King’s Speech
Baroness Rafferty Excerpts(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Baroness Rafferty (Lab)
My Lords, I rise to speak as a nurse on the health aspects of the strategic defence review and some of the implications it holds for the National Health Service. I shall be brief, as the review is admirably concise in its analysis. As I was unable to speak in the health debate, I hope the Minister will indulge me and kindly pass on some key points to my noble friend Lady Merron.
The focus of my remarks is the need for close collaboration between the Defence Medical Services and the NHS. The gracious Speech sets out the ambition that the Government
“will support our gallant Armed Forces and their families who make considerable personal sacrifices for the collective security and freedom of everyone in the United Kingdom”.
Defence Medical Services play a crucial role in retaining service personnel and boosting morale, so it is vital that they are fit for the future. But they do not act alone. Renowned for the excellence of their rehabilitation services, they are nevertheless dependent on the NHS for secondary and tertiary care.
The Covid pandemic taught us all the crucial role that defence services played in logistics, setting up the Nightingale hospitals and rollout of the vaccination programme. The review, however, fires a warning shot in pointing to the fragmentation of services and the historic neglect and underfunding, arguing that the relationship with the NHS has been deprioritised in recent years. It is imperative that this relationship is repaired and boosted by securing close collaboration between the MoD and the DHSC to ensure that the Defence Medical Services and the NHS have the capacity to meet defence medical needs, including in the most extreme circumstances.
To achieve this, a sprint review was recommended to assess system-wide capacity and capability. This was scheduled for completion in March of this year. Can the Minister confirm that such a sprint is planned or under way, and whether its findings will be accessible in the public domain? The adoption of a “whole force” plan identifying workforce requirements as part of an enduring approach agreed with the NHS also presents an opportunity for articulation with the much-anticipated NHS workforce plan. In closing, can the Minister assure us that he will work closely with his noble friend the Minister for Health to ensure that these vital services are given the priority and attention they deserve?
80th Anniversary of Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan
Baroness Rafferty Excerpts(1 year, 1 month ago)
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Baroness Rafferty (Lab)
My Lords, it is an honour to speak on this important day and to follow the remarks of the noble Baroness, Lady Harris of Richmond, who has already praised the many brilliant stories and speeches that we have heard today. I add my congratulations to the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Peterborough on an excellent maiden speech.
My mother, Bridget, trained as a nurse in the late 1930s and throughout the war. Her final assignment was nursing prisoners of war in the military hospital at Bridge of Earn in Perthshire in 1944. I recall her talking of the horrific, maggot-infested wounds of the German prisoners of war and their shattered physical condition, and her saying, “They were so young”. One story that has stuck with me was an instance in which the rules of non-engagement were broken at Christmas. A group of carol singers were touring the wards in a candlelit procession to cheer and comfort patients and staff. They were forbidden to enter the enemy wards, but when they stopped outside the German ward, the doors were flung open and silence gave way to song, as the soldiers joined in the chorus of “Silent Night”—"Stille Nacht”.
My father, Michael Rafferty, served in the Merchant Navy on the convoy ships, so crucial to maintaining supplies, communication cables and support for other services. I had the privilege of seeing the remnants of his ship, the “Port Chalmers”, in the war museum in Malta during a recent visit. The ship was part of Operation Pedestal, which set sail to save Malta from surrender, one of over 14 convoy ships supported by two battleships, three aircraft carriers, 32 destroyers and seven submarines. It was the largest convoy expedition and escort to date and, according to naval historians, it was also the most dangerous to that point in the war.
Malta was strategically pivotal to the control of the Mediterranean and Suez Canal. The convoy was pounded by enemy fire—mines and air—along the way. The “Port Chalmers” played a key role, as it was the convoy’s flagship as well as carrying critical supplies to beleaguered Malta. It was the first to reach Valletta harbour, while other ships sustained severe damage or were sunk. It arrived relatively unscathed to cheering crowds. The mortality rate for merchant seamen was higher than for all other services. My father never spoke about his experience, but it is hard to imagine just how terrifying it must have felt to be floating in a tin can, swinging in a hammock and listening to the constant clanging of the ship—a sitting duck waiting for the worst to happen.
My mother was a member of the Civil Nursing Reserve, set up in 1938 to boost capacity within the service as the Government became aware of the scale of the nursing shortage. The UK entered the Covid-19 pandemic with no reserve capacity and tried to create some headroom with a temporary register. This generated another 20,000 nurses to provide a buffer zone to build surge capacity. The temporary register closed in March 2024, but it is imperative that we learn the lessons of Covid in terms of building reserve capacity.
My mother was also a member of the Civil Defence Corps after the war, which trained volunteers in community emergency preparedness. Module 1 of the Covid inquiry, chaired by the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Hallett, concluded:
“Preparedness for and resilience to a whole-system civil emergency must be treated in much the same way as we treat a threat from a hostile state”.
Does my noble friend the Minister agree that we must implement the Covid inquiry’s recommendations within the UK and devolved Governments to prepare for a whole-system civil emergency? I urge your Lordships’ House to reflect on the broader lessons of VE Day in securing our combined health and security needs for the future.