people waiting more
than 62 days since the pandemic by over a third.
Cervical Screening and Ovarian Cancer
(Washington and Sunderland
West) (Lab)
4. What steps he is taking to increase awareness of (a) cervical
screening and (b) ovarian cancer.
The Minister for Social Care ()
We are catching more cancers early than ever before, and work to
raise awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, screening
programmes and investment in early diagnosis are all playing
their part. We fund community events to raise awareness of
ovarian cancer, and NHS England is working to increase cervical
screening take-up by providing more convenient appointments,
including at weekends and evenings.
Mrs Hodgson
I thank the Minister for that answer, but Target Ovarian Cancer
has found that 40% of women in the UK wrongly believe that their
smear test will detect ovarian cancer. There is currently no
viable screening process for ovarian cancer. However, messaging
remains unclear when women are going for their smear test. What
steps are being taken to ensure that information provided at such
screening is clear?
On the one hand, cervical screening is incredibly important and
very effective at saving lives from cervical cancer—we estimate
that it saves around 5,000 lives per year. There is no evidence
to support a screening programme for ovarian cancer, and I will
take away the hon. Lady’s question about whether there should be
communications about that when people go for a cervical
smear.
Vaping: Young People
(Stockton North) (Lab)
5. What steps he is taking to tackle vaping by young people.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
The hon. Gentleman raises a point of concern across the House
that we recognise. That is why we have already taken action,
through £3 million to crack down on those selling vapes illegally
to children, closing the loophole that allowed free samples to be
offered to children, and our call for evidence, so that we can
examine what further measures we can take, particularly on the
concerns about disposable vapes, which are prevalent among
children.
That is helpful, but Labour proposed a new clause to the Health
and Care Bill that would have given the Government the primary
powers needed to stop the use of sweet names such as gummy bears
and Skittles, bright colours and cartoon characters on packaging
and labelling of e-cigarettes. The Minister will agree that such
promotion aimed directly at young people is highly unacceptable
and takes us back to the worst days of cigarette advertising. If
the Government are so committed to acting in this space, why did
they vote down that new clause?
As I say, we have already taken action. We took measures in
April, and the Prime Minister announced further measures in May.
We are keen to follow the evidence. That is why we have had a
call for evidence. The ministerial team are looking extremely
closely at this, and we will take further action to clamp down on
something that we all recognise is a risk to children, which is
why we are acting on it.
(Erewash) (Con)
Vapes are smoking-cessation products; they are not confectionery
to be sold to children or a way of replacing one generation
hooked on nicotine with another. Will my right hon. Friend update
the House on the progress that the Medicines and Healthcare
products Regulatory Agency has made on licensing e-cigarettes and
other inhaled nicotine-containing products as medicines, which
would put out a strong message that vaping is a dangerous
pastime?
As a former Health Minister, my hon. Friend is well aware of the
risks posed by vaping. As the chief medical officer has said,
“If you smoke, vaping is much safer; if you don’t smoke, don’t
vape”.
That is why we are toughening up the regime. We are also working
with industry as part of our call for evidence, but we are clear
on the need to go further. That is exactly what we will do.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
(SNP)
Youngsters who try e-cigarettes are at much greater risk of both
nicotine addiction and later going on to use tobacco itself, so
what consideration have this Government given to banning
disposable vapes completely as a way of protecting our young
people?
Again, I agree that disposable vapes are a particular concern: in
our view, the growth in youth vaping is largely due to the growth
in the use of disposable vapes. That is why we have particularly
focused on that issue in our call for evidence, and that is what
we are considering.
City-centre GP Premises
(St Albans) (LD)
6. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of
guidance issued by District Valuer Services on the availability
of city-centre GP premises.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care (Neil O'Brien)
While it is a very long-standing system, we keep the approach to
funding for GP premises under review. We have taken action in the
primary care recovery plan to improve access to section 106
funds, so that new homes always come with the GP infrastructure
that is needed.
The Secretary of State and his Ministers will know that I first
raised this issue in the Chamber on 6 June this year. Integrated
care boards, GPs, and now the medical property sector are all
telling me that the Treasury rules are out of date and are a
massive block to securing much-needed primary care premises in
the right places, particularly in city centres such as St Albans.
When I have asked the Department via written parliamentary
questions for its assessment of how much of a problem this issue
is, the Department has told me that it just does not know. Could
the Minister please tell us when he will be speaking to
colleagues in the Treasury to resolve this issue, so that we can
make sure that GP premises are secured where people need them
most?
Neil O'Brien
We talk all the time. I am conscious that there are 60% more
full-time patient-facing staff in the hon. Lady’s constituency
than there were in 2019, which of course puts pressure on
premises. The capital allocation for her local ICB between
2022-23 and 2024-25 was £200 million, so the money is there, but
I am happy to continue the conversation about how we get the
premises in the places where we need them.
Pharmacy Services
(Bolton West) (Con)
7. What recent progress he has made on increasing the range of
services in pharmacies.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care (Neil O'Brien)
We have already been growing the range of NHS services available
in pharmacies: we have set up the community pharmacist
consultation service, the discharge medicines service, the new
medicine service, the blood pressure check service,
smoking-cessation services and the contraception service. We are
now investing £645 million to go further through the new Pharmacy
First scheme for common conditions.
I thank my hon. Friend for his answer, but does he agree that the
services offered by pharmacies can be made more efficient? For
example, 62 million prescription items are subject to “split and
snip” per year. That is where, to get the right number of pills,
a pack has to be manually opened up for a couple of pills to be
snipped out, then repackaged and relabelled before being
reissued. The spare pills are often thrown away. Can that system
not be better?
Neil O'Brien
My hon. Friend is completely correct. That is why at the end of
last month we laid a statutory instrument before the House to fix
the system, so that pharmacists can spend more time using their
skills to provide high-end clinical services and less time
snipping blister packs.
(Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)
Given the national shortage of GPs, does the Minister recognise
that there is a potential danger in asking pharmacists to take on
the duties of GPs—duties that they are not necessarily qualified
to undertake—especially given the already large workload
undertaken by pharmacists?
Neil O'Brien
We absolutely recognise the need for patient safety, which is why
there will be clear patient group directions and clear pathways
about what pharmacists do. They are not taking on the role of
GPs, but are providing additional services that will make things
more convenient for all of our constituents.
Dame (Basingstoke) (Con)
I warmly welcome the Government’s commitment to investing £645
million to enable pharmacists to provide for far more common
conditions. I have already visited one of my own local surgeries,
the Shakespeare Road medical practice, and seen at first hand how
pharmacists are already working in GP surgeries to try to reduce
waiting times. Surely, more surgeries should be doing the same,
involving pharmacists with enhanced roles in order to cut waiting
times in a manner that is safe.
Neil O'Brien
My right hon. Friend is completely correct. That £645 million, of
course, comes on top of the £100 million that we have already put
in. We have grown the pharmacy workforce hugely—there are 82%
more pharmacists now than in 2010—and we are also enabling those
people with their high-end skills to do more by reforming
regulations. That is not just the blister packs issue; we are
enabling them to do convenient things such as hand out bagged
medicines even if the pharmacist is not present.
Mr (East Londonderry)
(DUP)
Will the Minister undertake to liaise closely with local
community pharmacy representative groups to ensure that the
excellent work they have been doing can be maximised,
particularly given that the NHS is under severe pressure at the
moment?
Neil O’Brien
Absolutely, and I always try to learn lessons from right across
the UK. In fact, some of the ideas for reforms have come from
listening to local partners. For example, our reforms to enable
modern ways of working, hub-and-spoke dispensing and empowering
pharmacy technicians have come from talking to those local
partners.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Bristol South) (Lab)
People across the country rely on local, accessible pharmacies,
but whether it is high street closures or supply problems leading
to the absurd situation where women are phoning or visiting
multiple pharmacies for a prescribed dose of hormone replacement
therapy and other drugs, the Government are again letting people
down. They have repeatedly announced plans to expand the role of
community pharmacies, but have failed to update legislation that
could possibly help. They keep collapsing the business in this
place, so we have time to sort it. Why will they not do so?
Neil O’Brien
I have given a flavour of the four different reforms we are
making. To give the wider picture, there are more pharmacies in
England than there were in 2010, there are 24,000 more
pharmacists in England than there were in 2010 and we are putting
in £645 million to provide a bunch of services that were not
there when Labour was in office. We are very happy to take
lessons from the pharmacy sector, but not from the Labour
party.
Brain Cancer Treatments
Dame (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
8. What steps he is taking to help improve the effectiveness of
brain cancer treatments.
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care ()
We are working closely with research partners, and although I am
pleased to say that more research is being funded, we want to see
more research in brain cancer treatments. We continue to
encourage more researchers to become involved in what remains a
challenging scientific area, with a relatively small research
community, but I am confident that the Government’s continued
commitment to funding will help us make progress towards
effective treatments.
Dame
I thank the Minister for that answer, and I am sure—and I know—he
will take this very seriously. I have had three constituents in
the last year come to see me who have suffered serious brain
tumours, and they have had a very similar pathway, which is
basically that after a certain point there is little the NHS can
do for them. In particular, there is a shortage of
neuro-oncologists, and one has spent their life savings on
private treatment, even though that was difficult to find. Is
there any hope, in the NHS workforce plan, that there will be
more oncology training and more support for neuro-oncology,
because the survival rate for this cancer is still woefully
low?
I thank the hon. Lady for her question, and I am sorry to hear of
the experience of her three constituents. There certainly is hope
within the long-term workforce plan. As she rightly alludes to,
we are reliant on researchers to submit high-quality research
proposals, and that requires clinicians specialising in this
area. It is something I take very seriously, and I would be very
happy to work with her on it.
(Peterborough) (Con)
I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial
Interests.
My father, the late Alan Bristow, died of a brain tumour in April
2020. He was 77, and that was incredibly sad, but when a child
dies of a brain tumour, it is unbelievably wicked. Brain tumours
are still the biggest killer of young people. What can the
Minister do to ensure that appropriate funding is being put into
research into brain tumours, especially for younger people, and
when will the Government respond to the O’Shaughnessy review into
clinical trials in the UK, which would help the brain tumour
community?
I thank my hon. Friend for his question, and I am sorry to hear
of his own personal experience. He is absolutely right that, in
relation to children, I am very keen to find a way forward. The
Government are committed to finding high-quality brain cancer
research, and we expect to spend more as new research progresses.
The £40 million of funding announced will remain available, and
if we can spend more on the best-quality science, we will do so.
We worked really closely with Lord O’Shaughnessy on his review,
we have accepted his recommendations and we have put in £121
million to support it.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
(Ilford North) (Lab)
The Minister is aware, I know, of the outstanding campaigning
work that my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden
() is doing, not least
because of the experience of her sister—our late great friend
Margaret McDonagh—with glioblastomas. Over decades now, we have
seen no improvements in outcomes, no drug trials of any
seriousness and no mandatory training of oncologists. I have
learned through experience that, when the McDonaghs come
knocking, it is best to say yes, and if anyone says no, they will
be hit by this unstoppable steamroller. With that cautionary note
in mind, might the Minister be prepared to meet me, my hon.
Friend and relevant stakeholders across the Department, NHS
England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
to see what more can be done? There are challenges, I know, but
what more can be done to make sure that, for families such as my
hon. Friend’s and Margaret’s, and for thousands of others each
year, glioblastomas are not simply a death sentence?
I thank the hon. Member for that question and join him in paying
tribute to the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (), especially after the
tragic loss of her sister, for all the work that she has done in
campaigning on this issue. I have spent significant time on the
issue and I have met her, the hon. Member for Leicester West
(), campaigners, charities and other hon. Members from
across the House. Funding for research is available and, having
spoken with the Secretary of State, I know that he is as keen as
I am to work with colleagues from across the House. There are
issues that transcend party politics and this is certainly one of
them. I would be very happy to meet the shadow Secretary of
State, the National Institute for Health and Care Research, NHS
England, the Brain Cancer Mission and
clinical specialists to find a way forward.
