A&E Services: Solihull Borough
(3 days, 4 hours ago)
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Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)
I stand today to make the case for accident and emergency services in Solihull borough. Ever since I was first elected in 2019, through covid to now in 2025, I have campaigned for better health resources in my constituency and across Solihull borough. Like many across the country, I am grateful for the national health service. Indeed, I owe my life to the NHS, having fallen seriously ill as a child at the age of three. It was an NHS doctor who saved my life after my parents had been told I had mere hours to live, and it was NHS nurses who cared for me. When my children were born, NHS nurses delivered them and NHS doctors cared for them and for my wife. Like many of my constituents, I am ever grateful for the NHS staff who were on the frontline during the pandemic, in the most difficult circumstances that one can imagine.
I am proud to stand up for the NHS in my constituency. I have been fortunate to have campaigned for a number of successful outcomes in the borough of Solihull, where we have a positive story to tell. I supported the introduction of integrated care systems in the Health and Care Act 2022. As I said to the then Health Secretary, it was clear to me that we needed an organisation that would be more accountable to the public. The Birmingham and Solihull integrated care board was born as a result of that legislation.
The Solihull Conservatives led a campaign to get a new urgent treatment centre, and our petition garnered more than 11,000 signatures. I am pleased that the UTC at Solihull hospital was opened in 2023. It has been vital in easing pressures on local services and for local residents, and I have used it for myself and my family. We also have new elective surgery units, built with start-of-the-art robotics. I am delighted that just a few weeks ago, they reached their 1,000th operation.
On top of that, the brand-new locality hub at Solihull hospital aims to provide early intervention and urgent response care for patients in the borough, and it will be vital in providing much-needed relief for local services. Alongside that, the brand-new community diagnostic centre that I secured for north Solihull is currently being built. I had the pleasure of visiting the new facility, which is forecast to deliver almost 116,000 diagnostic appointments, including MRIs, ultrasounds and much more.
As the Minister will see, we have a strong track record of delivering health services for our constituents in the borough of Solihull. However, one thing is lacking. It is clear when I talk to local residents that Solihull borough needs accident and emergency services. Solihull hospital used to have an A&E, but it closed in 2013. A recent write-up of my campaign by the Solihull Observer correctly identified that, stating:
“Historically Solihull did have an A&E department but in 2013 hospital bosses admitted there had not been a full and proper A&E at Solihull for many years – with A&E services dwindling bit by bit over two decades.”
The Minister will note that things have seriously changed. First of all, Solihull hospital is thriving. I am pleased that there has been a collective recognition that it must be nurtured and preserved. Silhillians who are in need of medical treatment for broken bones, sprains, cuts, stomach pains, rashes and minor burns can always book an appointment at the urgent treatment centre that I just mentioned at the Lode Lane hospital, but for anything more serious, residents are redirected to Heartlands hospital in Bordesley Green.
Laurence Turner (Birmingham Northfield) (Lab)
I congratulate the hon. Member on securing this debate. I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Member’s Financial Interests, given my background in the GMB trade union, which represents ambulance workers in the West Midlands ambulance service. Does he agree that during the difficult winter period, ambulance staff endured an extremely difficult time, and we should all pay tribute to their professionalism? Does he further agree with ambulance crews that if we had more community-based health services, pressure on those central accident and emergency centres would be reduced?
Saqib Bhatti
The hon. Member makes an important point. Every winter we see the strain on our health services. Our professionals in hospitals and ambulance services always make an important contribution. His second question is really for the Government. I will talk a little more about the future vision for my constituents and his.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I commend the hon. Member on securing this debate, and I share his concerns. In my constituency and the neighbouring one, units in North Down and Ards were closed and moved to Dundonald, putting pressure on that hospital. At the A&E at Dundonald—perhaps Solihull is the same—patients have to wait 14 hours to be seen for a heart attack. The A&E must be up to scratch. Travelling is one thing, but the A&E has to be able to respond. Does he agree that we need the right A&Es?
Saqib Bhatti
I cannot disagree with the hon. Gentleman. He makes a really valid point. Of course, it is about not just the travel time, but the time that is spent there. As I will come on to say, there is discussion about the A&E at Heartlands hospital, which has similar issues.
Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)
On the point about time spent waiting in A&E, one issue we have found in Winchester is that a significant proportion of the caseload consists of people with mental health issues—sometimes suffering a mental health crisis. Many of them are already on a waiting list, but some mental health waiting lists are hitting 18 months or two years from the point of referral to the necessary specialist treatment. That is putting a huge amount of pressure on our A&E departments, as it takes a huge amount of resources to deal with mental health crises. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that investing heavily in mental health services will also help to reduce A&E waiting times?
