(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mrs Elsie Blundell (Heywood and Middleton North) (Lab)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
I absolutely endorse your comments about our colleague, Mr Speaker.
I know that my hon. Friend and many other colleagues are deeply concerned about the issues at Northern Care Alliance. As of June this year, the trust has been placed under the highest level of regional oversight and support from NHS England. It is imperative that rapid movements are made, governance systems are strengthened and that every patient receives the standard of care that they deserve.
Mrs Blundell
My constituents are very concerned about Northern Care Alliance hospitals. Across the trust, there were 10 serious incidents between 2025 and 2026 that were found to be wholly preventable, lengthy delays causing severe harm to patients and industrial action, culminating in a sustained decline in performance and national rankings on patient safety. What options are therefore on the table if the trust does not show urgent signs of improvement?
Karin Smyth
My hon. Friend rightly highlights on behalf of her constituents the number of issues that have led to this significant regulatory intervention and support. If necessary, further action is available to NHS England and the Care Quality Commission. We want to ensure that the focus now is on supporting and challenging the trust to make the rapid and sustained improvements necessary in those key areas. I know that my hon. Friend and our other colleagues will work closely with the trust on this; I always encourage MPs to work closely with their trust to ensure that that happens. If necessary, other measures will also be available.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Yvette Cooper)
I also join in your words in support of Helen Haines, Mr Speaker.
In the wake of the horrific cases we have seen in Hull, Leeds, Kent and elsewhere, the Government have announced that we will bring forward comprehensive proposals to ensure respect and dignity for the deceased in every setting, including proper regulation of the funeral sector, because everyone deserves dignity in death and every bereaved family deserves certainty that their loved one is being treated with care and respect.
Rachael Maskell
This question comes with warnings of distressing content. When people die, we expect the deceased to receive the highest level of dignity prior to interment, but the lack of statutory regulation is resulting in a few engaging in poor practice. The Co-op funeral service and independent providers have raised significant concerns of a new model of low-cost cremations and mass storage facilities—as proposed by a new establishment in York, which could store 700 people—with evidence of poor practice, poor care and poor handling of the deceased within these facilities. Will the Government meet me and funeral directors so that we can prevent the York site from operating and set high regulatory standards for services for the deceased?
Yvette Cooper
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this matter; Ministers will certainly be happy to meet her and her constituents on it. I am aware of and concerned about the issues she raises, and I do not think that families are being given the full information about some of these practices and provisions. This goes to the heart of why we need new regulation arrangements in place, so that everyone can have the confidence that their loved ones are being shown the respect and care that all of us would want for our families.
Shivani Raja (Leicester East) (Con)
Any regulation of the funeral sector must avoid unnecessary administrative burdens on small, local providers. How will the Department ensure that any proposed regulatory framework is proportionate and does not unfairly increase costs for independent funeral directors across my constituency and the country?
Yvette Cooper
The hon. Member raises an important issue. It is vital that we get this right, which is why we are currently holding consultations and discussions across the funeral sector. We know that there are funeral providers across the country that do an incredibly caring and compassionate job looking after families at the most difficult time; we are working with them, and we will update the House in due course. This is why we have established the principle of regulation, but getting the practice right, working with the sector, is very important.
Rosie Wrighting (Kettering) (Lab)
Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Yvette Cooper)
The Government are determined to give every child the best start in life. We will appoint an independent maternity and neonatal commissioner and publish an action plan covering every area identified for improvement from pregnancy to post-natal care. We will also go further, rolling out Sure Start health services for parents and babies into every family centre across the country, reaching up to 1,000 family hubs over the next two years.
Rosie Wrighting
The maternity ward at Kettering general hospital faces significant challenges such as reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, overheating during the summer and flooding during the winter. We urgently need to see the maternity ward rebuilt and the money raised by families for a bereavement suite put towards a safe space for families in the most difficult of times. I thank the Secretary of State for all the work she has done on national maternity services. Will she meet me to discuss those specific challenges and ensure that my constituents get the maternity service they deserve?
Yvette Cooper
I will happily meet my hon. Friend to talk about maternity services. I pay tribute to her as well, because she has been a tireless campaigner for improving maternity services and, in particular, bereavement suites for families at the most sensitive times. I also pay tribute to all the families in her constituency who have been involved in those campaigns. Work is under way for a new maternity and neonatal facility in Kettering general, which will include a bereavement suite. We want to work with the hospital and the community on that.
Tom Hayes
A new report by the Centre for Young Lives advocates putting health at the heart of every childhood, including putting Best Starts, Healthy Babies and remaining children’s centres on a statutory footing. Given that health services have structural advantages in providing capital management and getting new services up and running, what greater role can health services play in integrating services at Sure Start level?
Yvette Cooper
I welcome my hon. Friend’s question. Having been responsible for the roll-out of the original Sure Start programme, I am still angry with Conservative Members who supported the closures of Sure Starts across the country. We are now restoring health services and the Healthy Babies programme to family hubs across the country, because health interventions from the work of midwives and health visitors and work on post-natal depression is crucial to the start of a child’s life. I hope that this time round we will have cross-party consensus as we expand those services.
Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD)
The chief executive of NHS England and I toured the John Radcliffe’s maternity unit this summer. The building is in a dire state: women give birth in rooms with no windows and no toilets—and where there are toilets, they often flood. In fact, Valerie Amos said that it was the worst she had seen as part of her review. The trust leaders are clear with us that they want a new maternity unit. May I invite the Secretary of State to come to Oxford and see for herself? If she has not got the time for that, will she at least have a meeting with me and the trust leaders so that we can discuss how we can move the project forward?
Yvette Cooper
I will happily meet the hon. Member. I pay tribute to the Select Committee for its work on maternity services. Clearly, some of the issues are about capital investment, and we are substantially increasing that to improve the safety of units and facilities, including maternity units. We also want to see higher standards of care not just in labour wards and maternity units but throughout pregnancy. I am happy to meet her to talk about those services.
Stuart Andrew (Daventry) (Con)
On maternity, two things will stick with me. First, there was the briefing from Donna Ockenden on her report, which was shocking. The other was listening to bereaved mums saying how they are tired of telling their story over and over again, and I hope we can find a better service for those parents; equally, there was the treatment of dead babies in the mortuary in Nottingham. Will the Secretary of State update us on the work being done to ensure that those shocking things never happen to any family ever again?