Mental Ill Health: West Yorkshire
(Leeds North East)
(Lab)
9. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of treatments for
complex mental health illnesses in West Yorkshire.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care ()
NHS West Yorkshire integrated care boards have increased their
investment in mental health services in line with their overall
allocation increase. They have spent more than £591 million in
the past financial year on their mental health services.
I thank the Minister for that answer. My constituent, Joanne
Allotey, has custody of her young granddaughter, who has complex
mental health problems, but local mental health services in Leeds
are still chronically underfunded after 13 years of Conservative
Government cuts. Will the Minister join me in commending Roundhay
high school for the support that it has given the family—this is
the same school that the former Prime Minister claimed “let down”
children—and commit today to delivering truly effective
children’s education, health and care plans?
I absolutely pay tribute to the school in the hon. Gentleman’s
constituency. I also point out that Red Kite View is a new unit
specifically for young people in his constituency. That 22-bed
mental health unit opened last year and aims to eliminate
out-of-area placements for young children with mental ill health.
I am sure that he would welcome that investment in his
constituency.
(Broxbourne) (Con)
The Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill reported back
in January this year. One of the most important recommendations
we made was about how people, during a period of wellness, could
set out how they wish to be treated during a period of illness.
The Government have yet to respond to the Joint Committee, but
can we have a mental health Bill in the forthcoming King’s
Speech, please?
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that issue. There were many
recommendations during pre-legislative scrutiny. We are working
through those and we hope to be able to respond fully shortly
after the summer recess.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Tooting) (Lab)
As my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North East () highlighted, all too
often, children are stuck on long waiting lists for treatment. In
West Yorkshire, 30,000 children are currently stuck waiting for
mental health treatment, and more than 9,000 people have had
their mental health referral closed without accessing treatment.
Does the Minister find that acceptable? If the answer is no, what
will her Government do about it? This picture is not unique to
West Yorkshire, but replicated across England. This Government
are letting patients down. When is the Minister going to act to
tackle the crisis in mental health services?
I thank the shadow Minister for her question. To highlight
another initiative in West Yorkshire, the Night OWLS—Overnight
West Yorkshire Living/Advice Service—helpline has been set up for
children and young people. It is open between 8 pm and 8 am seven
days a week for young people to access, in addition to the 24/7
helpline that is available. I am sure that the shadow Minister
will also welcome the fact that we have more than 400
mental health support teams in schools in England, covering 3
million children, so that they can access mental health support
directly at school.
Health Inequalities
(Jarrow) (Lab)
10. What steps he is taking to help tackle health
inequalities.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care (Neil O’Brien)
We are tackling the root causes of health inequalities. We have
doubled the duty on cigarettes and brought in a minimum excise
tax on the cheapest cigarettes. That has helped to drive down
smoking rates from 21% to a record low of 13%. We are going
further, helping a million smokers with our scheme to get people
to stop smoking and start vaping. We have provided £40 million to
start rolling out new weight-loss drugs and, in the major
conditions strategy, we will talk further about how we will
tackle health inequalities.
People in the north-east die younger than people in the rest of
England and spend more years in ill health. Increased NHS waiting
times leaves them on medication for longer. The north-east has
the highest level of people living in poverty, leaving many of my
constituents unable to afford prescription charges. Some have
told me that they are taking paracetamol instead of prescribed
medication, worsening health inequalities. Will the Minister
commit to scrapping these unfair prescription charges?
Neil O’Brien
Nine out of 10 prescriptions are not paid for, but free at the
point of delivery. On the various important points that the hon.
Lady makes, tackling health inequalities is hugely important to
us. That is why we are creating 160 extra community diagnostic
centres, which are targeted at areas of the highest deprivation.
It is why we are rolling out targeted lung health checks in 43
areas of the most deprivation. It is also why we are providing
cost of living support worth about £3,300 for the average
household in this country. It is one of the most generous schemes
anywhere in Europe, exactly to tackle those cost of living
pressures and health inequalities.
Mr (Old Bexley and Sidcup)
(Con)
My hon. Friend will be aware that health inequalities can also be
geographical within the south-east, with boroughs such as Bexley
having historically received less funding than other parts of
London. Does he therefore agree that further investment in the
fantastic Queen Mary’s Hospital Sidcup would address that issue
and improve health outcomes for people in south-east London?
Neil O’Brien
My hon. Friend is assiduous in making the case for his
constituency. Ministers of course will meet him to discuss this
matter. I know he is closely following the progress of the CDC
bid, which we have been talking about. Those diagnostic centres
are doing fantastic work to get earlier diagnosis and save more
lives, particularly in areas of deprivation.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Denton and Reddish)
(Lab)
From this complacent Minister’s replies already, one would think
that health inequalities in England were improving, not widening.
Last year, 11,000 people, including 312 children, were
hospitalised for malnutrition in the United Kingdom. That is the
highest number since comparable records began. Why are so many
people in Britain going hungry under the Tories?
Neil O’Brien
We need to have care in discussing these subjects. Eating
disorders are a sensitive subject and the statistics the hon.
Gentleman is quoting are a mix of different things. I have
already talked about the £3,300 of cost of living support that
this Government are providing to the average UK household, with
more targeted help for more vulnerable households. It is
something we are seized of and are working on.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
(SNP)
Millions of people with disabilities or serious medical
conditions rely on specialist equipment, such as ventilators or
home dialysis, which personally costs them more money to run,
while giving considerable savings to NHS hospitals. Will the
Minister urge Cabinet colleagues in the Department for Work and
Pensions to help to tackle health inequalities by ensuring that
those people receive a fair and timely reimbursement for those
additional costs, which are essential to run the equipment to
help keep them alive?
