NHS Treatment Waiting Times Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab) 2.
What steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for NHS
treatment. (902428) The Minister for Health and Secondary Care
(Andrew Stephenson) Happy St George's day, Mr Speaker. Cutting
waiting lists is one of the Prime Minister's top priorities. We are
spending more than £8 billion on additional elective activity and
investing in additional capacity including community
diagnostics...Request free trial
NHS Treatment Waiting Times
(Leeds East) (Lab)
2. What steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times
for NHS treatment. (902428)
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care ()
Happy St George's day, Mr Speaker.
Cutting waiting lists is one of the Prime Minister's top
priorities. We are spending more than £8 billion on additional
elective activity and investing in additional capacity including
community diagnostics centres, one such centre being in the hon.
Gentleman's constituency. Since September 2023 overall waiting
lists have fallen by almost 200,000—the biggest five-month fall
in over 10 years, outside of the pandemic.
NHS waiting lists have risen threefold since the Tories came to
power, and the Prime Minister's pledge to cut waiting lists is in
tatters. Rather than taking responsibility, the Tories first
blamed NHS staff who were trying to get better pay, and now they
have opened up a new round of media attacks on the sick and the
disabled. Why do not the Government instead go after the tax
dodgers, as Labour plans to do, to raise funds and help resolve
the crisis in our NHS?
Once again the hon. Gentleman does not condemn the strikes. I
would gently say that while we are getting waiting lists down in
England, Welsh Labour has the longest hospital waits in Great
Britain, putting patients at risk because it does not have a plan
to clear the backlog. In December 2023 the Welsh Labour
Government had the highest number of patients in Great Britain
waiting over two years for treatments. It is an outrage; yet that
is the blueprint for what the Labour party says it will implement
here in England.
(Barrow and Furness) (Con)
I see increasing numbers of women coming to my constituency
surgeries about chronic urinary tract infections, not for
themselves but for their daughters. Unfortunately there seems to
be no treatment pathway for chronic UTIs among girls. Does my
right hon. Friend have any thoughts about that, and would he
agree to meet me to discuss the issue further?
I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the
issue.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
(Ilford North) (Lab)
Happy St George's day, Mr Speaker.
Westminster is awash with rumours that the Prime Minister will
call a July general election, presumably to avoid giving his
Rwanda gimmick the time to fail. I have a very simple question
for the Minister: will he repeat the pledge that the Prime
Minister made last year and promise that NHS waiting lists will
be lower at the time of the general election than when the Prime
Minister came to office?
The Prime Minister has been very clear that getting waiting lists
down is one of his top priorities, but he has also been clear
that performance has been disappointing. One reason is that 1.4
million procedures have had to be rescheduled because of
industrial action. I would gently ask the shadow Secretary of
State whether he condemns those strikes.
General Medical Council: Oversight Mechanisms
(Totnes) (Con)
3. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of oversight
mechanisms for the General Medical Council. (902429)
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care ()
The General Medical Council has been constituted by Parliament to
ensure that decisions about individual doctors are independent of
both the profession and the Government of the day. The
Professional Standards Authority oversees the work of all United
Kingdom professional regulators and reports to Parliament on
their operational performance. Parliament continues to set and
oversee the principles and scope of the regulators' powers.
Good governance means ensuring transparency, and one concern of
my constituents is whether GMC decisions can be appealed. Will
the Minister reassure me that we can have better transparency in
the GMC on the decisions that it makes?
The GMC and other professional regulators have a statutory duty
to investigate any concerns about the fitness to practice of one
of their registrants and to take appropriate action to protect
the public when that is needed. The regulators are overseen by
the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care,
which has the power to appeal cases where, in its view, a
sanction imposed by a regulator is insufficient to protect the
public.
(Strangford) (DUP)
The GMC has seven principles of decision making and consent. How
will the Minister ensure that GPs can fulfil their obligations
when time constraints on appointments mean that they do not have
time to listen to every complaint? People have to book a double
appointment to talk about more than one issue. What further
support can the Government give GPs to enable them to fulfil
their GMC-ordered standards of care?
As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Government have committed to
delivering 50 million more GP appointments and to making it
easier throughout the country to see a doctor. In England in
December, we delivered 25.77 million GP appointments compared
with 23.31 million in December 2019—an increase of 2.46 million
appointments each month. We need to continue to work with
programmes such as Pharmacy First, and we are taking other steps
to reduce the pressure on GPs so that they have more time to
spend with their patients.
GP Retention
(Chelmsford) (Con)
4. What recent progress she has made on retaining GPs.
(902430)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care (Dame )
General practitioners are a rock. They are the underpinning force
of primary care. I want to take the opportunity to pay tribute to
them for all they do for the health of the nation. My right hon.
Friend is right to raise the issue of GP retention. During covid
and since, GPs have been exhausted and the return to primary care
provision has been difficult. The Government are doing a lot,
such as improving digital telephony and reducing the
administrative workload. I am about to launch a future of general
practice taskforce to look at what more we can do to provide more
support to this critical part of our primary care.
Chelmsford is a growing city, and it is very good that, compared
with pre-covid times, we have more clinicians in our GP
surgeries, but we need more surgeries as well. One new surgery is
being built. I have been told that the limits that local district
valuers impose on NHS lease costs make it increasingly difficult
for developers to deliver new surgery buildings, not only in
Chelmsford, but in other parts of the country. Will my right hon.
Friend meet me and other affected MPs to see whether we can
resolve that issue and help growing areas, where there are more
houses, to deliver the new surgeries that we need?
Dame
Of course I would be delighted to meet my right hon. Friend to
discuss that issue, which several colleagues across the House
have raised with me. She will appreciate that the District Valuer
Services is crucial in ensuring value for taxpayer's money from
the rents that are charged for GP practices. Nevertheless, the
Department is working hard to support better primary care
facilities. I understand the point and would be happy to meet
her.
(Somerton and Frome) (LD)
There are 56 fewer fully qualified GPs in Somerset now than there
were in December 2016, so it is no surprise that my constituents
in Wincanton feel that they can never access one. How will the
Minister support general practice to enable it to continue to
provide the vital services that our communities deserve?