Saqib Bhatti
Of course, investment will make a big difference. That is why I think integrated care boards play an important role, because there is accountability all the way up to the Minister. It is also about how resources are distributed locally for the needs of the community.
I spoke about the journey to Heartlands hospital. At any given time, it can take 40 minutes, and it quite regularly takes more than an hour. In a situation where every minute matters, I am afraid that is just not good enough for my constituents. It could quite literally be a matter of life or death.
Solihull borough has a population of approximately 216,000 people, and that is set only to grow.
Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Solihull West and Shirley) (Con)
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way and for bringing this debate to the Chamber. Being neighbouring MPs, he and I have worked very closely on this issue. He notes the size of Solihull borough; of course, with the Government’s housing plans, that is likely to increase significantly, almost touching a quarter of a million. Does he agree that in those circumstances, it is absolutely critical that we have an A&E provision within the borough to serve the community?
Saqib Bhatti
I thank my hon. Friend for that contribution and for all the work he has done on the matter, including the petition he launched, which I will come on to later. He is absolutely right, and he leads me to my next point.
The Minister’s own Government have set out their planning reforms, which mean that valuable and precious green belt will now be built on as housing numbers are massively increased, putting our local infrastructure under strain. As we can see, that is a concern across the country, on a cross-party basis. My hon. Friend the Member for Solihull West and Shirley (Dr Shastri-Hurst) has made significant progress talking to his constituents on this issue. I know they feel exactly the same way, and I look forward to working with him.
Significantly, more than 40% of our residents are reportedly over the age of 50. As we go through this especially cold winter, as the hon. Member for Birmingham Northfield (Laurence Turner) said, we must all remember that the winter is a challenging time not only for the NHS, but for our constituents. Cold and flu cases are at their peak and place additional pressures on the NHS. Every Christmas, we face a timely reminder that we are in desperate need of an A&E in Solihull, so I am grateful to have secured this debate early in the new year.
Although I will not focus on social care today, I can assure the Minister that I will return to this topic at some point. I simply make the point that kicking the can down the road on issues such as social care will cause further anxiety to my constituents and exacerbate the strain on our hospitals. All Governments, of all ilks, need to deal with social care.
The Government’s response does not deal with social care, nor does it deal with the problem of the country’s ageing population, especially in areas such as Meriden and Solihull East. The long-term social care issues faced by our NHS are made far worse by the fact that there is a national average of 14% more attendees at A&E than there were 10 years ago, which means that more people now face longer waiting times. As of August 2024, 65.4% of patients in Birmingham and Solihull ICB spent less than four hours in A&E departments, and that is markedly below the NHS target of 95%. I hope that the Minister might be able to comment on that and share any thinking on increasing that figure.
I believe I have already set this out adequately, but it is worth repeating that residents in my borough have to travel to different areas to access A&E services. Given the size of the local population and the likelihood that demand for emergency services will only increase further, it is obvious that Solihull residents need to be supported by dedicated A&E services. That is because a dedicated A&E in Solihull borough will take pressure off other A&E departments, lowering waiting times across the whole area to the benefit of thousands of people in the west midlands. Can the Minister give any indication as to whether she considered those arguments in the previous correspondence that my hon. Friend the Member for Solihull West and Shirley and I have had with her?
Moreover, my constituents and I are very concerned that this issue will become increasingly pressing because of the Government’s planning changes and their potential changes to the national policy planning framework. If the Government were to achieve the objective of removing consent from local people, the demand for local infrastructure—from schools to roads and health services—would go up and inevitably become unsustainable.
I launched my petition in May last year to restore A&E services to Solihull hospital. I can confirm to the Minister that I did not know a general election would be called a week later. Within a week, we had about 1,000 signatures. I have had about 1,600 and I think my hon. Friend has had a similar amount, so we are reaching more than 3,000 residents who support our campaign. The petition remains open on our websites for further support. I assure my constituents that I will not falter or waver in my resolve to see the campaign through.
Let me help the Minister. I understand that such projects do not happen overnight, but surely she will agree that a case such as this must be looked at. There has to be a long-term vision and plan to start to deal with issues, such as an increased population, which are clearly coming down the road. When my hon. Friend and I wrote to the Minister in November, we outlined the arguments for enhanced healthcare provision for Solihull borough. We were disappointed with the Minister’s response, which failed to cover some of the assertions we made, and that is why I put in for an Adjournment debate. I want to give the Minister another chance, because it cannot be possible that she does not have a view on long-term health provision for my constituents.