Neil O’Brien
Absolutely. We are conscious of the additional needs of people
who have equipment like that. By the end of June, the Government
had covered nearly half of a typical household’s energy bill
through the support schemes we put in place, but we are always
looking at what more we can do to help vulnerable households.
Primary Care
(Liverpool, West Derby)
(Lab)
11. What assessment his Department has made of the potential
impact of primary care service closures on public health.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care (Neil O’Brien)
Each integrated care board is required to ensure access to GP
services for all. Overall, more people are being seen in general
practice than ever before—about 10% more than before the
pandemic—but where some practices close, the local ICB has to
ensure that patients are transferred smoothly to other
practices.
Park View medical centre in West Derby, one of the most deprived
areas of my city, is facing imminent closure, and there has been
a lack of transparency and accountability throughout the process
when dealing with the ICB to get the decision reversed. In the
Minister’s reply to my letter, he said it was essential that, if
a GP surgery closes, it does not lead to a reduction in the
quality of care for patients in the locality. Park View patients
have been clear that dispersal to other surgeries would be
catastrophic, especially when all GPs are already facing huge
pressures. Will the Minister urgently intervene to halt the
closure due to the legal insufficiency of the consultation
process and meet me and patients?
Neil O’Brien
I have looked carefully at that case, on which the hon. Gentleman
has been campaigning. The incumbent provider chose not to bid for
the future contract for Park View medical centre, and NHS
Cheshire and Merseyside decided that the best thing was to help
patients to transfer to neighbouring practices. Patients will
only be transferred to practices rated as good, and there are 10
other practices rated as good within a 1-mile radius of Park
View. Since 2019, there has been an increase in the number of
patient-facing staff of about 50% in the constituency. That means
there are more people in his GP surgeries. We are working hard to
ensure high-quality GP services in his constituency.
(Ynys Môn) (Con)
Health is devolved to Labour in Cardiff. Ynys Môn is represented
by five Members of the Senedd, yet health represents a third of
my postbag, particularly relating to access to primary care in
Holyhead. Does the Minister agree that families in Holyhead are
not getting the healthcare they need and deserve?
Neil O’Brien
Yes, it is true, I am afraid. People are about twice as likely to
be waiting for treatment in the Welsh NHS. Waits are also longer
in Wales, with 30,000 people waiting more than two years for
treatment, even though those have been eliminated in England.
England spends more on general practice than Scotland or Wales,
despite the fact that Wales has 20% more funding, and England has
also grown spending on general practice faster than either
Scotland or Wales. We are highly focused on getting good primary
care services in England. There are always lessons that we can
learn from each other, but there are definitely lessons that
Welsh Labour can learn from the English NHS.
Vaccine Development and Evaluation
(Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
(Alba)
12. What steps his Department is taking to create a vaccine
development and evaluation centre.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care ()
The vaccine development and evaluation centre, backed by £65
million for state-of-the-art facilities, at the Porton Down site
has been operational since early last year. It supported the
autumn vaccine roll-out and the spring vaccine roll-out earlier
this year.
In November 2021, Dame Kate Bingham rightly called the decision
to withdraw support for the Valneva whole virus vaccine
“inexplicable” because a broad portfolio of vaccines is important
as we move forward against future variants. The British Society
for Immunology states that there is an urgent need for second and
third-generation covid vaccines, including universal mucosal
vaccines with longer-lasting protective immunity. With growing
public concern and mounting clinical and scientific evidence of
vaccine injury from mRNA, why is the UK not seeking to harness
the power of all technologies instead of establishing an
inexplicable exclusive relationship with Moderna?
I confirm to the hon. Gentleman that, in the recent spring
campaign, we deployed four approved vaccines—Pfizer-BioNTech,
Moderna, Novavax and Sanofi-GSK—as part of our roll-out. We are
using a range of vaccines to protect us from the pandemic.
Young People’s Mental Health: Housing
(Gainsborough) (Con)
13. Whether his Department has made an assessment with Cabinet
colleagues of the potential impact of the availability of housing
on young people’s mental health.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care ()
We are working with a number of Government Departments, including
the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, to tackle the effect of
housing insecurity on young people’s mental health.
The mental health of young people is being impacted by the fact
that net migration is far too high and we are not building nearly
enough houses. The Government need to take action on that, but
young people worry that, with an ageing population, the health
service will not be able to provide for them in future. May I
commend to the Minister the excellent paper published by the
former Labour Prime Minister , which suggests things such as
co-payments and personalised apps? Would it not be ironic if a
former Labour Prime Minister were more radical on reform of the
NHS than a Conservative Government?
Actually, under this Government, last year, the number of
first-time buyers passed the 400,000 mark, which is the highest
number in 19 years. I will not take any lectures from a former
Labour Prime Minister because when Labour was in government it
saddled the NHS with a £10 billion failed IT system that never
saw the light of day, an £80 billion failed private finance
initiative contract that NHS trusts are still paying for, and a
GP contract that enabled opt-out at weekends and evenings, which
patients still suffer from.
(Richmond Park) (LD)
Today marks the three-year anniversary of the death of Tom Pirie,
who tragically took his own life just days after being assessed
as at low risk of doing so by his counsellor. Over the last few
years, I have been working with Tom’s father Philip on his
campaign to improve suicide risk assessment procedure,
particularly in view of the upcoming 10-year suicide prevention
strategy review. Will the Minister join me in paying tribute to
Tom’s life and Philip’s excellent work in his memory by providing
us with an update as to when we can expect the review to be
published?
I absolutely pay tribute to Tom and to his father. I reassure him
that we have many campaigners. Only last week, we received the
baton of hope at No. 10 from those campaigning to reduce the
number of suicides in this country. We are working on the suicide
prevention plan and hope to be able to publish it very soon.