Dame
It is fantastic that hard-working GPs have delivered 60 million
more appointments a year than in 2019. That is a credit to their
efforts. The Government have undertaken a wide range of
approaches to try to reduce the administrative burden. We are
focused on trying to deal with some of the issues that GPs have
raised with me about the primary and secondary care interface so
that they do not have to write all the fit notes and liaise with
consultants. We have also spent more than £200 million on digital
telephony. Importantly, the additional roles reimbursement scheme
has added more than 36,000 more professional staff, from physios
to pharmacists to those in GP practices, to try to support
patient access.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Birmingham, Edgbaston)
(Lab/Co-op)
At the last general election, the Government promised to deliver
6,000 more GPs by 2024-25, but there are still 2,000 fewer GPs
than in 2015. Part of the problem is that morale has plummeted in
the past decade, meaning that experienced family doctors and
newly qualified GPs are hanging up their stethoscopes. What does
the Minister say after scrapping two GP retention schemes last
month? Will she come clean today about another broken manifesto
promise?
Dame
The hon. Lady is choosing numbers out of the air. She will be
aware that there are almost 3,000 more GPs now than in 2019, and
very importantly the long-term workforce plan is scheduled to
introduce 6,000 new training places by 2031-32. In 2022, we had
the greatest number ever of new trainee GPs. That is great news
for GP practice, as they are crucial to primary care.
Hospital Repairs
(Southend West) (Con)
5. What steps she is taking to ensure adequate funding for
hospital repairs. (902431)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
May I wish you a happy St. George's day, Mr Speaker? I also wish
the hon. Member for Bristol South () a speedy recovery; I hope to
see her across the Dispatch Box soon.
The Government have invested significant sums to maintain and
modernise NHS buildings, including £4.2 billion for integrated
care boards this financial year. This is on top of the expected
£20 billion for the new hospital programme. We have invested a
further £1.7 billion for over 70 hospital upgrades across
England, including in mid and south Essex.
I thank the Secretary of State very much for the Government's
commitment to delivering the £110 million in capital funding for
south Essex hospitals and for her recent visit to Southend
hospital, where she saw in our emergency village how much £8
million can do in the hands of Southend hospital's inspirational
NHS staff. However, our aged buildings do also need urgent
maintenance, so what can she also do to deliver the £38 million
in maintenance funding also needed for Southend hospital?
I thank my hon. Friend, and also wish her the very best of luck,
as she is due to abseil down the hospital next month for its
radiotherapy appeal. I very much hope she lands safely and does
not trouble Southend hospital. I was delighted to visit the
hospital at her invitation earlier this month, and I was very
much impressed by the immediate improvements that the £8 million
funding has meant in the Dowsett ward and for discharge and
treatment times through accident and emergency. This is part of
our plan, both through the urgent and emergency care plan and
through our recovery plan for electives and the new hospital
programme, to rebuild hospitals and provide that investment so
that clinicians can use it to treat their local patients.
(Stockport) (Lab)
Last month, I met the chief executive of Stepping Hill Hospital
in Stockport. She informed me that the primary out-patient
building, which provides 85% of out-patient capacity, was
recently condemned. While funding has been secured to build two
additional wards, they will not be ready for at least 15 months,
causing huge disruption in the interim. Fourteen years of
underinvestment has left Stepping Hill Hospital quite literally
crumbling. Will the Government provide urgent capital investment
for Stepping Hill, so that my constituents and our brilliant NHS
staff can have the facilities they need?
I very much hope that the hon. Gentleman has already spoken to
his integrated care board, because he will know that
responsibility for local investment decisions rightly rests at
local level. I can say that, as a Government, we have very much
invested in hospital upgrades, including £4.2 billion going to
integrated care boards this financial year. I hear the timetable
he cites, but I encourage him to go to his integrated care board
to ask what more it is doing.
Type 2 Diabetes: Medicine Shortages
(Ashfield) (Reform UK)
6. What steps she is taking to tackle medicine shortages for type
2 diabetes. (902432)
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care ()
It is vital that people have access to the medicines they need.
The Department has been working with the suppliers of medicines
used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes to seek commitments from
them to address the issues, expedite deliveries and boost
supplies. As a result, the position is now much improved compared
with a few months ago, with new patients now able to receive
these critical medicines. We continue to work with industry to
address remaining issues as quickly as possible.
We know that obesity in this country is costing the NHS about £20
billion a year, and it is a major contributory factor to type 2
diabetes, which is preventable in a lot of cases by having a
healthy lifestyle. What more can we do encourage people to eat
healthily and therefore save costs in the NHS?
The hon. Member raises a very important point. Obesity is linked
to many health conditions, including type 2 diabetes. We are
delivering an ambitious programme of work to create a healthy
environment to support people in achieving and maintaining a
healthy weight. This includes restricting the placements of less
healthy products in shops and online, calorie labelling on food
sold in restaurants and a tax on the sugary drinks industry,
which has removed the equivalent of 45,000 tonnes of sugar from
soft drinks.
Mr Speaker
I call the Scottish National party spokesperson.
(Aberdeen North) (SNP)
A recent Nuffield Trust report shows that medicine shortages are
a new normal in the UK. The Minister might claim that this is a
global issue, but as the report highlights, shortages are being
made worse by Brexit. For example, the creation of a requirement
for customs checks at the border and leaving the European
Medicines Agency have disrupted the previously smooth supply of
medicines. What urgent action will the Minister take to help to
tackle the disastrous effects of Brexit on UK medicine
supplies?
The SNP, as usual, is a broken record. We all know that diabetes
medicine shortages are a global issue affecting countries not
just across the whole of the European Union, but across the whole
world. Medicine supply chains are highly regulated, complex and
global. Issues can occur for multiple reasons, including
manufacturing difficulties, regulatory non-compliance, surges in
demand, availability of raw materials, sudden spikes in demand,
and issues related to the distribution of the product. But once
again, as always, the grievance culture of the SNP is: blame
everything on Brexit.
Nurse Recruitment and Retention: GP Practices
Mrs (Birmingham, Erdington)
(Lab)
7. What steps she is taking to increase levels of nurse
recruitment and retention in GP practices. (902433)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care (Dame )
We hugely appreciate the work that general practice nurses do. I
know that the hon. Lady was a nurse in her previous life, and I
absolutely pay tribute to her for her service. She will be aware
that last year the Government provided additional funding for the
general practice contract to uplift pay by 6%, in line with the
pay review body's recommendations. We are very much aware of the
need to try to ensure that general practice nurses feel
appreciated and are keen to be retained in GP practices, which is
one of the reasons I have launched a taskforce on the future of
general practice. As she will know, it is for GP practices
themselves to determine the pay uplift for their nurses. I am
looking closely at that, because we know that sometimes the pay
rise provided by the Government was not passed on.