For clarity, the Minister argued that the NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB was responsible for funding and implementation in the area. I am sure that is a matter of fact, but she must have a view, even though it will play a decisive role in decision making on these matters. It would be really helpful to my constituents and those of my hon. Friend if she agreed, at least in principle, to look at our plans, even if she does not quite support them. Will she agree to look at the long-term need of my constituents, especially in the light of the extra housing the Government are demanding be delivered on our greenbelt? It is a point worth making that as a result of the extra building, my constituents will be making huge sacrifices. The least the Government could do is to recognise that and provide the infrastructure to match.
The Minister confirmed that the Government were committed to delivering the new hospital plan. She said the Chancellor had confirmed that in the Budget there would be a £3.1 billion increase in the overall departmental capital budget over this year and the next. The Secretary of State committed, in his piece in the London Standard in June, to delivering the new hospitals programme, so I was disappointed that there was no mention of Solihull borough in his statement last week. I want to ask the Minister a very simple question. The Government set out plans that take hospital building to 2039. Does that mean that our constituents in Solihull borough will not get a look-in from the Labour Government until then? Will it be 15 years before we can even start to think about new plans to support Solihull borough? It would be really helpful to get clarity on that.
In our correspondence, my hon. Friend and I made the case for part of the £3.1 billion uplift in the NHS capital budget to be spent in our area. The Minister should be assured that we will take every opportunity in this House to make the case for an A&E in Solihull. Will she now instruct her officials to take a long, hard look at that and take a constructive view on the long-term plan? Indeed, just a few days ago—this is the point I wanted to come to when I was intervened on—it was reported in the Birmingham Mail that the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust is looking for a £200 million investment to create a new urgent and emergency care facility at Heartlands hospital, because the facilities are “disconnected and inefficient”, and that
“patient numbers continue to increase, being cared for in buildings which are dark, cramped and not fit for the current purpose”.
That could not be clearer. The report prompts the question: why should my constituents be subject to those conditions? They deserve better. They deserve the very best health facilities. I will not let up, and nor will my hon. Friend. We will keep coming back. With more than 3,000 people having signed our petitions, will the Minister do the right thing and back our campaign for a new A&E in Solihull?
When I raised this issue on the Floor of the House, the Health Secretary wanted to know where I would spend the money differently. Perhaps the Minister has a similar line in her speech. This is not a party political point, but we would have chosen not to spend billions on trade union sweetheart deals in return for nothing. We would probably not have spent billions on GB Energy, which will not deliver outcomes or reduce bills. That money could pay for an A&E in Solihull many times over. Politics is all about choices, so I ask the Minister: will she do the right thing and choose to engage constructively, so we can deliver the best outcomes for our constituents?
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
I congratulate the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East (Saqib Bhatti) on securing the debate, and congratulate other Members who have taken part in it. Let me start by thanking the NHS staff at Solihull Hospital for their remarkable efforts, stamina and care in the most challenging circumstances. That point was well made by the hon. Gentleman, and I know he feels passionately that he owes his own life and the lives of many others to their care.
The hon. Gentleman said that he did not want to make political points and that politics was about choices, but we did inherit an NHS that was in the worst state in its history. I hope he agrees with Lord Darzi’s diagnosis; we have still not heard from his colleagues whether they agree with it. The condition of the capital estate, as well as NHS services, has shocked the country, notwithstanding the result of the election, but we are working at full scale to making that situation better. The hon. Gentleman is right that politics is about choices, and I think that the wrong choices were made in the past 14 years.
It is right to point to the increasing demand for emergency departments in Solihull and elsewhere over the past decade, part of which can be explained by the appalling neglect of GP and primary care services to manage demand, and the failure of all parties—to which the hon. Gentleman alluded—to build consensus on a long-term solution for social care and support the flow of people through those hospitals. As the hon. Gentleman knows, Solihull Borough is within the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. In December, 58.2% of people were seen within four hours.
Let me set out some of the wider context. We need to remember that we have had one of the busiest flu seasons for a number of years, and although the number of cases is coming down, the number of Norovirus cases is still 80% higher than it was in the same period last year. We want to end the treatment of people in corridors, which has become normal and which it is completely unacceptable. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made clear, this is not the level of care that staff want for their patients, and it is not the level of care that the Government will ever accept for patients. It will take time to return to the standards that patients deserve, but it can be done. We did it before in government, and we will do it again. To mitigate pressures in Solihull and elsewhere, we are reforming the NHS to shift the focus of healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, freeing up beds for emergency patients and preventing so many people from having to call an ambulance or go to A&E in the first place. In the last two months, we have announced steps to begin rebuilding general practice and immediate long-term action on social care.