Hormone Replacement Therapy
(Swansea East) (Lab)
14. What steps he is taking to tackle shortages in hormone
replacement therapy.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care ()
We continue to engage regularly with our suppliers to prevent and
mitigate supply issues in the short term. We have over 70 HRT
products. The vast majority are available. We have two that have
serious shortage protocols attached to them, but we are hoping to
improve supply on those very soon.
Although shortages of Utrogestan are ongoing, there is no
alternative progesterone product recommended on the serious
shortage protocol. Taking oestrogen without progesterone can be
dangerous. Provera is a synthetic progesterone alternative to
Utrogestan, but it is not included on the HRT prepayment
certificate. Will the Minister commit to placing Provera on the
list of products covered by the prepayment certificate as a
priority and issue a public health warning highlighting the risks
of taking oestrogen without progesterone?
We are in the process of issuing another bulletin to both GPs and
pharmacists on the serious shortage protocols and to make clear
the alternatives available. That is a clinical decision. I will
certainly look at the issue of Provera because medicines have to
tick off a number of criteria to be eligible for the prepayment
certificate. I will certainly look into that particular drug on
the hon. Lady’s behalf.
Social Care Workforce
(New Forest West) (Con)
16. What steps he is taking to increase the social care
workforce.
The Minister for Social Care ()
Social care depends on the skills and compassion of our care
workforce. That is why we are investing £250 million in reforming
care as a career, with a new care qualification, specialist
training courses for experienced care workers and a new career
structure to support progression, alongside increased funding for
social care, our national recruitment campaign and the care
worker visa.
We need many, many more domiciliary care workers. How will we get
them?
My right hon. Friend is right. We have some good news: Skills for
Care data shows that home care job vacancies are
falling—something I hear when I speak to home care providers.
Looking ahead to next winter, I want every local authority to
have enough home care on hand. That is why I emphasised the
importance of home care when we distributed £600 million of
discharge funding to local councils and NHS organisations in
April. We are asking all local authorities to plan ahead and book
enough home care in advance for this coming winter.
(Huddersfield)
(Lab/Co-op)
Is this not the very day to thank our care workers up and down
the country? So many families depend on those people who toil
away, day by day, visiting houses, often not being paid in
between their visits. Could we look closely at recruitment and
the agencies involved? Let us get real pay for care workers up,
now.
I think that every day is a good day to thank our care workers
for their skills, compassion and hard work. We gave social care a
record funding settlement of up to £7.5 billion in the autumn
statement, which is being used to help local authorities increase
the fees that they pay to care providers, in turn enabling care
providers to pay their workforce better. That is going hand in
hand with extra funding to support discharge into social care
this winter and our reforms for the care workforce.
Care Settings: Family Visits
(Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)
17. What steps he is taking to ensure that people in care
settings are permitted family visits.
The Minister for Social Care ()
I know how important it is for people in care homes, hospitals
and hospices to see their family and friends. The majority of
health and care providers follow national guidance. I do not want
anyone to worry about not being able to visit a loved one, which
is why in June we launched a consultation to change the law on
visiting.
As the Minister knows, last month I introduced my ten-minute rule
Bill, the Care Supporters Bill, to make sure that we recognise in
law the value of the care of a loved one. Will her consultation
differentiate between a care supporter and a visitor? Currently,
the Care Quality Commission does not investigate individual
cases. Will it have the power to do that in future?
First, I commend the hon. Member for his campaign on this issue.
He has been a powerful advocate and draws on his own experience,
as do I. He is probably asking me to pre-empt the outcome of the
consultation. I encourage him and others concerned about this
matter to put their views into that consultation, and we will
respond once it is closed.
International Health Regulations
(Tatton) (Con)
18. What recent progress he has made in negotiations with the
World Health Organisation on proposed amendments to the
International Health Regulations 2005.
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care ()
The UK continues to negotiate on amendments, alongside other
member states of the World Health Organisation. We want to ensure
that the International Health Regulations are effective in
preventing and responding to potential health threats, leaving
the UK better prepared for future health emergencies. We
anticipate negotiations to continue until the 77th World Health
Assembly in May next year.
Will the Minister assure me that the proposed changes to the
International Health Regulations being negotiated will not give
new rule-making powers, such as those tabled by Bangladesh, to
the WHO director general to make binding directions on matters
including border closures, quarantining and vaccine passports?
Even the WHO’s own expert review committee has raised concerns
over such significant increases in power.
As my right hon. Friend will know, the UK has a strong commitment
and duty to implement international law, but on this matter we
have been absolutely clear. I can certainly assure her that we
will not sign up to any IHR amendment or any other instrument
that would compromise the UK’s ability to make domestic decisions
on national measures concerning public health.
(North West Leicestershire)
(Reclaim)
Can the Minister confirm whether the House will get a vote on the
amendments to the International Health Regulations, or will we
not?
Should the UK Government wish to accept an IHR amendment, changes
to domestic law to reflect proposed obligations may indeed be
required. The Government would therefore prepare draft
legislation and bring it before Parliament in the usual way. Let
me repeat that in all circumstances, the sovereignty of the UK
Parliament would remain unchanged and the UK would retain control
of any future decisions around national public health
measures.
Coroners: Stillbirths
(East Worthing and Shoreham) (Con)
19. If he will publish the results of the consultation on giving
powers to coroners to investigate stillbirths.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care ()
The consultation on giving powers to coroners to investigate
stillbirths received 334 responses, including from bereaved
parents, charities, the Chief Coroner, clinicians and a range of
other organisations.
Mr Speaker, you are very familiar with the problems over the
implementation of my Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths
(Registration etc) Act 2019, which passed this House in February
2019. Section 4 remains incomplete. The consultation was
completed in June 2019. Mr Speaker, you are aware that I made six
attempts to get a meeting with the Minister and a Justice
Minister. Eventually, I got it in March, after the Leader of the
House intervened. Four months on, I have heard nothing and the
consultation remains unpublished. What will it take to get this
legislation, which everyone wants and which was passed
unanimously, into law?
I thank my hon. Friend for his work in this space and I apologise
for the delay in publishing the consultation. I met him along
with a Justice Minister, and I assure him that we hope to publish
it very soon.