Yvette Cooper
I welcome the right hon. Member’s points. I know that he has championed those issues both on maternity care and on bereavement. Like him, I have also spoken to some of the bereaved families from Leeds, where the Ockenden review is under way.
The issues that the right hon. Member raised about babies and mortuary services, as well as funeral services for babies, show the importance of the broader response to the Fuller inquiry and the regulation of funeral services more broadly. We do need to take action. I am happy to discuss that with him further.
Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
This week, Matthew Hopkins, who, until November 2025, was the chief executive of one of the worst performing hospital trusts in the country and is now the acute and ambulance network director of NHS Alliance, was reported to have said that the closure of at least 20 rural maternity units was “inevitable” and the “right thing”. In North Devon, we have seen the impact that closures have on women in labour, who have faced an hour and half of driving on country lanes with many turning round to give birth in A&E—a sign of the national maternity crisis being out of control. Rather than agreeing to closures, will the Secretary of State review how we staff rural maternity services to improve safety and protect women, and will she meet me and rural Liberal Democrat MPs who are fighting to protect mums and families?
Yvette Cooper
The work that we have done since the election has significantly increased the number of midwives across the country, which we rightly need to do. I have also been clear to the NHS chief executive that the NHS, regionally and nationally, needs to do everything possible to help reopen North Devon maternity services. I know that work is under way on trying to increase recruitment and support local recruitment. There is a broader issue about ensuring, particularly in more rural areas, that proper recruitment and maternity workforce plans are in place. We need to ensure, and mums need to know, that the services are there for them when they need them, including at the time they go into labour. That will be part of the approach that we are taking to maternity services.
Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)
Fleur Anderson (Putney) (Lab)
The Minister for Public Health and Patient Safety (Dame Diana Johnson)
We now have the highest number of fully qualified GPs since 2015, and almost 16 million more GP appointments were delivered in the last year than in the 12 months before the election. As a result of that investment, 77% of people now say that they have a good local service. We know that there is more to do, especially in rural and remote areas, but there is clear progress against our 10-year plan.
Alan Mak
Vital NHS services, including scans and X-rays, have been removed from Oak Park clinic, which serves every resident in the Havant constituency. Will the Minister meet me and support my campaign to restore those vital services so that my constituents do not have to travel to Portsmouth or further afield?
Dame Diana Johnson
I am happy to meet the hon. Gentleman. I have looked at the issue around Oak Park community clinic and I know that he has met the integrated care board. I am told that all options are being considered to provide a sustainable and accessible solution for diagnostics at the Oak Park site, but I am happy to meet him.
Fleur Anderson
I am concerned about NHS England’s GP list cleaning programme and its impact on London specifically. Putney GPs have told me that in the last six months, 344,000 patients have been taken off GP lists, 44% of whom are in London. Some are taken off after not responding to a single letter. That means that they do not get cancer check-ups, vaccines or GP care. Something is going on with the London part of the GP lists. Will the Minister pause, review the programme, look into it and meet me and other London MPs to talk about it?
Dame Diana Johnson
I understand the concerns that my hon. Friend has raised, particularly with regard to vulnerable patients, but it is important that GP lists are as accurate as possible. We think that there are around 6 million more registrations than England’s population and most people flagged are confirmed to have moved abroad. Strong safeguards are in place, including no patient being removed on the basis of a single indicator or because they failed to respond to one piece of correspondence. Overall, it takes more than five months from identifying a patient who may no longer reside to deregistering them from a practice system. I am always happy to meet my hon. Friend.
Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)
One thing that hinders access to and the effectiveness of primary care is Labour’s mandatory use of single point of access—so much so that a safety watchdog has linked it to deaths. After those on the Government Front Bench dismissed the concerns raised by Conservatives, it turns out that an investigation has been set forward, with the NHS Strategy Unit asked to look at the matter. Will the Minister set out the terms of reference that the Strategy Unit is using, the timeframe and when this House can expect to hear the answers to ensure this is done safely?
Dame Diana Johnson
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this. He will appreciate that I am relatively new in post, but I am going to find out and I will write to him with the specific answers to the questions he has posed today.
Dr Marie Tidball (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Lab)
Constituents in Stocksbridge, Deepcar, Wharncliffe Side and Oughtibridge regularly tell me how important it is for them to have access closer to home to routine blood tests, X-rays, special educational needs and disability support, mental health support, NHS dentistry and mammograms, because of the poor transport links and delays in accessing NHS diagnostic services in Sheffield. Therefore, I was delighted to welcome Stocksbridge towns fund board members, local health leaders and experts to visit the 519 community hub site in our town. Will the Minister meet me to discuss our proposal for a community diagnostic centre in the new 519 building, to maximise its benefit to our community—mirroring the excellent Glass Works and Alhambra centre facilities in Barnsley—and to bring health to our high streets locally?
Dame Diana Johnson
My hon. Friend is a doughty champion for her local area and for ensuring that we have services close to populations and close to where people live. I am very happy to meet her to discuss this.
Dr Simon Opher (Stroud) (Lab)
The Minister for Social Care and Mental Health (Alison McGovern)
We commissioned the independent Fonagy review, which made it clear that mental distress has increased for young people and particularly young women. That is why we have already improved mental health support in schools for young people, and we will publish a new mental health strategy by Christmas.
Dr Opher
As the Minister knows, over 1 million young people are currently on the mental health waiting list. In Stroud, and in the South Bank centre, I am working with clinical teams and creative teams to offer early intervention to these young people, with social prescriptions for music, art, access to nature and exercise, and indeed stand-up comedy. Following the Fonagy review, which recommends support in the community with lower-level clinical services and on an earlier basis, does she support those initiatives, and may I meet her to discuss them?
Alison McGovern
Of course my hon. Friend can meet me to discuss stand-up comedy—I would like nothing more. Clinical services are important. We are already asking ICBs to reduce the longest waits for children and young people, and we have had a 14% decrease, but good mental health for young people goes way beyond that. My hon. Friend knows that I love art, sport and culture as much as he does.
Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)
The new Weybridge health centre in my constituency, which is being rebuilt following the fire in 2017, was planned to provide a range of general services. When I visited it recently, I learned that the first floor still does not have tenants in place. Will the Minister meet me and representatives from the Phoenix family practice to discuss how we can ensure that Weybridge gets the best possible broad healthcare provision?