Mrs Hamilton
We have all seen images of people queuing around the block for an
appointment at their GP surgery, and in my local integrated care
board, there has been a decline in general practice nurses since
June 2020. It currently takes 12 months to train nurses wishing
to move into general practice. Will the Minister tell me and my
constituents in Erdington, Kingstanding and Castle Vale what she
is doing to ensure that the retention of experienced nurses and
the training of new nurses does not add to the pressure that GPs
are already facing?
Dame
The hon. Lady raises an important point. The long-term workforce
plan commits to increasing the number of general practice nurses
by more than 5,000 by 2036-37. In her area, the number of doctors
in general practice in the NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB
increased by 134 full-time equivalents between 2019 and 2023, but
the number of nurses decreased slightly, by 34 full-time
equivalents. However, over the same period, direct patient care
staff increased by 1,195 full-time equivalents. I think that
demonstrates to the hon. Lady that the actual resources in GP
practice are increasing, with specialisms such as physiotherapy
and pharmacy, as well as nurse prescribers, to provide patients
more access to good healthcare.
Community and District Nurses: Recruitment and Retention
(East Lothian) (Alba)
8. What steps she is taking to support the recruitment and
retention of community and district nurses. (902434)
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care ()
As the hon. Member may know, in September 2023, we met our
commitment to deliver 50,000 more nurses working in the NHS
compared with September 2019. As of January 2024, there are over
68,800 full-time equivalent community nurses working in NHS
trusts and other core organisations across England, which is over
2,000 more than a year ago. However, we want to go further, which
is why the NHS long-term workforce plan sets an ambition to
increase training places for district nurses by 150%, to nearly
1,800. It also commits to improving retention in the NHS.
In Scotland, the vacancy rate for registered nursing posts in the
community is 8.5%, and for registered district nurses it is
6.6%—in England, the situation is actually worse in most parts.
However, these posts are fundamental, not just to care in
communities and to our communities themselves, but to addressing
bed blocking. It is obviously for the Scottish Government to
address terms and conditions of employment, but their overall
funding package is dictated by the block grant and Barnett
consequentials. Is it not time that the Department stood up for
the NHS? When there is money for weapons abroad, why can we not
provide care at home? We were told during the referendum that we
would be better together and that the NHS would be protected.
Instead, it is being undermined.
We hear from Opposition Members who love nothing more than to
crow and criticise as their health system declines around them,
despite record funding from the UK Government. Scotland has,
sadly, some of the worst health outcomes in the western world.
Earlier this year, when the UK Government stepped in to offer
support, the SNP Health Minister rejected the offer. I reiterate
that if the Scottish Government need help to reduce their waiting
lists, we stand ready to provide such support.
Health Inequalities
(Oldham East and
Saddleworth) (Lab)
9. What steps she is taking to tackle health inequalities.
(902435)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
We are committed to levelling up health, narrowing the gap in
healthy life expectancy by 2030, and increasing healthy life
expectancy by five years by 2035. That aligns with our mission to
reform our health and care system to be faster, simpler and
fairer.
In January, Professor Sir Michael Marmot published “Health
Inequalities, Lives Cut Short”, which confirmed that between 2011
and 2019, driven by political choices, 1 million people in 90% of
areas in England lived shorter lives than they should. The
inequalities were amplified by Covid. These lives cut short are
matched by shorter lives in good health. Does the Secretary of
State believe in evidence-based health? If so, does she accept
the overwhelming evidence that current levels of ill health
reflect 14 years of escalating poverty, services that have been
run into the ground, including the NHS, and the Government's
failure to do what they promised in 2019: level up?
No, I do not, and I would point to the legislation that the
Government brought forward last week, which is the largest and
most significant public health reform that we can make to help
the hon. Member's constituents and those in other parts of the
country who face inequalities. We know that smoking rates are
disproportionately higher in poorer communities, which is one of
the many reasons why we introduced such landmark legislation. It
is just a shame that the Labour party felt that they had to whip
their Members to get them to vote for it.
(Chipping Barnet)
(Con)
Will the Secretary of State support Breast Cancer Now's campaign
to improve the uptake of breast cancer screening, especially
among women in minority ethnic communities, because that is a
good way to tackle health inequalities?
I completely agree. Further on ethnicity and inequalities, I have
not only prioritised women's health as Secretary of State, but
announced £50 million of research into maternity disparities for
women of colour, given the worrying statistics associated with
that. I have also responded to calls from brave constituents, put
forward by hon. Members on both sides of the House, for further
research into lobular breast cancer, because although it is
responsible for 15% of diagnoses, we do not have the research or
evidence to help women who are affected by it.
(Bradford East) (Lab)
The reality is that someone living in the inner city in the
Bradford district is likely to live 20 years less than those
living in the more affluent parts of the region. That has not
just happened; it is a result of 14 years of underinvestment in
and cuts to not only our NHS, but our community services. Will
the Secretary of State just admit that the Government frankly
could not care less about people from places such as Bradford,
because otherwise they would have accepted my levelling-up bid,
which would have addressed this injustice at its core?
I am so glad that the hon. Gentleman has mentioned levelling up,
because presumably he will know from his bid that the 12
levelling-up missions are mutually reinforcing. Conservative
Members take the approach that in order to help people with their
health—[Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman is shouting at me. I
thought that this answer would be important to his
constituents.
Levelling up is not just about health. It is about the impact of
education, housing and other matters in our environment, which is
why in the forthcoming major conditions strategy we will tie
together the conditions that have the most impact on a healthy
life. We will draw together a cross-Government strategy to help
people who are living with those conditions to live longer but
also healthier lives.
(Witham) (Con)
The Health Secretary will know about the health inequalities
across the east of England, including in Maldon district, which
will only be made worse if the NHS's plans to close St Peter's
Hospital in Maldon proceed. Does she agree that the levelling-up
funding that has been made available to Maldon District Council
should be prioritised to facilitate investment in new localised
health services, so that those inequalities can be tackled?
My right hon. Friend makes an important point. The purpose of the
levelling-up fund is to help local areas to address what they
need locally, rather than respond to diktat from central London.