Topical Questions
(Meon Valley) (Con)
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental
responsibilities.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
Last week, on behalf of the Government, I signed a landmark
partnership agreement with the pharmaceutical giant BioNTech. It
aims to deliver 10,000 personalised mRNA cancer immunotherapies,
including vaccines, to UK patients by 2030. This work will
harness the groundbreaking mRNA technology that BioNTech used in
its world-first cancer vaccine. Cancer vaccines work by
stimulating patients’ immune systems to recognise and eliminate
cancer cells, preventing their spread. Trials for BioNTech’s
colorectal cancer vaccine are under way at multiple sites across
the UK. To accelerate trials further, BioNTech is partnering with
NHS England’s new cancer vaccine launch pad, a platform that
makes it easier for both early and late stage cancer patients to
join vaccine trials. In the coming years, hundreds of patients
identified by the launch pad will join trials for BioNTech’s
personalised cancer therapies, broadening the treatment options
available to cancer patients. I hope the whole House will welcome
the opportunity the deal offers future patients.
Mrs Drummond
The announcement that a new hospital between Winchester and
Basingstoke is going ahead is much welcomed by my constituents
who will use it, as well as by those from other constituencies.
It will provide a centre of excellence with better medical
outcomes. Will my right hon. Friend meet local MPs, so we can
update him on why the hospital needs to be built as soon as
possible?
I am always very happy for my hon. Friend and other colleagues to
meet me or , who leads the capital
programme. It is an important scheme. We are delivering it
through the standardised Hospital 2.0 approach, using modern
methods of construction. We are keen to progress early supported
works on site, working closely with colleagues.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
(Ilford North) (Lab)
Last week, the Health Secretary said that he was willing to offer
doctors a higher pay rise. Last night, the Chancellor slapped him
down, saying that any increased offer will have to be paid for by
cuts. How can the Health Secretary negotiate an end to the NHS
strikes when he cannot even negotiate with his own
Chancellor?
We have been clear throughout that Government decisions on the
pay review bodies’ recommendations are taken on a
cross-Government basis. The agreement that we reached with the
largest group of NHS staff, those on “Agenda for Change”, has
demonstrated that we are willing to work constructively with
trade union colleagues, but the demand from junior doctors for a
35% increase is not affordable—indeed, the hon. Gentleman himself
has said that he does not support it.
But the worst strikes in the history of the NHS are still to
come. The impact of the junior doctors’ strikes and the
consultants’ strikes will be devastating for patients. The
Secretary of State has failed to stop these strikes for seven
months. He has lost the confidence of nurses, radiologists,
junior doctors and consultants, and he cannot even successfully
negotiate with his Chancellor, so what is his plan to stop these
strikes going ahead?
The hon. Gentleman’s message is not even consistent with what he
said at the weekend in the media: that he was not in a position
to offer more money to the NHS, and that the shadow Chancellor
had made that clear—in a vain attempt to demonstrate some sort of
fiscal responsibility. The hon. Gentleman has been clear that he
does not support the 35% demand from doctors in training. We are
demonstrating that we are working constructively with groups such
as the “Agenda for Change” group—the largest staff group, made up
of over 1 million staff—with which we have reached a deal. We
have also been responding constructively to the British Medical
Association’s principal demand for consultants, which was for
changes to pension taxation. We are willing to engage
constructively with trade union colleagues, but the 35% demand is
not affordable. He needs to decide on his position. Which is it:
his position at the weekend that the Opposition are not offering
more money, or his position today, which seems to be that they
will?
(Wantage) (Con)
T2. I have campaigned for more health services for my
constituents since I was elected, and 97% of those who responded
to my recent health services survey felt that we did not have
enough doctors for the number of people in the constituency. Will
my hon. Friend meet me to discuss how to sort this out and get my
constituents the health services that they deserve?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care (Neil O’Brien)
We are conscious that more is going on in general practice than
ever before. There are 10% more appointments than before the
pandemic, as well as 29,000 extra clinicians and nearly 2,000
more doctors, but we are conscious of the pressures that puts on
the estate locally. I would be very happy to meet and have
further conversations with my hon. Friend.
(East Renfrewshire)
(SNP)
T3. I am sure that the Secretary of State shares my concern
that school nurses report increasing rates of children presenting
with health issues resulting from poor nutrition. In Scotland,
the SNP Government have rolled out universal free school meals
for all pupils in primary years 1 to 5 and special schools, and
the expansion of the programme continues. What discussion has the
Secretary of State had with Cabinet colleagues about following
Scotland’s lead and expanding free school meal provision in
England to improve children’s health and wellbeing?
Of course we have regular discussions, not just with Cabinet
colleagues, but with our counterparts across the UK. I had a
meeting just yesterday with Health Ministers, including my
counterpart in Scotland, on the shared challenges. On the issue
that the hon. Lady raises, as the Under-Secretary of State for
Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough
(Neil O’Brien) said a moment ago, we are providing significant
support for households—over £3,300 in support—but we also have
measures that target schools, including holiday support measures
and wider health and wellbeing measures, such as our significant
investment in school sport.
(York Outer) (Con)
T4. The Minister is fully aware of Bupa’s decision to close its
dental clinic in York, at Holgate Park. I put on record my thanks
to him for working with me to find a solution for those
constituents affected by the decision. What is being done to
reassess out-of-date dental contracts, so that we can ensure that
increased demand is met and that my constituents get the access
to dental care that they deserve?
We are taking action, which is why the Under-Secretary of State
for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for
Harborough met my hon. Friend recently. In his area of Humber and
North Yorkshire, there has been an increase in the number of
children seen by NHS dentists over the previous 12 months, so the
picture is improving, but we recognise that there is more to do;
that is why we have made a number of reforms to the dental
contract and why we will announce further plans shortly.