Alison McGovern
As you know, Mr Speaker, I always meet any Member who asks me to, but it may be that another Minister would be more relevant for the hon. Member’s health centre. We will check that and ensure he has the right meeting, because it sounds like a great community resource.
Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Solihull West and Shirley) (Con)
Thank you, Mr Speaker. May I start by associating myself with your remarks on the tragic events involving Helen Haines over the last 24 hours?
According to a recent report from Future Minds, more than 2.7 million referrals have been made since the last election to children’s and young people’s mental health services in England, with more than a third of those referred still awaiting treatment. How can the Government seriously claim to be tackling the rising number of young people not in education, employment or training while simultaneously overseeing the waiting list run out of control?
Alison McGovern
I refer the shadow Minister to the Fonagy review. It details the causes, which started before covid, of the rise in mental distress for young people. As I mentioned a moment ago, we are already asking ICBs to reduce the longest wait, and we have seen some successes with that, but we have way more to do to address this challenge. We will have more to say in the mental health strategy that will be published soon.
Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)
The Minister for Public Health and Patient Safety (Dame Diana Johnson)
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for all her campaigning on diethylstilbesterol and to her constituent Jan Hall and her family. We recognise the serious intergenerational effects of exposure to DES, including increased cancer risks and reproductive complications, and we have asked NHS England and clinical networks to improve awareness of those issues and the people affected by them. We have commissioned an evidence review of the intergenerational effects of DES, which will inform our efforts to strengthen support in this area.
Jessica Toale
I thank the Minister for her answer and the constructive way in which the Department of Health and Social Care has engaged with me and campaigners from DES Justice UK, but I am still meeting women who are being denied breast cancer screening, colposcopies and other things that are essential for their care, despite the letter from the cancer alliance about DES exposure risk. How can we ensure that GPs and other health professionals are truly aware of the risks of DES, and that the women who need the support can get it when they need it?
Dame Diana Johnson
I recognise that some women exposed to DES still face difficulties accessing advice, monitoring and referral. Clinicians should consider individual medical histories, symptoms and risk factors. I had a look at the letter that was sent on 12 December explaining what more should be done by clinicians. I will again ask officials to look at whether we need to reissue that letter or whether we need to take any other action to ensure that the information about DES is spread as widely as possible among clinicians.
Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)
I am pleased that the Minister is talking about ensuring that medical professionals are more aware of DES and the risks for those who were potentially exposed to it, but what is her assessment of the feasibility of tracking and informing those who were potentially exposed? My constituent Heather did not realise that she—or her mother—had been exposed until long after her mother’s death.
Dame Diana Johnson
As I just said, the Government are improving identification and support for people affected by DES by raising awareness among clinicians and strengthening the dissemination of existing NHS guidance. There are considerable challenges associated with recalling records from the 1940s to the 1970s, particularly because of the record-keeping practices of that era and the fact that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency had not yet been established at that time, but I am mindful of the point that the hon. Member makes.
Dr Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point about the importance of intermediate care, which is a key component of supporting patients into discharge to recover outside of hospitals. Community beds play an important role, but we are clear that home-based intermediate care also needs support, particularly for frail people, through neighbourhood health. That should be the default pathway, and we will continue to work with the system to make that happen.
Dr Rushworth
Ward 7 at Bishop Auckland hospital is an example of the NHS working—physios, nurses, healthcare workers and some excellent facilities—so we were shocked to hear that our local NHS trust plans to close the ward, move it to Darlington and break up that team. Will the Minister meet me so I can represent my constituents and the workers at that hospital, and raise those concerns with her face to face?
Karin Smyth
I am, of course, happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that issue further. I am clear that all changes to services should be based on clear evidence that they deliver better outcomes for his constituents and people across the country. He is absolutely right that we want to extend care closer to home. As I said, the default is to get more care into people’s homes, and I am happy to discuss that further with him.
Alex Brewer (North East Hampshire) (LD)
Our community hospital in Fleet is doing a brilliant job, but it could be a much more established resource for local people, especially given the delays in rebuilding our local hospitals. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can make the best use of community hospitals in North East Hampshire while we wait another two decades for the rebuild of Basingstoke hospital?
Karin Smyth
The hon. Lady is right that we absolutely want to get more care closer to people’s homes and into people’s homes. We want to support frail people in their homes before they even get into hospital. I am working with the integrated care board to make sure that all that happens. I am happy to discuss that further with her.
Gregory Stafford (Farnham and Bordon) (Con)
Step-down beds in community hospitals, such as the Chase community hospital and Haslemere hospital in my constituency, are vital. Unfortunately, neither of those two hospitals is being used for that purpose at the moment. At the same time, delayed discharges have hit an all-time high under this Government. More than 14,000 patients a day are stuck in hospital for two weeks or more after being declared fit to leave—that is up 12% since July last year. Behind every one of those numbers is someone who wants to be at home and an acute bed that another patient desperately needs. Why are the Government failing so abysmally at getting people out of hospital and into care at home?
Karin Smyth
As the hon. Gentleman knows, the situation deteriorated massively under the 14 years of Conservative government. He is well aware of the fragmentation of all our services. He knows how the system was fragmented and what happened under those reforms. He knows that is why we are trying to change it. He is absolutely right, though, that people being in beds in hospitals or in parts of the system where they should not be is not good for their health or their outcomes. That is why it is part of our three shifts, and that is fundamentally why the Prime Minister is very clear that we will raise social care up the agenda and ensure that people are treated more in their homes and in community services where they live. I welcome his support for our shift to neighbourhood care and to better care closer to home.
David Reed (Exmouth and Exeter East) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mr James Frith)
This Government have been working to rebuild the NHS dental service since we came to office. The latest data shows that 37.6 million courses of dental treatment were delivered last year—nearly 3 million more than at the time of the general election.
David Reed
Access to NHS dentistry is a major problem in my constituency, with 86% of the respondents to my dentistry survey being unable to access one. Some told me that they still travel back to their old NHS dentist after moving home and, in one case, someone took a trip of more than 130 miles because no local practice would take them as a patient. Unlike GP surgeries, NHS dentists have no catchment areas. Will the Minister please look at whether that is making it harder for local people to get an appointment?
Mr Frith
The hon. Member raises an important point—that is a theme in the work I am doing. Last year, 81% of those who wanted to get an NHS dentist were able to, but I recognise that too often people have to have an existing relationship with an NHS dentist to access that. Since the general election, the Government’s effort to tackle dental deserts has seen us ringfence £4 billion for NHS dentistry. Huge amounts have been done, but there is even more to do, and he has the Government’s and my attention on this matter.
Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)
Since being elected, I have campaigned for a new dental school in the east of England. I thank the Government for backing that at the University of East Anglia with 25 new funded places. However, Norfolk is still a dental desert where people struggle to get an appointment. I have just returned from maternity leave and I could not get one when I was pregnant, and I am not alone in that, pregnant or otherwise. Can the Minister set out what the Government will do to ensure that constituents can get a dental appointment, and give a timetable for the reform of the dentistry contract?
Mr Frith
I thank my hon. Friend and welcome her back from maternity leave—what a time that is. I know that she has been campaigning relentlessly on the issue of dental schools, but also on addressing the dental deserts that we speak about so frequently. The east of England and south-east dental schools are incoming and will start to take on new students in September 2027. I look forward to their playing a part in strengthening dental provision locally.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mr James Frith)
We want every cancer patient to benefit from high-quality radiotherapy regardless of where they live. There has always been a need to balance the objective of providing care closer to each person’s home with the imperative of maintaining access to the specialist expertise and technology needed for safe, effective treatment.
Tim Farron
In south Cumbria, only 29% of cancer patients get radiotherapy. That is the lowest proportion in the country, and only 27% of them get that treatment within the 62-day target. That is all because my constituents have to travel to the excellent but far-too-distant Rosemere cancer unit at Preston, which involves daily gruelling round trips of up to four hours for weeks on end, effectively excluding many from treatment. This awful, unequal access costs lives. Will the Minister set out a plan for delivering new satellite radiotherapy units in areas such as mine, and will he meet me and our local hospital’s trust to help us to deliver our long overdue radiotherapy satellite unit at Kendal?
Mr Frith
I am happy to meet the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues about this matter. A theme is developing of the demands on treatment in rural and coastal communities, where people are expected to travel further, particularly those facing radiotherapy. It is the responsibility of ICBs, supported by our national guidance, to strike the balance that I spoke of between population needs, geography and inequalities. I understand that there have been recent exchanges between him and his ICB. I am happy to have a conversation with him about that and to lean into what options are available hereafter.
Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)
Under this Government 250,000 people are being diagnosed within 28 days, which we should welcome, but we must recognise that there is more to be done. This morning I met representatives of Prostate Cancer UK. In fact, I played football against them—
Chris Vince
That is true, although we did win. They made the point that so many men in this country are still dying of prostate cancer because they are not coming forward soon enough, and we know that the impact is even greater on the black, Asian and minority ethnic community. What can the Government do to support wonderful charities such as Prostate Cancer UK to cut the number of men dying of prostate cancer?
Mr Frith
It is an honour to have the opportunity to respond to the champion for Harlow. It also presents me with the opportunity to make clear that, contrary to reports over the summer, should men suspect that they have symptoms, they can go to their GP and seek a PSA—prostate-specific antigen—test for prostate cancer. This is the first Government to launch a men’s health strategy, and there is more information to come. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend and colleagues across the House who have a strong record on this matter.
Sir Jeremy Hunt (Godalming and Ash) (Con)
The Minister for Public Health and Patient Safety (Dame Diana Johnson)
One of the reasons the Government committed to bring back the family doctor was the importance of maintaining continuity of care for patients. I am pleased to say that the proportion of patients who say they are able to see their preferred clinician when they make a GP appointment has risen from 61% to 68% since the election, but we recognise that there is more to do, and this remains an important priority for the Government.
Sir Jeremy Hunt
Has the Minister read the Norwegian population study published in the British Journal of General Practice, which says that people who see the same doctor over many years are 30% less likely to need out-of-hours care, 28% less likely to need emergency care and 25% less likely to die? It has been two years since the Government made the pledge to bring back the family doctor, but the basic structure of general practice has not changed. Can we see some changes in the next GP contract negotiations to bring back the system we used to have, in which everyone has their own doctor?
Dame Diana Johnson
I recognise the enormous experience and knowledge of the former Secretary of State for Health and his work on this issue and patient safety more generally. The Department has started to look at expert advice, with a clinical working group, on how best to support continuity of care in modern general practice. I have not read the report that he referred to, but I am happy to go and have a look it. I am also happy to have a discussion with him, because it would be helpful to understand his thinking on what I know he considers to be a very important issue.
Maya Ellis (Ribble Valley) (Lab)
Continuity of care in maternity services is based on women building relationships with maternity practitioners who meet them where they are. I would like to echo the comments of the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan): many obstetricians and midwives have been truly disappointed at comments from an NHS leader yesterday, who argued that more maternity units should be shut and that only consolidation of services can make births safer. Women in this country will not accept the industrialisation of our bodies. This Labour Government have promised neighbourhood and preventive healthcare, which has to include allowing new mums to feel rooted in the communities where they will go through their biggest physical and psychological change. Can the Minister assure me that our bodies will not be treated like a manufacturing supply chain to be optimised as she develops the asks for maternity services in this country?
Dame Diana Johnson
Gosh, my hon. Friend made a very passionate statement there, and I absolutely agree with what she said. This work will be undertaken with the national maternity and neonatal taskforce, and we will look at all these issues. I hope my hon. Friend will feel able to contribute to that work if she wishes to.
Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
Continuity of care is desirable but not always possible, and in circumstances where it is not, a single patient record offers an opportunity to improve care, but it also brings the risk of unauthorised access to notes. We have seen recent high-profile cases where notes have been accessed that should not have been. That has led to people across the country worrying that this issue could affect them personally in less high-profile cases and about what will happen when the single patient record will be available nationally. How are the Government going to protect patient confidentiality?
Mr Speaker
Order. It is a struggle to get from the original question to where we are, but the Minister is happy to answer.
Dame Diana Johnson
I will be mindful of your comment, Mr Speaker. What happened recently is totally unacceptable, and the Secretary of State has made that clear. My understanding is that those individuals who have accessed information about patients, and had no businesses to access it, have been suspended. Disciplinary action will follow, possibly with dismissals. Such actions are totally unacceptable.
Dr Caroline Johnson
Another issue that affects continuity of care is when patients remain in the emergency department for prolonged periods after a decision is made to admit them to a ward. That has gone up by over a third since the general election. Can the Government say why?