I encourage her to work closely, as I know she will, with local
agencies, the council and others making those important
decisions, so that their levelling-up announcements include
health, as an integral part of her mission to improve the lives
of her constituents.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Denton and Reddish)
(Lab)
Back in the real world, the record of the last Labour Government
is that we increased life expectancy by three years. Under this
Government, it has stalled for the first time in a century, with
people in Blackpool, for example, expected to live four and a
half years less than the national average. Is the Secretary of
State proud of this shocking record, or will people have to wait
to elect in Blackpool South and a Labour
Government at Westminster to finally turn the tide on health
inequalities?
As someone who is proud to have gone to school in Blackpool, I do
not need a lecture from the hon. Gentleman about what Labour has
done to the town centre, or about the important work that
Conservatives in Lancashire are doing to help communities such as
Blackpool. On Labour's record, I gently point out, as I try to do
at every orals, that the record of the Labour-run NHS in Wales is
lamentable. People are almost twice as likely to be waiting for
treatment in the Labour-run NHS in Wales. That is not a record of
which to be proud.
Bowel Care: People with Spinal Injuries
(Sheffield, Brightside and
Hillsborough) (Lab)
10. What steps she is taking to improve bowel care for people
with spinal injuries. (902436)
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care ()
The hon. Member raises an important issue. It is vital that
people with spinal injuries receive care in the most appropriate
environment to support their care and rehabilitation. The NHS has
developed a range of guidance on the subject, including NHS
England's excellent incontinence care guidance. In addition,
guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care
Excellence set out the care that patients with spinal injuries
should receive, including through a neurological bowel management
programme.
There is a clear need for a national policy on bowel care in NHS
settings for people with spinal injuries. I have listened to
patients who have been left feeling abandoned and trapped in a
hospital bed without the basic dignity of being able to use the
toilet—all because of a lack of training for nurses in providing
the necessary support. Will the Minister meet me and
representatives of the Spinal Injuries Association to discuss how
we can make the situation better and ensure that nobody is denied
this basic level of care?
I pay tribute to the hon. Lady for the work that she and the
all-party parliamentary group on spinal cord injury have done on
the issue. I would be more than happy to meet them.
A&E Waiting Times: East Lancashire
(Burnley) (Con)
11. What steps her Department is taking to improve accident and
emergency waiting times in east Lancashire. (902437)
The Minister for Social Care ()
Just over a year ago, we set out a plan to improve urgent and
emergency care. The plan is working. At East Lancashire Hospitals
NHS Trust, 78% of A&E patients in March were seen within four
hours. That is 4.5 percentage points better than last year—the
biggest year-on-year improvement outside the pandemic since 2010.
We know that there is more to do; that is why we are working with
the NHS on year 2 of the urgent and emergency care recovery
plan.
I am grateful to the Minister for that response, and grateful to
her for agreeing to meet me and other local MPs to discuss the
emergency care situation in east Lancashire. Could I ask her to
go one step further? Perhaps she and even the Secretary of State
could visit Burnley General Teaching Hospital in my constituency,
meet the trust, and see what more we can do there, partly to
reverse the disastrous decision of the last Labour Government to
close the A&E there?
I commend my hon. Friend and other east Lancashire colleagues for
their campaigning on this matter. I look forward to the meeting
we are going to have to discuss the performance of his local
A&E, and I thank him very much for the invitation to
visit.
(Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
I share an integrated care board with the hon. Member for Burnley
() in Lancashire and
South Cumbria. Does the Minister agree that one reason why there
are such problems with A&E waiting times is the congestion in
our hospitals overall, because of the number of people who are
healthy and fit to leave hospital, but cannot have a health and
care plan when they return home? Some 24% of all beds in the
Morecambe Bay hospitals are occupied by people who are fit to
leave, but have no care package. What plan does the Minister have
to address the social care crisis in Cumbria? That will include
increasing the amount of affordable housing, so that people can
afford to live in the area; paying carers more; and having more
intelligent visa rules.
The hon. Gentleman makes the point that the performance of
A&E depends on the flow of patients through hospital and our
ability to discharge them. That is why, as part of our work on
urgent and emergency care, we have invested in supporting
hospitals to discharge patients, and have been supporting social
care. We have seen an increased number of discharges across the
country over the last year, which has enabled hospitals to treat
more people and supported the improved performance in A&E
that I mentioned. We continue to work on that, and of course we
are supporting social care with up to £8.6 extra billion funding
over two years.
Mental Health Support for NHS Staff
Dr (Tooting) (Lab)
13. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of mental health
support for NHS staff. (902439)
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care ()
Every day, NHS staff do an extraordinary job for their patients,
and it is vital that the NHS supports them in maintaining their
mental health. The long-term workforce plan commits the NHS to
supporting staff health and wellbeing and asks integrated care
systems to develop plans to support them. I am pleased that NHS
England is reviewing mental health services for all staff, to
ensure that all staff in the NHS have the support that they
need.
Dr Allin-Khan
Fighting to save a dying child's life, telling families that
their loved one will not make it through the night, and working
desperately in substandard conditions—it will come as little
shock to hear that all that takes a toll. Last year, 6.4 million
mental health sick days were taken across the NHS. Instead of
receiving support, our NHS heroes have a Tory Government who
treat them with disdain and kick them to the kerb. Will the
Minister commit to funding the NHS practitioner health service
beyond the next 12 months, or will the Government just try to
shut it down again?
As an NHS community first responder who served on the frontline
during the pandemic, who had to see people say goodbye to their
loved ones for the last time before being admitted to hospital,
and who has dealt with cardiac arrests, I know the mental toll
that working for or volunteering with the NHS can take on our
workforce, and therefore we do give a very high priority to the
subject. The NHS people plan sets out a range of actions to build
a more modern, compassionate and inclusive culture, and includes
a much stronger focus on the availability of quality health and
wellbeing support. It is right that we keep services under
review, so I will not make a commitment today to continuing to
fund something that we have agreed to fund for another year while
those services are reviewed.
Women's Healthcare
(Nottingham South)
(Lab)
14. What steps she is taking to improve healthcare for women.
(902440)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
We are focused on delivering our women's health priorities for
2024. Recent successes include new women's health hubs opening
across the country, with £25 million of investment; the
investment of nearly £35 million over three years in improving
maternity safety, on top of the extra £186 million already being
invested each year; the success of the hormone replacement
therapy prepayment certificates; and research into the important
issue of maternity disparities, which I have already
mentioned.
