NHS: Independent Investigation

Baroness Pitkeathley Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I am very pleased to see the noble Lord in the rudest of health and to hear of his positive experience. Of course, there are many positive experiences every single day, and the noble Lord is quite right to remind us of that and of the need to thank the whole NHS staff team who make that happen.

On the point about the NHS being broken, I understand the noble Lord’s view. However, I think it is important that we lay it bare and say what we have found. Having read the report by the noble Lord, Lord Darzi, I find it hard not to conclude that there are fundamental points within the National Health Service that are just not working. Of course there is good practice and there are brilliant outcomes in some areas, but it is not universal and that is what drives us to make that point. I hear what the noble Lord says. However, it is important to be honest, and that is what we have said we will be, uncomfortable though it might be at times.

[Baroness Pitkeathley (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree that integration between the different branches of the NHS, or rather a lack of it, is one of the problems? It is particularly a problem for patients. It works best when you cannot see the joins between various branches—when you cannot tell who the community nurse is working for, whether it is the hospital nurse and so on. Those are the things that puzzle patients. In thinking about the workforce, therefore, will the Government look at ways—for example, joint training—in which we can better integrate the staff, so that they work less in professional silos and much more across various branches of the NHS?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

Yes, I certainly agree with my noble friend about the need for better integration. Joint training is a very practical example and will be part of how we develop the workforce, because silo working clearly is not working, as we can see in the current state of affairs, particularly if we look at the relationship between the National Health Service and the social care service. It is not seamless, and individuals are suffering for that, so I very much agree with my noble friend.