(Wythenshawe and Sale East)
(Lab)
A recent freedom of information request by the Labour party
revealed that mental health patients were left waiting more than
5.4 million hours for treatment in A&E last year. Last week,
one of my constituents spent five days in A&E waiting for a
bed on a psychiatric ward. When will the Government bring an end
to this shameful situation?
We are taking significant action on mental health, which is why
we are investing £2.3 billion more, compared with four years ago.
We have targeted measures as part of our urgent and emergency
care recovery plan, including 100 mental health ambulances. We
are putting in additional capacity, such as crisis cafés, to
support emergency departments. We are also making mental health
support available through 111 for the first time, which will
allow us to get to issues early, before people are admitted to
hospital.
(Stockton South) (Con)
T5. I was delighted when the Government awarded Stockton a
new £25 million diagnostic hub, but my local Labour council,
which is a partner in delivering the project, appears happy to
accept months of delays in completing it. Does my hon. Friend
agree that Labour’s delays could cost lives? Will he work with me
to ensure that all partners understand the urgency of the
project?
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care ()
That is hugely frustrating, because I know how hard my hon.
Friend campaigned for the Stockton community diagnostic centre
and that he recognises the urgency of increasing diagnostic
capacity locally. Delivery plans have to be agreed at a local
level, so I urge Stockton council to work with him to meet the
ambitious timeline and get Stockton CDC open as soon as
possible.
(Coatbridge, Chryston and
Bellshill) (SNP)
A recent report by the Trussell Trust warns that people facing
hunger are more likely to be affected by spiralling debt and a
decline in their physical and mental health. The same report
shows that one in seven people in the UK faced hunger in the last
year due to a lack of money. Will the Minister make
representations to his colleagues at the Department for Work and
Pensions about increasing support for low-income households,
thereby improving public health outcomes for all?
Neil O’Brien
It is to protect public health that we have provided cost of
living support worth £3,300 on average per household, and that is
why we have been paying about half of people’s average
electricity and other energy bills. However, we always look at
further things we can do to drive improvements in public
health.
(Northampton South) (Con)
T7. What steps is the Department taking to prevent chronic
kidney disease, given that the recent report published by Kidney
Research UK predicts a significant rise in cases of kidney
failure in 10 years’ time?
The Minister for Social Care ()
In the last three years, the National Institute for Health and
Care Research has invested more than £30 million in kidney
disease research. NHS England is following a national
approach to reduce healthcare inequalities, with a specific focus
on some of the risk factors for kidney disease, such as chronic
respiratory disease. As diabetes is the most common cause of
kidney disease, it will be a focus of our major conditions
strategy.
(Battersea) (Lab)
Four in 10 people who visit low vision clinics have been
diagnosed with clinical depression. It is vital that blind and
partially sighted people have access to psychological therapies
throughout their sight loss journey to address the impacts.
However, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
guidance does not include psychological support in the eye care
pathway. Will the Secretary of State commit to reviewing the NICE
guidance to ensure that psychological therapies are integrated
into the eye care pathway?
The hon. Lady raises an important issue. I would be keen to take
it away and look at it to see how we can work together to pick it
up.
(Colne Valley) (Con)
T8. Many of my constituents are still struggling to get NHS
dental appointments, so what is happening right now—this week,
this month—to increase the availability of NHS dental
appointments for them?
Neil O’Brien
I know how intensely my hon. Friend is campaigning on this issue.
The amount of NHS dentistry being delivered has gone up by a
fifth over the last year, partly as a result of the reforms we
are already rolling out. He will have seen in the workforce plan
that we are going to increase training places for dentists by 40%
so that we have the NHS dentists we need. However, that is not
all we will do, and our forthcoming dental plan will take further
steps.
(Oldham East and
Saddleworth) (Lab)
We have known for a while that our life expectancy is shorter
than it was in 2010. However, we are now seeing impacts on
children in the UK, who are about 7 cm shorter at five compared,
for example, with the children of our neighbours in Holland. What
is the Secretary of State doing on this issue, and will he
support the all-party parliamentary group on health in all
policies in assessing the impacts on health and health
inequalities?
Neil O’Brien
Of course we are taking action to improve public health, and that
includes children’s nutrition. That is why we are spending £150
million on healthy food schemes, such as the school fruit and
vegetable scheme, the nursery milk scheme and Healthy Start. It
is also why we are investing £330 million a year in school sport
and the PE premium and a further £300 million through the youth
investment fund. We will continue to take action on this key
issue.
(Woking) (Con)
I am delighted that a new diagnostic centre is shortly to be
built at our terrific Woking Community Hospital, very close to
Woking town centre. Does the Minister agree that providing
state-of-the-art diagnostic care right in the heart of the
community can cut NHS waiting lists, reduce carbon emissions and,
most importantly, help to optimise health outcomes for
patients?
Not only do I agree, but I have been with my hon. Friend to see
this scheme at first hand. He has championed the scheme
vociferously and helped to secure that investment for his
constituents. I look forward to working with him to ensure it is
delivered as quickly as possible.
(Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
Plans to remove overnight primary care clinicians from
Westmorland General Hospital three nights a week are a massive
risk to our community and mean that, overnight, people will be
reliant on Barrow or Penrith for an out-of-hours doctor. Will the
Secretary of State instruct the ICB to intervene to protect
people in South Lakeland from this massive reduction in the
quality and accessibility of services?
Some of us remember when the Lib Dems were for greater localism.
One of the things we are looking at is how to empower
commissioners, on a place-based basis, to make decisions on where
best to place services. We need to move more services into the
community upstream, to address the frail elderly before they get
to hospital and to have more community services. I am happy to
look at the specific issue the hon. Gentleman raises, but I would
have thought the Lib Dems would support the general trend of
empowering integrated commissioning systems to make place-based
decisions.
(Tunbridge Wells) (Con)
Several important pharmacies in my constituency, including the
one in Hawkhurst, have been experiencing pressures, with long
queues of customers sometimes going outside the door. It is said
that access to trained pharmacists is proving very challenging.