House of Commons Library figures reveal that one in four women
with suspected breast cancer are waiting more than two weeks to
see a specialist. The waiting list for gynaecological treatments
has risen by 40,000 in a year, which means that there are now
almost 600,000 women waiting, which is up by a third over two
years. Labour has pledged to tackle that backlog, so that more
women are seen faster. How much pain, misery or worse do women
have to endure before this Government start prioritising their
health?
As the hon. Lady will know—she saw the statistics published very
recently—we are in fact treating more people at earlier stages of
their cancer. I want to take on her point about gynaecological
waits, because that is important. We are spending more than £8
billion in this spending review period on additional elective
activity, and investing in additional capacity, including
community diagnostic centres and surgical hubs, many of which
provide gynaecological tests and procedures. She may have missed
it, but the latest published management information for March
shows that the longest waits for gynaecology services have
reduced by nearly 95% since their peak in September 2021. Of
course there is more to do, but we are making progress. I thank
all the doctors and teams who are involved in that important
work.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Birmingham, Edgbaston)
(Lab/Co-op)
Today, we have seen alarming figures pointing to the systematic
de-prioritisation of women's health, with 600,000 women in
England waiting for gynaecological treatment, 33,000 women
waiting more than a year, and under two thirds of eligible women
screened for breast cancer in the last three years. Will the
Secretary of State come clean and admit that under this
Government, women's health has become an afterthought?
That is absolute nonsense. As I say, I have prioritised women's
health. I am pretty sure that I invited the hon. Lady to the
women's health summit earlier this year.
indicated assent.
She is very graciously saying that I did. The point is that I
want women to receive the sort of care that we would all hope and
expect them to have. I have prioritised that precisely because
there are conditions, including gynaecological conditions, that
have historically not received the attention they deserve. As our
women's health ambassador Dame Lesley Regan says, the NHS was
created by men, for men. I am the Health Secretary who is sorting
that out.
Primary Care: Patient Access
(Mid Bedfordshire)
(Lab)
15. What steps she is taking to improve patient access to primary
care. (902441)
(Bristol East) (Lab)
19. What steps she is taking to improve patient access to primary
care. (902445)
(Luton South) (Lab)
21. What steps she is taking to improve patient access to primary
care. (902447)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care (Dame )
We are enormously grateful for the work of GPs in delivering 64
million more appointments nationally than in 2019. Our primary
care recovery plan enhances GP access by expanding community
pharmacy services nationwide. Some 98% of community pharmacies
have signed up to the Pharmacy First offer, with over 125,000
consultations claimed in the first month.
Across Bedfordshire, we suffer from patient to GP ratios that are
well in excess of the national average; high housing growth is
simply not matched by GP capacity. At Wixams, we have been able
to break through 15 years of deadlock by putting stakeholders
together, but issues still remain across the county. From
Shefford to Stondon, heartbreaking stories are commonplace. The
issue is not ICB-specific; it affects people right across the
country. What more can we do to ensure that areas with high
housing growth have the GP capacity that residents deserve?
Dame
The hon. Gentleman raises a really important point. He may be
aware that the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB received
£36 million for its operational capital budget in 2023-24, with
over £118 million for this spending review period. That
operational capital is core funding provided to ICBs for
delivering primary care, among other things. In addition, he will
be aware that ICBs are able to provide input to planning
permissions to ensure that primary care is delivered where there
are new housing developments. I have worked with other hon.
Members across the House to tackle this issue, and I am very
happy to meet him to discuss it further.
When I speak to my constituents in Brislington, they tell me they
have to wait an inordinate time to get through on the phone to
their GPs at the Brooklea health centre, and wait over two weeks
for appointments. Constituents in Fishponds have been told that
it is over an hour's wait for prescription medication at the
local pharmacy—and we all know the situation with dentists. The
other thing my constituents are waiting for is a general
election. Does the Minister agree that that is the only way we
will sort out these problems in the NHS?
Dame
I certainly do not agree. If Labour were in government, we would
see significantly worse outcomes. Covid was a once-in-100-years
pandemic, and we have pulled out all the stops to recover from
that. It is a huge tribute to all those working in primary care
that they have done so well. In the hon. Lady's ICB— Bristol
North, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire —38.4% of all
appointments were delivered on the same day they were booked in
February this year, and 84% were delivered within two weeks of
booking, with 66% of them face to face. These are extremely
positive numbers for the 482,000 appointments delivered in
February 2024. What is really important is that the number of
patient care staff has increased by 656 full-time equivalents
since 2019.
I have listened to the Minister's comments, but the number of
patients per GP in the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes area
is nearly 25% higher than the national average. Will the Minister
explain why her Government think it is a good idea to cut the
proportion of doctors being trained as GPs from around one in
three to around one in four?
Dame
The hon. Lady is simply wrong. She will be aware that, in fact,
our long-term workforce plan is intended to raise the number of
training places for GPs to 6,000 by 2031-32. In 2022, we had over
4,000 new GPs apply to take training places—an absolute record.
There is much more to do, and I am working with GPs on a future
for GP practice taskforce to make sure that we do everything we
can, including hiring the 36,000 additional professionals now
working in GP practices, in order to relieve the pressure on GPs
and deliver much better patient access.
Dame (Morley and Outwood)
(Con)
Last week, a constituent contacted me to say that her teeth
crumbled during pregnancy and she was unable to get a dentist
appointment. Another constituent, who was in agony, desperately
pleaded for help to find a dentist. My own son, Clifford, has
been waiting two years for a tooth extraction, and I have
received hundreds of emails about similar issues. It is simply
not good enough. What plans do the Government have to sort this
out once and for all, and what advice does the Minister have for
my constituents?
Dame
My hon. Friend raises an incredibly important point. We know that
because all dentists were locked down during covid, the recovery
in access to NHS care has not been as fast as we would like. That
is why we announced our dentistry recovery plan, including a new
patient premium, which, since it was launched on 1 March, has
already seen hundreds of thousands of new NHS patients who have
not seen a dentist in two years. Some 240 dentists will receive
golden hellos to encourage them to work in underserved areas. We
also have our new Smile for Life prevention programme, which will
ensure that babies receive an early dental check for their milk
teeth in family hubs, and that pregnant mums receive better
dental care and advice. We are now trying to work with dentists
to look at reform of the units of dental activity contract, but
following the first meeting of the group yesterday, it seems that
dentists feel that all the parameters are in place. What we now
need to do is ensure that the incentives are there and that we
see things changing rapidly.