Dame Diana Johnson
Times in A&E are being speeded up. The hon. Lady speaks with experience because she is a clinician, and I am happy to go away and look at that issue and write to her if there is information we need to let her have. My understanding is that we are speeding things up in A&E, and getting people through and on to the ward as quickly as possible.
Richard Baker (Glenrothes and Mid Fife) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Yvette Cooper)
The national cancer plan sets out how the Government will continue to reduce waiting times for diagnosis and treatment, and use new research technology and clinical trials to transform outcomes. Alongside the Prime Minister, last week I met Archie Goodburn in Downing Street to discuss the new action that we are taking on brain cancer, and our determination to tackle every form of that cruel disease.
Richard Baker
That action will be welcomed across the House. Each year, about 20,000 men in Scotland are diagnosed with prostate cancer, and between half and two-thirds of them could benefit from focal therapy, which has a fivefold lower risk of harmful side effects compared with conventional treatments. Will my right hon. Friend share learning and data from the expansion of focal therapy provision in England with Scottish Ministers, as it is still not available in Scotland, despite NHS Fife being well placed to provide a national centre for focal therapy treatment in Scotland?
Yvette Cooper
My hon. Friend makes an important point about the importance of improving prostate cancer treatment, which affects so many men across the UK. We are investing £2.8 million to expand access to focal therapy in specialist centres in England, and NICE will look at the progress that is being made. We would of course be keen to work with the Scottish Government on this, and for them to be able to see the same results. It is important that we continue to improve treatment.
Carla Lockhart (Upper Bann) (DUP)
Scott, aged 30, is a dad, a son, a partner and a much-loved member of the Banbridge community, but he is battling grade 4 brain cancer. Brain cancer is the biggest killer of young people under the age of 40 in the UK, and survival rates are lower than the average across all cancers. Access to clinical trials is negligible, with only 2% of brain tumour patients successfully accessing them. Will the Secretary of State expand brain tumour clinical trials across the United Kingdom, and ensure fair access across all nations?
Yvette Cooper
I pay tribute to the hon. Lady’s constituent, who is obviously undergoing the most difficult of circumstances, and it is exactly because this is such a devastating condition that we have introduced a three-month rapid review of all the research and barriers to getting more patients into trials. We are of course keen to continue to work with the devolved Governments on this, because the research benefits us all right across the United Kingdom. We will be drawing up a framework to get drugs more quickly into trials, and to get more patients into those trials.
Chris Coghlan (Dorking and Horley) (LD)
The Minister for Public Health and Patient Safety (Dame Diana Johnson)
I am aware that a number of right hon. and hon. Members are very interested in this issue, and as the new Minister for Public Health and Patient Safety, I am driving the work and giving the report by the Patient Safety Commissioner the urgent and thorough consideration that it requires. As has been stated, the Government are committed to making meaningful progress in this Parliament, and we are advancing non-financial redress to improve health service support for those affected.
Chris Coghlan
In 2006 my constituent, Ruth, had pelvic mesh implanted. It has corroded and caused her severe pain. She has been desperate for me to raise this issue with the Government. Three years ago, she paid for surgery to remove it but that has left her tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket and she requires more surgery. What steps is the Minister taking to implement the recommendations of the 2024 Hughes report, particularly if we are to give justice to pelvic mesh patients and support to those who cannot access the NHS compensation scheme?
Dame Diana Johnson
I am very sorry to hear about Ruth’s experience and what she has gone through. Just last night, I watched the film that has been produced about the experience of a number of women—my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson) provided a screening of it in Parliament last week—and the stories in it are harrowing. As I have said, I am looking at the issue. I am conscious that right hon. and hon. Members are interested in what the Government are going to do. The previous Secretary of State had made it clear that progress would be made by the end of this Parliament. That is as far as I can go today, but I am personally looking at this issue.
Dr Allison Gardner (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Lab)
From pelvic mesh to diethylstilbestrol, women have been harmed by a health system that has not and still does not listen to them, as starkly illustrated in Mumsnet’s recent report, “Medical Misogyny: A Lifetime of Failure”. Does the Minister agree that tackling medical misogyny must be at the heart of how we rebuild the NHS?
Dame Diana Johnson
My hon. Friend makes a very important point. That is why we have revised the women’s health strategy. It makes it very clear that medical misogyny is not acceptable and that women’s voices must be heard.
Ian Roome (North Devon) (LD)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Yvette Cooper)
As I made clear earlier, we are determined to see support given to North Devon maternity services so that they can reopen to provide quality maternity care. It is the responsibility of the trust to ensure that safe staffing levels are in place, but NHS regional and national teams are also working to support them.
Ian Roome
I thank the Secretary of State for her earlier answer to my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) about North Devon maternity unit. As the local MP, I can attest to how urgent reopening the centre is to the local community. I heard what the Secretary of State said about the plans under way to improve local recruitment. Will she meet me to update me on the work that is under way and will she update the House on the national workforce plan, which is long overdue?
Yvette Cooper
The national maternity and neonatal intensive support team has visited the trust to look at what more can be done. The trust has a particular issue with the recruitment of consultants, and measures that it had assured us would be put in place ended up not being effective, so it now has to take further action. It is important that it continues to do so. We will keep the hon. Gentleman up to date with all the measures that we are taking nationally, but I know he is also in close contact with the local trust. Hopefully, the continued local, regional and national pressure will ensure that those services can open as swiftly as possible.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Yvette Cooper)
The covid-19 inquiry has today published its module 6 report on what Baroness Hallett calls the “devastating impact” of the pandemic
“on people receiving and providing care and their loved ones.”
My thoughts are with all those who lost loved ones in the pandemic, especially those who endured the immense distress and harm of visiting restrictions in care homes, which meant they could not be with loved ones even as they died. I also pay tribute to all those who worked to protect the most vulnerable in very difficult circumstances, from care workers to family members.
The report finds that the adult social care sector was in a “fragile state” and insufficiently prepared for a pandemic, and that social care was too often treated as “an afterthought” in comparison with the priority placed on protecting the NHS. We will provide a full response to the report’s recommendations in due course, but I agree with the chair when she said that
“for too long the adult social care sector has been undervalued and under-recognised”.
That has to end and I hope we can work across parties to support the Prime Minister’s vision for a national care service.