I understand that in November 2024, NHS Birmingham Solihull integrated care board had an average of 6.3 full-time GPs per 10,000 patients, just above the average in England, which stands at six. A few weeks after the election, we announced an extra £82 million of funding to increase access to GPs, and it is improving. Birmingham Solihull ICB area had 30 more GPs in November than in July, and I hope that that improvement has been felt by the hon. Gentleman’s constituents. In December we announced an extra £888 million in funding for GPs, the biggest funding uplift in years, alongside a package of reforms to bust bureaucracy, slash unnecessary targets, and give them more time to spend with patients as a first step towards bringing back the family doctor.
As well as considering demand, we know that there is no solution for accident and emergency activity that does not include fixing our broken social care system. Today there are about 12,000 patients in hospital beds who have no criteria to reside but cannot be discharged. The main reason for the delays is to do with capacity. More than 300 patients in that category are in the Birmingham Solihull ICB. I hope that the hon. Gentleman and, indeed, all Members will work with us to resolve the situation, but that is why the Government are making up to £3.7 billion of extra funding available for local authorities to provide social care, why we are delivering extra 7,800 adaptations through the disabled facilities grant this year and next year, why we have delivered the biggest increase in carer's allowance since the 1970s—worth an extra £2,300 to family carers—why we are introducing fair pay agreements to tackle the 131,000 vacancies for care workers that we inherited, and why we are appointing Louise Casey to develop a national consensus on that long-term solution for social care.
It is also clear that we can get our ambulance and A&E services working better, so before the spring we will set out the lessons learned from this winter and the improvements that we will put in place ahead of next winter. We are content to visit and hear from hon. Members from across the House about the situation in their areas.
The hon. Gentleman talked about the 2022 Act. I was on the Bill Committee and tabled a number of suggestions for better accountability of ICBs to local Members of Parliament, most of which were not accepted by the Government of the time. I agree with him that those organisations need to be more accountable to him and to other Members of Parliament representing their constituents.
We expect integrated care boards to ensure that the areas they run are safe, putting necessary care in the community, investing in technology and doing what is best for the people they are responsible for. The Government are investing an extra £26 billion in our health and care services while undertaking fundamental reform to help the ICB deliver the services that all our constituents expect. If the ICB intends to make substantial changes to the way it delivers services, it must conduct a public consultation and must meet the test to ensure that all proposals are proven to be in the interests of patients and the wider public.
I know that the hon. Gentleman will be meeting the ICB in a few weeks, and I am sure that he will continue to make his points to it; I suspect that it is watching or listening to our proceedings. I am sure that he would agree that it is for the people locally in Solihull to determine how their interests are best served. Ministers cannot impose views above the heads of the local ICB. Those decisions are best made in Solihull by people who live in Solihull and not in Westminster. Therefore, what I can do—what the Government are doing—is give ICBs the means to deliver services while undertaking fundamental reform of how those services are delivered. The hon. Gentleman is therefore doing exactly what he should do as an experienced Member of Parliament and making his case to the local ICB. I am sure that it will have heard him this evening and that his voice will be important in representing his constituents.
The hon. Gentleman was entirely right to raise population growth and planning, which was also mentioned by the hon. Gentleman’s neighbour, the hon. Member for Solihull West and Shirley (Dr Shastri-Hurst). We are committed to house building, unlike his Government; it is important that that goes ahead. That does put pressure on services. Unfortunately, under the previous Government, developments were not going ahead because of the issue of infrastructure. That is something that we are addressing.
The disconnect between ICBs and local authorities must change—the situation with vital infrastructure such as schools and hospitals has gone on for far too long—which is why we are committed to working with colleagues at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure that planning includes basic infrastructure. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has regular meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister to ensure that we are all pulling in the same direction on that.
Communities across the country, including the hon. Gentlemen’s constituents in Solihull, are struggling with poor services and crumbling estates. We are putting record capital funding into the NHS while reforming services to ensure that every penny of that money is spent well. We will return to 95% of patients being seen within four hours at A&E, we will get waiting lists back down to where they were in 2010, and we will fix the front door to the NHS with the GP services that all our constituents deserve. It will take time, but we will deliver an NHS and national care service that provide people with the care they need when they need it, and we will continue to work with all hon. Members across the House to ensure that that happens.