(Stroud) (Con)
My GPs are working extraordinarily hard to increase access in the
face of ever increasing public demand. I am alarmed by the Labour
party's talk about scrapping the GP partnership model, as I find
in the Stroud district that GP practices are some of the most
efficient parts of our NHS services. They need support, the
removal of bureaucracy and the opening up of funding pots, rather
than dismantling. Will my right hon. Friend explain how access to
primary care would not be helped by removing the partnership
model, and what are the Government doing to help ICBs create more
flexible partnership funding pots?
Dame
My hon. Friend makes a fantastic point, and I say again that GPs
absolutely underpin our primary care. We all absolutely rely on
them, and our measures to create 36,000 additional roles in GP
practices will provide them with the additional capacity they
need so that they can serve their patients better. That is good
for patients, good for primary care and incredibly good value for
the taxpayer. It is ludicrous that Labour is proposing to
undermine the GP partnership model; that would be a disaster for
primary care.
Topical Questions
(Dewsbury) (Con)
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental
responsibilities.(902452)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
We know that people in work lead happier, healthier lives.
However, over 10 million “not fit for work” fit notes were issued
last year. Most were repeat fit notes issued without any advice,
so we are missing a golden opportunity to give millions of people
the support they need to remain in work. That is why we are
launching a reform of the fit note process to create a new system
in which fit note conversations focus on what people can do, not
what they cannot do. As part of this, the Government will
consider shifting the responsibility for issuing fit notes away
from GPs to reduce the pressures they face and to free up
millions of appointments. I thank everyone who has delivered this
vital work, and I very much look forward to hearing the results
of the call for evidence in due course so that we can reform our
welfare system for the sake of our constituents and our GPs.
According to the Association of British HealthTech Industries, it
takes, on average, 17 years for lifesaving and life-enhancing
technologies to be adopted in the NHS. What steps is my right
hon. Friend taking to speed up the adoption of new technologies
so that the NHS can save more lives and improve patient
outcomes?
I dispute the 17-year figure, as it can vary across innovations.
The figure is contested, but my hon. Friend raises an important
point. We have a plan to prioritise the acceleration of patient
access, thereby ensuring safe, effective and innovative medical
technology for patients and the NHS. Our ambition is backed by
funding, and we are reforming the medical technology regulatory
framework, introducing the innovative devices access pathway
pilot and launching frameworks to increase the availability of
innovative products for the sake of patients across England and
the United Kingdom.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
(Ilford North) (Lab)
The Health Secretary has promised that the Government will
provide an extra 2.5 million dental appointments this year, but
the dentistry Minister, the right hon. Member for South
Northamptonshire (Dame ), says the figure has
“a high likelihood of not being reliable”.
Which one of them is wrong?
I am delighted to be able to tell the hon. Gentleman that we have
modelled down the ambitions, so the figure we initially provided
was higher than 2.5 million appointments. That is because we are
focused on delivering the dental recovery plan, rather than
overpromising.
The hon. Gentleman finds it easy to call our children short and
fat, but he shies away from welfare reform, calling it shameless
and irresponsible. He says he is ready to stand up to
middle-class lefties, but Labour has never put patients first by
condemning the unions that strike. He makes glossy promises about
reforming the NHS in England, yet Labour has failed
completely—
Mr Speaker
Order. I gently say that we need to get a lot of Back Benchers
in, and I am sure both sides want to do that.
The last Labour Government delivered the shortest waiting times
and the highest patient satisfaction in history, which is a
record that the right hon. Lady's Government cannot begin to
touch.
Back to dentistry, the chief dental officer says the announcement
is “nowhere near enough.” The British Dental Association
says:
“This ‘Recovery Plan' is not worthy of the title.”
It also says that the recovery plan will not stop the “exodus” of
dentists and will not meet the Government's targets. Who should
the public trust, and why should they trust the Health Secretary
to deliver when her own adviser, her own Minister and, crucially,
dentists all say that she is brushing the truth under the
carpet?
Again, let us bring ourselves back up to date. I know the Labour
party likes looking back to the last time it found favour with
the British public, but Wales is the up-to-date record of today.
Labour's lamentable record of running the NHS in Wales speaks for
itself. If the hon. Gentleman is so set on reform, why on earth
is he not helping his Labour colleagues in Wales to do exactly as
he is promising? It is because they are empty promises, and
because the hon. Gentleman and, I am afraid, the Labour party
will step back from reform rather than grappling with the issues,
as we are doing with our recovery plan.
Finally, on the dental recovery plan, within a month of the new
patient premium being switched on, hundreds of surgeries have
opened to new patients, which means that patients in the hon.
Gentleman's constituency and elsewhere are getting the care they
need.
Sir (Maldon) (Con)
T2. As my right hon. Friend has already heard from my right hon.
Friend the Member for Witham (), the Mid and South Essex ICB
has published proposals to close St Peter's Hospital in Maldon
and to relocate medical services elsewhere, despite the huge
growth taking place in the town. I have to say to the Secretary
of State that my constituents have little confidence in the
consultation. Will she therefore look closely at the outcome and,
if necessary, intervene to ensure that my constituents are still
able to access vital health services within the town?(902453)
I thank my right hon. Friend for raising that matter. I
understand that a consultation was conducted locally and that
more than 5,000 local people and staff responded. Their feedback
will be analysed by an independent research agency, which will
produce a report for the Mid and South Essex ICB, and a meeting
is due to take place in public in July. I will, of course,
continue to take an interest in this matter.
Mr Speaker
I call the Scottish National party spokesperson.
(Aberdeen North) (SNP)
The recent announcements on fit note reform are just the latest
in a long string of attacks on the most vulnerable people in
society. Sick and disabled people are being vilified, when, as
the Joseph Rowntree Foundation points out, almost two thirds of
those living in destitution live with a chronic health condition
or a disability. The UK Government are continuing their track
record in failing, and making life more difficult for, disabled
people. Does the Secretary of State understand how much more
difficult these changes will make people's lives?