Tim Farron
The only way that children can be tested for metachromatic leukodystrophy and given lifesaving treatment is if their older sibling is diagnosed, at which point it is too late to save the older sibling’s life. That was the case for my constituent Nicola, whose daughter was diagnosed when she was already symptomatic. She died at the age of 13. Nicola’s younger son was able to be diagnosed and treated only because of his late sister’s illness. This cruel tragedy could have been avoided if the Government added MLD to the infant heel prick test. When will the Secretary of State do that? Will she meet MLD families and me so that she can hear from them at first hand about the desperate need for this change?
Yvette Cooper
I am very sorry for everything that Nicola and her family have been through. The hon. Member will know that the UK National Screening Committee guides the Government in screening decisions. It has looked at newborn screening and concluded that there is not yet enough evidence to include MLD in the test. However, it is awaiting evidence from pilot studies looking into screening for MLD and from the recently implemented Norwegian screening programme. I will look further at this issue and ensure that the hon. Member gets a meeting with Ministers to talk about MLD.
Jonathan Davies (Mid Derbyshire) (Lab)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
I thank Audrina for the great work that she is doing, supported by the campaign. Food in hospitals is really important, and we would be very happy to meet Audrina. Well done to her.
Damian Hinds (East Hampshire) (Con)
With a waiting list of more than 7 million, the NHS needs the sharpest focus on patient care and delivery, but Ministers have created disruption and distraction. I have some sympathy for the Secretary of State, because the right hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) had said no to a top-down reorganisation and then abruptly changed his mind without, it seems, thinking it through much. Within an hour of the First Reading of the Health Bill, he had hopped it, and now it falls to the present Secretary of State. Does she believe in the right hon. Gentleman’s plan, and does she still believe that NHS England will be dissolved by 1 April?
Yvette Cooper
That is a little rich coming from a Member who voted for the 2012 Andrew Lansley reforms, having promised no top-down reorganisations then doing one of the worst and most damaging top-down reorganisations ever in the history of the NHS. We are taking the Health Bill through Parliament; it is currently going through the House of Lords. We want to focus on frontline care, rather than the huge expansion of bureaucracy that we saw under the right hon. Member’s Government, which ended up absorbing money, away from the frontline, and creating far too much duplication.
Damian Hinds
I did not hear the greatest statement of belief that the deadline for that quango would be hit. Since the original plan, we know that costs are up, that transfer functions out of integrated care boards have been delayed, even though 8,000 people have gone, and that multiple mergers are on hold. NHS England may be the mother of all quangos, but it seems instead we are to get the sister of the mother of all quangos. The special health authority is a new, regional management tier, so does the Secretary of State still expect a net benefit of £1 billion a year in this Parliament? If not, what does that do to frontline health funding on top of the pressures we know about on pay and medicines? Is not the real cost here to patient care?
Yvette Cooper
The right hon. Member’s party and the Government who he supported expanded the number of jobs in NHS England from around 5,000 to more than 20,000 in the space of just a few years. This Government are reducing the number of jobs in administration and bureaucracy in order to invest in expanding the number of clinical posts across the country and across our NHS. We are already making substantial savings, with further efficiency savings and productivity savings taking place this year. This Government are delivering lower waiting lists, more treatment, faster treatment and improvements for patients.
Jack Abbott (Ipswich) (Lab/Co-op)
Karin Smyth
My hon. Friend raises an excellent point about the state that these buildings were left in by the Conservative party, as Lord Darzi’s report made clear. We are investing unprecedented amounts in capital and giving greater certainty, and I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the proposal from Ipswich. It is up to local systems to come forward with plans, but I would be happy to discuss that further with my hon. Friend.
Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
Last week, ITV News uncovered devastating statistics showing that thousands of children are now being treated in hospital corridors. It shared the heartbreaking story of Finlay Roberts, whose parents spent hours in A&E waiting for help before he died—he was just two. As a mum, I cannot bear to imagine waiting and seeing your child deteriorate like that. The Roberts family deserved better, so will the Secretary of State confirm when we will see data on the number of children receiving corridor care, and will she commit to ending corridor care once and for all within a year and making children an urgent priority?
Yvette Cooper
The story of what happened to little Finlay is devastating, and what his family have been through is unimaginable. I reiterate the apology that I have made to Finlay’s family; this happened in the summer of 2024, but it is still devastating that it should have happened, and that he should have been treated in a corridor in that way. As the hon. Member knows, since earlier this year, we have been measuring corridor care for the first time, because we have to end corridor care—it is not fair on patients. I am introducing new assessments of corridor care involving children, because that has to be the urgent priority. No child should be treated in a corridor.
Damien Egan (Bristol North East) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mr James Frith)
I recognise that too many of my hon. Friend’s constituents are struggling to secure an NHS dentist, despite the improvements that have already been made. Responsibility for commissioning dentistry sits with the local integrated care board, and I encourage him—through me, by all means—to reach out to the ICB and have a conversation with it. The Government have provided £4 billion in ringfenced funding for NHS dentistry, which has gone some way towards making the improvements we have seen, but there is plenty more to do, and my hon. Friend has my attention.
Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)
The Minister for Public Health and Patient Safety (Dame Diana Johnson)
There is money available for GP surgeries; as my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol South (Karin Smyth) has already said, many of them were left in a terrible state under the previous Government. They were not invested in over many years. There is money available, and when I meet the hon. Gentleman, I will be happy to discuss that with him.
Helena Dollimore (Hastings and Rye) (Lab/Co-op)
Mr Speaker
Order. Can Members please help other colleagues to get in by shortening their questions?
Karin Smyth
My hon. Friend is absolutely right that it is the responsibility of the commissioners to look holistically at the provision of services. We want more services closer to home, using technology, care in people’s homes and so on, but she is quite right to highlight this issue. I know that she will continue campaigning on it, and I hope everyone has listened to her, so that people can come together to help her constituents.
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)
Yvette Cooper
The national cancer plan, published by the Health Department, is about prevention, treatment and support, as well as, crucially, research. That research can benefit us across the United Kingdom.
Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Gateshead South) (Lab)
The Minister for Social Care and Mental Health (Alison McGovern)
It is no surprise to me, given my hon. Friend’s record of campaigning on this and many other issues, and the work that she did in opposition and in government, that she would be in such august company to discuss this matter. I pay tribute to her and all the campaigners, because osteoporosis can have a devastating impact on health. She knows we are committed to improving care, in particular by rolling out state-of-the-art scanners, and I am sure we will meet soon to discuss it.
Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)
The Government propose to abolish Healthwatch and bring its functions inside the Department and local NHS bodies, but patients need an independent champion who can challenge things when they go wrong. What savings does the Minister believe will result from abolishing Healthwatch? How will she ensure that this does not result in the loss of an independent voice for patients?
Yvette Cooper
I am clear that there has to be an independent voice for patients as part of the health system. That is why I said on Third Reading of the Health Bill that the Government were looking again at Healthwatch and would report back in the Lords. We will do that shortly, in advance of the Committee stage.
Lizzi Collinge (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Lab)
Alison McGovern
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for all her work with hospices and others on palliative and end-of-life care. I think everybody right across this House wants to see it improved. We have a modern service framework on its way, and as part of the national care service that we are working on, we will make sure that we care for the dying in a much better way in this country.
Paul Holmes (Hamble Valley) (Con)
I recently visited Newmedica in my constituency to see the vital role that independent providers have in offering NHS-funded eye surgery and care. With the Health Bill progressing, what assurances can the Minister provide that it will strengthen the right to choose across all providers and ensure that ICBs make full use of all the choices, which my ICB is not?
Mr Frith
I thank the hon. Member for his excellent question. The Government are protecting choice in the Health Bill. It is a chance also to affirm the independent sector and the vital role that it plays. Optometry is not an add on to the NHS; it is an important part of the health ecosystem. I am happy to have further conversations with him.
Andrew Lewin (Welwyn Hatfield) (Lab)
As we approach winter, it is even more important that we minimise pressure on hospitals. In Welwyn Garden City, we have an urgent treatment centre at the new QEII, but it is in a modern building, and I believe that it has the capacity to do more. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is time to look at the resources that we could provide to the new QEII to provide greater community care?
Yvette Cooper
As my hon. Friend may know, we have just announced £140 million of new investment in urgent treatment centres and same-day emergency services. That is exactly to ensure that we are easing the pressures around accident and emergency, which went up substantially this summer, linked to the extreme heat. I know that Ministers would be happy to discuss his local proposals with him.
Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)
I thank the Minister for her recent confirmation that the renal dialysis service would remain at Hinchingbrooke hospital in my constituency during the build under the new hospital programme, but I am conscious that it is not in the scope of the actual new hospital and may not be there in the longer term. Can she offer me some assurances that this vital service for constituents will remain at Hinchingbrooke? If not, is any provision being made to ensure that this local resource stays available?
Karin Smyth
I am glad the hon. Gentleman found that correspondence helpful. As he knows, I am keen to discuss the new hospital programme and its progress with all Members. I am sure that discussions about the renal service at Hinchingbrooke continue to take place locally, and that those involved will continue to work together. I know that the hon. Gentleman will keep in touch about the progress of the discussions on behalf of his constituents, and I am happy to talk to him about the issue.
Lorraine Beavers (Blackpool North and Fleetwood) (Lab)
Blackpool Victoria hospital desperately needs more money, because the ICB’s funding for hospital trusts does not account for the 20 million tourists or the complexity of care required. Will the Secretary of State ensure that the hospital receives its fair share of extra funding from the ICB?
Karin Smyth
I appreciate my hon. Friend’s concern on behalf of her constituents. We are moving the system governing hospitals such as Blackpool away from deficit funding so that it becomes well governed and managed, in line with fair shares allocation, and I shall be happy to discuss that further with my hon. Friend.
Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)
Torbay hospital, which serves my constituency, is one of the oldest parts of the NHS estate, and the Devon and Cornwall fire services recently ruled that its tower block would now be unsafe in the event of a fire. A quarter of the beds in the hospital are in that tower block, so patients are now being moved. Staff are extremely worried about what will come next, and this is making the hospital much less viable. Will the Minister meet me, and other Devon Members, to discuss its future funding, and the need to make it safe and secure and ensure that it continues to operate?
Karin Smyth
I have met the hon. Member for Torbay (Steve Darling) to discuss this matter. Obviously, money has been allocated. We are well aware of the hospital’s position, and it is also part of the programme. I shall be happy to provide further information if the hon. Lady is not clear about the allocations that have been made.
Tracy Gilbert (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab)
Demand for surrogacy from the UK is leading to the exploitation of women in countries across the globe, including Ukraine, Nigeria and Mexico. Can my right hon. Friend give a commitment on when legislation will come to the Floor of the House, so that we can play our part in ending that exploitation as soon as possible?
Dame Diana Johnson
We are clear that no surrogacy arrangements should place any party at the risk of exploitation, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office provides guidance on the risks of overseas surrogacy and the steps that intended parents must take to return to the UK with their child. The Government have no current plans to legislate to prevent people domiciled in the UK from entering international surrogacy arrangements.
Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)
Under the last Conservative Government, upwards of £300 million, which would have been lifesaving as well as life-changing for many of my constituents, was earmarked for the new Watford general hospital. The lack of those funds, combined with the closure of the urgent care centre at Mount Vernon hospital, means that many of my constituents are not now receiving the first-class healthcare that they would reasonably expect. What assurances can the Minister give local residents?
Karin Smyth
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Matt Turmaine) and others for their campaigning in that part of north-west London and elsewhere. The movement of services is now firmly part of the programme, and the people of Watford will have the services that they deserve. Discussions are continuing, and I shall be happy to update the House on the final decision as soon as possible.
Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)
Percy, a five-year-old constituent of mine, wrote to me ask whether gluten-free products would ever be provided on prescription for people with coeliac disease. What steps is the Minister taking to address postcode variations in the provision of gluten-free food by integrated care boards?
Dame Diana Johnson
The national position in England remains that gluten-free bread and mixes can be prescribed on the national health service for eligible people diagnosed with coeliac disease. As my hon. Friend says, ICBs can restrict or end the prescribing of gluten-free food, but I am happy to discuss this matter with her.
Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)
The Department has thus far refused to publish the impact assessment associated with the US-UK pharma deal. May I ask what the Government are trying to hide?
Rachel Blake (Cities of London and Westminster) (Lab/Co-op)
I am grateful that the Department has moved swiftly to identify the issues with the supply of Bedrolite from Bedrocan, the company in real difficulty in the Netherlands. I understand that there is confidence in supplies until 2027, but my constituents say that that may depend on whether someone has an NHS or a private prescription. Would the Minister and his officials meet me to go through these processes, some of which, from my constituents’ experience, have been very bureaucratic?
