Food and Drink Industry: Processed Sugar
Debate between Baroness Merron and Baroness Brinton(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
Taking on board the noble Lord’s point, I feel that it is important that we support people to make healthier choices. The noble Lord will be aware of—and I hope will welcome—the Government’s focus on moving from ill health to prevention. We want to make sure that people live well for longer. It is not only about making informed and heathier choices but about having the means to do so. That is why I particularly want to commend the fact that we will be introducing the restrictions on junk-food advertising to children on TV and online. That will make a major contribution.
Baroness Brinton (LD)
My Lords, the Food Foundation review in January this year noted that 41% of multibuys were still high in salt, sugar and fat, with only 3% on fruit, veg and staples. The Minister referred to working with the supermarkets and major manufacturers. Is this issue being raised with them as well? Particularly with the cost of living crisis, it would be extremely helpful if more multibuys were for foods that were good for people, such as fruit and veg, as well as basic staples and carbohydrates.
NHS: Independent Investigation
Debate between Baroness Merron and Baroness Brinton(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
I agree with my noble friend. I am pleased to inform the House that just this week I announced a number of pilot programmes, through which maternity staff will be taught and supported to better identify the signs of a baby in distress in labour, so that action can be taken more quickly, and which will help staff deal with obstetric emergencies during caesarean sections. Such actions help to avoid preventable brain injuries and are right for the baby and the mother. We also need to tackle the issue of the more than £4 billion cost of the lawsuits that have been brought over a number of years.
I have seen good examples of teamwork in Bristol and Surrey, to name just two, and there are many things that can be learned. We know what strategies work—one of which is listening to women—but the challenge is, how do we roll out what is successful, including from the pilot programmes? Following the recent report, which showed a devastating situation in maternity and neo-natal care, that is a high priority for this Government.
Baroness Brinton (LD)
My Lords, the excellent report of the noble Lord, Lord Darzi, refers to the stress our GPs are under and how patients are no longer flowing through the hospitals as they should. One issue is that hospitals are constantly referring patients back to their GPs when they are still on the same treatment pathway. Recently, a member of my family was at a post-op review following a pacemaker operation that had gone wrong. Her heart was still giving her problems, and she was told she had to go back to her GP to start the whole process again. Many patients in hospital clinics are being told to go back to their GP to get a scan or an MRI—which is one of the reasons why they were referred to the hospital. This is not fair on hard-pressed GPs and, above all, patients. Can this practice be stopped?
Baroness Merron (Lab)
I am sorry to hear of the circumstance that the noble Baroness raises. I agree with her about the pressure on GPs who, of course, are working harder than ever. We know, not just through the Darzi report but through much evidence, that discharge into the community has to take place at the right time and with the right support, and that is not the case at present. I will certainly take up the specific thing the noble Baroness asks for and look into it in far greater detail, because this is clearly a practice, as she described, that is not supporting patients or GPs but working against them.
Palliative and End-of-life Care: Funding
Debate between Baroness Merron and Baroness Brinton(2 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
The noble Baroness is right in her observations, and we certainly recognise that times are difficult, particularly for many voluntary and charitable organisations including hospices, for example, due to the increased cost of living. We are working alongside key partners and NHS England to proactively engage with stakeholders, including the voluntary sector and independent hospices, because we want to understand the issues they face and to seek solutions to them.
Baroness Brinton (LD)
My Lords, the charity Together for Short Lives has found that the NHS local funding for children’s hospices has dropped by 31% in the last three years. Worse, the previous Government’s £25 million children’s hospices grant has been given to local integrated care boards, many of which have delayed distributing it. As a result, the children’s hospice movement is in real crisis. Please will the Government urgently review the funding that government has in the past put aside for children’s hospices, to make sure that they receive it?
Baroness Merron (Lab)
As the noble Baroness said, in 2024-25 the £25 million in funding from NHS England was distributed, for the first time, via integrated care boards. As I understand it from the previous Government, that was in line with NHS devolution. We will carefully consider the next steps on palliative and end-of-life care funding much more widely in the coming months and will take on board the comments of the noble Baroness and other noble Lords.