These reforms are being brought forward because of a simply
unsustainable rise in the number of people being given fit notes
so that they cannot re-enter the world of work. We want to
support people into work, not only because we believe that it is
the best way to help them to recover, but because it helps us to
fund the NHS. It is funded by people who work and pay their
taxes. Again, I draw the hon. Lady's attention to matters a
little closer to home; sadly, Scotland's record on health is very
difficult to read and it includes the worst level of drug deaths
in Europe. I encourage her to concentrate on how the SNP is
running health services in its local area.
Dr (East Kilbride, Strathaven
and Lesmahagow) (Con)
T3. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members'
Financial Interests. The British Psychological Society has
commended the benefit of Government support for staff mental
health and wellbeing hubs and is keen to see that support
continue. Will the Minister therefore give an update on the
support being provided and the progress being made on the vital
issue of staff mental health and wellbeing?(902454)
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care ()
That is an important point. We know how vital it is to support
everyone who is working so hard in our NHS to support patients.
NHS England is reviewing mental health services for all staff who
need them, to ensure that they can access the support they need.
It is working collaboratively with regions and integrated care
systems to agree the best approach to doing that.
(Dulwich and West Norwood)
(Lab)
T4. There is an increasing incidence of bowel cancer among
younger patients, such as my constituent Emily, who received a
late diagnosis after many months of attending her GP with iron
deficiency anaemia. Younger patients often report that bowel
cancer was dismissed as a possibility by their GP because of
their age, and that symptoms such as iron deficiency anaemia are
not taken seriously enough and are not included currently on the
list of commons symptoms on the NHS website. What is the
Secretary of State doing to ensure that NHS guidelines and
practice are fit for purpose for younger patients, who far too
often receive a late diagnosis of bowel cancer?(902455)
The hon. Lady makes an important point. As part of the NHS
long-term plan, we have an ambition to diagnose 75% of all
stageable cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028. That means that we
need to make significant improvements on the harder-to-detect
cancers such as bowel cancer. We are working across systems to
deliver those improvements, not only with better screening
programmes, but by improving patient pathways. However, I am more
than happy to meet her if she wants to have a further
conversation specifically about bowel cancer.
(York Outer) (Con)
Following discussions with constituents who are living with
Parkinson's and with Parkinson's UK, I am concerned that North
Yorkshire has only one dedicated Parkinson's nurse. Given the
complexity of the condition, what steps are being taken further
to incentivise nurses to specialise in Parkinson's and on
long-term delivery?
My hon. Friend makes an important point. I know the huge value of
Parkinson's nurses to local patients in my constituency. Under
the NHS long-term workforce plan, backed by more than £2.4
billion over the next five years, the NHS will focus on expanding
the number of clinicians training for enhanced and advanced roles
working as part of multidisciplinary teams with the right skills
to meet the changing needs of patients.
(Leeds East) (Lab)
T5. The main issue raised by residents at the community coffee
morning at the Compton centre in Leeds yesterday was the
difficulty in getting access to dentists. The Secretary of State
struggled to give any credible answer on this question today. Is
she aware of the “Dentists for All” campaign in The Mirror, and
will she back it? Its three demands are: to provide access to an
NHS dentist for everyone; to restore funding for dental services
and recruit more NHS dentists; and to change the contracts,
because they are simply not fit for purpose. Does the Secretary
of State agree with that, and, if not, why not?(902456)
We switched on our fully funded dental recovery plan, in case the
hon. Gentleman was not listening carefully earlier, on 1 March.
Nearly 500 more practices in England are accepting new adult
patients than at the end of January, and even more will do so
under the dental recovery plan. We have plans to bring in new
dental vans to help our most isolated communities. We are also
bringing in the Smile4Life programme for children, because
prevention must be a critical part of our dental recovery
plan.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee.
(Winchester) (Con)
Ministers will be aware of a rather boastful claim last weekend
by the makers of Elfbar and Lost Mary vapes. They have already
launched rechargeable, refillable products, which, with a coil in
each pod, are not by definition single-use or disposable
according to the published regulations. Can the Minister reassure
the House and parents that they are alive to that and will pivot
as necessary now that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is going into
Committee?
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that matter, which shows the
cynicism with which the tobacco and vaping industry is
approaching these landmark public health reforms. On vapes, we
have committed to consulting on the powers that we are adopting
in the Bill precisely because we want to ensure that the
regulations, when they come to the fore, address the realities of
the market and the cynicism of the companies behind it, and help
to ensure that our children do not continue being plied with
these horrible items to get them hooked on nicotine.
(Ashfield) (Reform UK)
T7. I was disappointed to see the chair of my local hospital
trust and the east midlands Labour mayoral candidate use my
hospital as a political campaign prop by inviting the shadow
Health and Social Care Secretary and the Leader of the Opposition
to canvass patients and staff. Can the Minister please explain to
me how we can rein in this type of gutter politics and prevent my
local hospital being used for Labour's dog-whistle
politics?(902458)
This is a very serious matter, which I have raised with the chief
executive of NHS England, and asked her to raise with the
regional director and Nottinghamshire integrated care board. We
have done so because we believe that it might be a breach of the
Nolan principles.
(Erewash) (Con)
Just yesterday, the Office for National Statistics released data
showing that alcohol-specific deaths in 2022 were 4.2% higher
than in 2021 and a massive 32.8% higher than in 2019. Will my
right hon. Friend now seriously consider a stand-alone alcohol
strategy based on this worrying trend and agree to meet me and
other interested parties to discuss a way forward to tackle
alcohol-specific deaths?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care (Dame )
My hon. Friend was an incredibly hard-working health Minister and
I pay tribute to her for all she did in this area. She will be
aware that our groundbreaking drug and alcohol strategy commits
more than half a billion pounds of new funding over the spending
review period to rebuild drug and alcohol treatment services,
with plans to get an additional 15,000 alcohol-dependent people
into substance misuse treatment by 2024-25, which we are
currently on track to achieve. I would be delighted to meet her
to talk about it further.
(Brentford and Isleworth)
(Lab)
At my last surgery, a young woman told me that, thanks to the
delay in her GP diagnosing her ovarian cancer, she is now
infertile and receiving aggressive treatment. She had made four
GP appointments over several months for her unexplained stomach
cramps. Only in an emergency admission in another country was the
ovarian cancer diagnosed and the tumour removed. How long will it
be before the symptoms of female-specific conditions are taken
seriously by our medical establishment, from initial training
onwards?