Steve Darling (Torbay) (LD)
The fire service and the Care Quality Commission have now served legal notice against the tower block at Torbay hospital, and more than 100 beds are under threat. With that new information, this is now a crisis at Torbay hospital. Will the Minister please meet me and other Devon MPs to help navigate this crisis?
Karin Smyth
I recently met the hon. Member, and as he knows, we are absolutely committed to working with the local system to do that. I absolutely commit to updating him as soon as possible if he is not aware of where we are on that. I will get something back to him very quickly.
Markus Campbell-Savours (Penrith and Solway) (Lab)
For those considering suicide, the message must be that there is always another way, but with new Office for National Statistics data showing that the rate of suicide in Cumberland has increased yet again, would Ministers meet me and Cumbrian Members to ensure that our health system is providing support to all when they need it?
Alison McGovern
I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. On such an important issue, I will of course meet him. We have had a number of very important debates on this issue, which shows how important Members across the House think this is.
Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)
It can take far too long for patients to receive a diagnosis of Lyme disease. My constituent Gill, who is a nurse, gave her life to the NHS, but it failed to diagnose her and she had to seek treatment from abroad. Will the Minister meet me and Gill to discuss what went wrong?
Darren Paffey (Southampton Itchen) (Lab)
The damning ITV News investigation of failings in disability care covered the case of Adam Crook, son of my constituent Joanna, who raised serious allegations about alleged assault and unexplained burns, yet these serious concerns remain unanswered. The care home still has not been inspected since 2021 and the provider has faced no sanctions. Will the Minister please ensure that this is investigated, that the CQC acts and that those responsible are held accountable?
Alison McGovern
I would like to thank my hon. Friend for his question and, through him, to pass on my concerns to the family he mentions. I will write to him on what the CQC is doing. Baroness Louise Casey has recommended some safeguarding steps that we should take urgently, which we are doing—we have a new national safeguarding board—and I will draw the chief social worker’s attention to the case he mentions.
Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
Constituents in North Herefordshire and across the country want an end to the current postcode lottery in access to adult social care. The King’s Fund published a report on equal access just last week. Has the Minister read that report, and does she agree that social care needs to be locally delivered, but nationally funded?
Alison McGovern
The hon. Lady makes an excellent point. The research is good, and the crisis we are seeing in some hospitals as we turn the ship around is because we have not grappled with the issue of social care. We must make sure people are cared for in their own homes, and we must do that consistently to help our NHS.
Luke Myer (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)
Will Ministers meet me to discuss the future of East Cleveland hospital and what other services we can get closer to our community?
Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
I welcome the Government’s commitment to regulating funeral services, but for Jewish and Muslim families, burying a loved one quickly is a religious duty, not a preference. Will the Minister ensure that faith communities and burial societies, such as the Muslim Burial Council of Leicestershire in my constituency of Leicester South, are consulted directly, and that the new legislation does nothing to delay burials?
Yvette Cooper
The hon. Member makes an incredibly important point, because people’s faith needs to be respected as part of ensuring that they have dignity in death and that they and their families are treated with care and respect. We will ensure that this issue is part of the consultations under way at the moment, and this will certainly be a central consideration in ensuring we have an effective regulation system.
Lloyd Hatton (South Dorset) (Lab)
This month, we heard that Wareham’s chemotherapy clinic will reopen early next year, following two years of campaigning, meaning that patients across Purbeck will no longer have to travel long distances to access cancer care. Building on that success, will the Minister work with me to finally restore the rheumatology clinic at Swanage community hospital, so that many more patients can access care much closer to where they live?
Karin Smyth
I am always keen to discuss and visit places in Dorset with my hon. Friend. I am happy to look, with him, at the integrated care board’s overall plan for the provision of all those services.
Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)
I recently met pharmacists in my constituency, who expressed concern about the resilience of the supply chain, and specifically about wholesale suppliers spreading rumours, with the result that medicines are stockpiled, forcing up prices. In this case, it was Ramipril, but this is an issue across the board. It is the British taxpayer—our constituents—who suffer. Is the Secretary of State aware of this issue, and has she considered getting the Competition and Markets Authority involved?
Mr Frith
Medicine supply chains are complicated, global and highly regulated. On the point that the hon. Gentleman makes about price and prospective profiteering, I would be very happy to speak with him in more detail. The overwhelming majority of medicines are in good supply.
Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)
Despite increasing demand, the previous Government scrapped plans for a new health centre in Sinfin, denying our community the care and capacity that it deserves. Will the Minister confirm that this Government are taking a different approach, providing the NHS services in local communities such as Sinfin and beyond?
Dame Diana Johnson
Absolutely. That is a core part of the neighbourhood health offer that this Government are making. We have already announced, in wave 1, a number of neighbourhood health centres; wave 2 will be announced shortly. This is absolutely key to keeping people out of hospital and providing healthcare in local communities.
Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)
The unit of dental activity formula is broken, pushing dentists out of the NHS every single day. In Epsom and Ewell, there is a dentist who is restricted from providing NHS dentistry by the UDA quotas. Will the Minister reform the dental contract now, and incentivise NHS dentistry?
Mr Frith
The Government remain committed to longer-term reform of the dental contract. We have to look much more at the outcomes that we are commissioning, and not simply concentrate on units of activity, which have not aged well and are part of the problem that we are trying to address.
Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)
In 2022 in Oslo, a monument was unveiled to Cecilie Flatval, a woman with incurable breast cancer. This weekend, I met my constituent Sylvia, who survived breast cancer and has fundraised extensively through Race for Life. Will the Minister meet me and Sylvia to discuss how we can support a similar monument in the United Kingdom?
Yvette Cooper
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue in Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is a moment to recognise the progress that has been made as the result of a huge amount of work across our NHS and in research, but there is still a long way to go. I will ensure that he gets the ministerial meeting he seeks.
James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)
On Saturday, I joined hundreds of people in King’s Lynn in protesting against leaked plans for Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group to downgrade accident and emergency and maternity services, and the intensive care unit, at the Queen Elizabeth hospital. Does the Health Secretary agree that services should be as local to people as possible, and will she reject any plans to remove services from the QEH?
Karin Smyth
I am aware of the issues around the hon. Gentleman’s local hospital; I have worked with him closely as part of the new hospital programme as well. It is up to local systems to decide on the clinical pathways across the whole patch. Those decisions must be clinically led, and there must be consultation with local people. I am very happy to keep an eye on that, and to talk with him in the future.