Will the Secretary of State comment on the situation and say what
steps he might be able to take to alleviate the pressure?
There are a number of measures in the primary care recovery plan,
from how we better use the skills mix within pharmacies to how we
deregulate some of the tasks that take up pharmacists’ time, such
as the requirement for a pharmacist to be present after drugs
have already been prepared or to clip out tablets because they do
not match the number prescribed by a GP. There are a number of
areas in which we can better use the skills mix, and there are
areas where we can take load off pharmacists. We are also funding
additional services through Pharmacy First to support the
pharmacy model.
(York Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
The number of deaths increased by 13.5% in December 2022,
particularly around influenza and pneumonia—up by 26.2%—so York’s
public health team want to know what the Government are going to
do about winter planning and when.
We set out comprehensive plans for winter preparation in the
urgent and emergency recovery plan. Similar to what I said a
moment ago, this includes making much better use of community
schemes, particularly those targeted at the frail elderly, and
making better use of technology through schemes such as virtual
wards. It has also put additional bed capacity into hospitals,
with more than £1 billion of funding for 5,000 more permanent
beds to help alleviate the pressure on bed occupancy and get flow
through hospitals, which is so important to addressing the
pressure on ambulances.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chairman of the Health and Social Care Committee.
(Winchester) (Con)
Back to NHS dentistry, I am afraid. Later this week, the Select
Committee will publish its report on NHS dentistry services.
Spoiler alert: it will be uncomfortable reading for some. Will
the Secretary of State tell us when and how he plans to bring
forward plans for the tie-in of newly qualified dentists? Could
that go hand in hand with a “return to the NHS” campaign for
dentists who have already left that part of the service?
It is characteristically astute of my hon. Friend to zero in on
the tie-in, which is an important part of the long-term workforce
plan. Around two thirds of dentists do not go into NHS work after
training, so having a tie-in is more pertinent there than it
might be elsewhere in the NHS workforce. I look forward to the
Select Committee’s report but, with some of the reforms already
in place, we are boosting the number of patients treated. There
were a fifth more dental treatments in 2022 than in the previous
year. We are also making NHS dentistry more attractive with some
of the changes to the previous 2006 contract, but we recognise
that there is more to do, which is why we will shortly set out
our dental recovery plan.
(Worsley and Eccles South)
(Lab)
I have received a wave of concern from clinicians on the safety
of using physician associates, following my Adjournment debate
last week in which I raised the death of Emily Chesterton, the
30-year-old daughter of my constituents Marion and Brendan. Emily
died of a pulmonary embolism after being seen twice by the same
physician associate at her GP practice. The physician associate
failed to refer her to a doctor or to a hospital emergency unit
for tests, which the coroner concluded could have prevented her
death.
Yesterday, on “Good Morning Britain”, the Secretary of State
boasted of increasing the number of people working in primary
care, presumably including the workforce plan proposal to triple
the use of physician associates. Will he look urgently at the
details of Emily Chesterton’s case and ask himself whether
lessons can be learned to avoid other preventable deaths?
Having responded to the hon. Lady’s Adjournment debate last
Thursday, I hear the calls she has made. I know that she has also
written to the Secretary of State, and I will ensure that she
gets a full response, with answers to all the questions she
raises.
(Hazel Grove) (Con)
My good friend the mental health Minister—the Under-Secretary of
State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for
Lewes ()—will know that I have been
busy beavering away, together with the UK Government’s mental
health ambassador, Dr Alex George, on the early support mental
health hubs project. It will relieve pressure on child and
adolescent mental health services and save undue distress and
money. The pilot scheme is ready to go. Might I suggest that the
shared outcomes fund could be the means to press on with the
pilot?
Dr Alex George does a lot of fantastic work. I am due to meet him
shortly in the coming days, and I look forward to that
discussion. My hon. Friend is right to highlight the importance
of getting more mental health support into the community, which
is exactly what our additional funding is focused on
delivering.
(Weaver Vale) (Lab)
Eighteen community pharmacists in my constituency are reporting
challenges on medicine supplies. What more is the Minister going
to do to get a grip of this situation?
We have a long-standing team in the Department focused on medical
supplies, which are a continual issue; as a matter of routine
business, there are often challenges in that area. If the hon.
Gentleman has specific issues he wishes to raise, we would be
happy to look at them, but we have a dedicated team in the
Department that focuses on that exact point.
(Southend West) (Con)
As my right hon. Friend knows, I have been campaigning for £118
million of capital funding, the majority of it for Southend
University Hospital, ever since I was elected. I am grateful that
he has recently confirmed that the funding is secure. A new
business plan is being submitted, including £9 million of
enabling funding. Will he look upon that favourably and
swiftly?
As my hon. Friend knows, I have already met her to discuss this
scheme, and the impediment was the business plan that came
forward from the local trust—further work was being done on that.
She is right to highlight our capital investment more widely.
This Government have committed to investing in the biggest ever
hospital building programme, with more than £20 billion. That is
in addition to our long-term workforce plan—the first time the
NHS has done this—in which we are making a further £2.4 billion
of investment.
(City of Durham) (Lab)
Is the Minister aware that the NHS North East and North Cumbria
mental health and wellbeing hub is due to close this September?
With mental health care in crisis in County Durham, that is an
insult to the health and social care staff who desperately rely
on those services. Will the Minister reverse that decision?
There are two issues here. One is how much investment we are
prioritising towards mental health; the other is how local
commissioners choose to prioritise services within those
communities, and whether we try to run all of those decisions
from the centre in Whitehall or embrace the 42 integrated care
systems and allow them to make commissioning decisions. The
bottom line is that we are spending much more on mental health,
with an increase of £2.3 billion compared with the position four
years ago. That is allowing us to replace 500 dormitory beds and
provide 100 mental health ambulances, three new mental health
hospitals, 160 projects such as crisis cafés to support accident
and emergency, and £75 million to help those with mental health
challenges get back into work, which is one of the best
prevention measures we can take for people who are suffering with
their mental health.
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