I thank the hon. Lady for raising this, and I very much send our
best wishes to her constituent. The hon. Lady raises a really
important point. The symptoms that women can experience are often
very different for conditions relating not just to cancer, but to
heart attacks, for example. Part of my prioritisation of women's
health is to get that message out to clinicians so that, as this
case demonstrates so tragically, they are able to make the best
and most prompt diagnosis for all women.
(West Suffolk) (Ind)
What is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that the UK Health
Security Agency has the budget and the capabilities it needs? The
recent expansion of bird flu among mammals in the United States
is a salutary lesson. Thankfully, there are no signs yet of
human-to-human transmission, but it reminds us of the incredible
value and importance of being vigilant in this space and having
the best possible technology ready to respond as soon as
possible.
I thank my right hon. Friend for his question, and of course for
his integral role not just during the pandemic, but in setting up
the UKHSA. He will understand that I and others are keeping this
under very close review, and the chief medical officer is
briefing me as and when needed.
(Glasgow Central)
(SNP)
T9. I have had concerns raised about a company based in England
but operating across the UK online that shape shifts and is known
variously as Young Vibes, Peaky Parents, Kactus Kids,
“themumsnet” and, currently, Anxiety Recovery. It offers to fix
children's anxiety in mere weeks, but it is preying on vulnerable
families, drawing them into expensive treatments, and inciting
them to take out loans and get into debt. It is operating outside
regulatory frameworks, so may I ask what Ministers can do about
such unscrupulous and exploitative companies?(902460)
The hon. Lady raises an important point, and I ask her to write
to me, please, so that we can look into it.
(Colchester) (Con)
Given the importance of the UK's life sciences sector, could my
right hon. Friend update the House on commercial clinical trial
recruitment?
Thanks in part to the sterling work of my hon. Friend, monthly
average patient recruitment to commercial clinical trials is
almost five times the figure it was back in June 2023. That is
hugely positive, but there is clearly more to do in this
space.
(Streatham) (Lab)
For over a decade, the Camberwell dialysis unit has provided
high-quality NHS care to patients in south London, so my
constituents were shocked to hear that these services are to be
outsourced to Diaverum, a multinational for-profit health
corporation, which has already had one of its clinics rated
inadequate and put into special measures. Does the Minister
accept that privatising the NHS bit by bit has disastrous
implications for care, and will he listen to patients in my
constituency and commit to maintaining our NHS dialysis
provision?
That sums up the usual contradiction on privatisation between
Labour Front Benchers and Back Benchers. Any service changes
should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better
patient outcomes. In Lambeth, patients who receive dialysis at
the new site in Brixton will receive care in a significantly
improved environment with brand new facilities, in a great
example of an innovative public-private partnership. NHS England
has established the renal services transformation programme to
reduce unwarranted variation in the quality of access to renal
care.
(South Basildon and East
Thurrock) (Con)
Will my hon. Friend join me in recognising the good work that the
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust has been doing
to improve mental health outcomes, including the creation of a
pioneering 24/7 urgent mental health care centre, providing
urgent help when it is needed. Is that a model that could be
rolled out across the country to improve access to mental health
for all?
The Minister for Social Care ()
My hon. Friend rightly flags the excellent work going on to
improve access to mental health services across the country. Last
year, 3.6 million people got mental health support. That is an
increase of around 30% in just three years, supported by record
funding of over £16 billion into mental health care.
(Cumbernauld, Kilsyth
and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)
Mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid could save many
thousands of children from spina bifida, so why is it happening
so slowly, at such a low level and applied to too few
products?
Dame
I assure the hon. Member that we remain firmly committed to the
mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid. That will help
to protect around 200 babies each year from being born with
neural tube defects. The policy is being delivered across the UK
as part of a wider review of bread and flour regulations. In
January we published our consultation response, and we will bring
forward legislation to implement the policy later this year.
(Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
Ten days ago I went to the Whipps Cross A&E department to see
for myself the pressures that the brilliant team there are
under—pressures that are heavily exacerbated by the failure to
redevelop the hospital. Originally, we were promised that the new
hospital would be open by 2026, but we have still not agreed with
the Department a plan and timetable to submit to the Treasury for
that redevelopment. As a result, the hospital is having to spend
huge amounts of money trying to stem the damage as well as being
able to treat patients. It is costing us all. For the sake of
patient care and NHS budgets, will the Minister meet me to work
out where the hold-up is in getting Whipps Cross redeveloped?
The hon. Member raises the performance of the A&E department
in her local hospital. I have worked closely with the NHS over
the past year to improve the performance of urgent and emergency
care. Since this time last year, we have seen ambulance response
times improve by over a quarter and waits in A&E cut. I am
happy to meet her to talk about her specific A&E
department.
(Watford) (Con)
I again thank the Secretary of State for visiting Watford General
Hospital earlier this year, where we shared exciting plans for
the new hospital, with preparation work starting this year, and
construction starting by the end of 2026. I spoke with the West
Hertfordshire NHS Trust leadership team this week, who confirmed
that they are on track for that delivery within those timescales.
Will my right hon. Friend please join me in thanking them for
their hard work on that?
I would be delighted to join my hon. Friend, and I thank him
again for a really positive visit to his local hospital. That is
a great example of a local MP working in his local area for his
constituents and, what is more, delivering for them.
(Buckingham) (Con)
As a practical measure to improve radiotherapy waiting times,
will the Minister agree to further work on the radiotherapy
dataset, to include the collection of data on delays at each
stage of the radiotherapy pathway, and by tumour type, so that we
can better understand pinch points in services?
We are working to improve radiotherapy services across the NHS,
and I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that in
more detail.
(St Albans) (LD)
West Hertfordshire Hospital Trust is at the front of the queue
for the new hospital programme. We have the land, planning
permission, building design, political and staff support, and
enabling works are under way. But, like many other trusts around
the country, the hospital trust is being asked to submit business
case after business case. Will the Secretary of State clarify
whether those delays are down to bureaucracy and the new hospital
programme, or are they deliberate delaying tactics by a
Government who do not want to release funds to hospitals before
the general election?
Normally, a Secretary of State would appear at the Dispatch Box
after a question like that and say, “I refer the hon. Member to
the answer I gave earlier.” On this occasion I will refer her to
the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Watford (). He has just set out the
business case for Watford General, which is great news, and I
hope she will join him and me in welcoming that new hospital when
it is open.
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