General Medical Council: Internal Guidance

Debate between Lord Markham and Baroness Hussein-Ece

Tuesday 17th October 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Markham (Con)]

I will need to reply in writing on that.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, clear, unambiguous language in healthcare messaging saves lives. I was disturbed to read that one-third of women who are eligible for cervical screening are not coming forward. Can the Minister explain why NHS UK has not used the word “women” when it comes to cervical screening, yet for men’s conditions, the word “men” is used?

[Lord Markham (Con)]

The noble Baroness is absolutely correct, which is why we have made sure that that language is made clear. The most important thing about the whole debate is people’s health needs. Absolutely as the noble Baroness said, the vital thing is that every woman understands that it is important that she has cervical screening from time to time. In all of the communications, it is clear that we mean “her” in that instance. Obviously, in circumstances for men, we are clear where we mean “men”. So I completely agree with the noble Baroness: the health needs are paramount, and that requires clear language.

General Practitioners: Recruitment and Retention

Debate between Lord Markham and Baroness Hussein-Ece

Monday 12th June 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Markham (Con)]

I actually think the partner model works very well for a lot of people and has been the bedrock of our GP service, as we know, since the beginning of the NHS. However, what is critically important is reducing the admin so that GPs can get more face-to-face time. Again, at Greystone House surgery in Redhill on Friday, I saw excellent examples of where those admin duties are being taken away so that doctors can do what they want—and are best trained—to do, which is face-to-face treatment of patients.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware of how many GP practices are still insisting on online applications to get an appointment? Many people, such as those with learning disabilities or dementia, or older people, are not well versed in using online applications. Is anything being done to encourage GP practices to make sure that those people who are disadvantaged can access GP services, without being constantly referred back to doing everything online?

[Lord Markham (Con)]

Absolutely; I am a firm believer that you need to have lots of channels of distribution, for want of a better word. Online is a very important one, but being able to phone up is important. The primary care plan was all about making sure that we had enough capacity to beat the 8 am rush, and to let anyone who rings know that we are going to contact them if they cannot get through at that moment, at a time of their convenience, so that they can be certain that they will get the right treatment.

Maternity and Neonatal Services

Debate between Lord Markham and Baroness Hussein-Ece

Tuesday 25th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Markham (Con)]

Again, we agree with Dr Kirkup’s third recommendation that teamwork is vital in all this. Some £26 million has been invested in maternity teamwork training, and a core curriculum has been set up for professionals in this area. Strong leadership has been established, with two national maternity safety champions and a number of regional and local maternity safety champions. We believe that we have the framework in place for these independent working groups but, as we review these recommendations, if we find they are inadequate we will not hesitate to act further. We will bring this back to you in the four-to-six-month timeframe when we report on the recommendations.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, the duty of candour has been in place for some years now, but there still seems an ingrained culture of denial and blame deep-rooted within these services. This is the third such report since 2015 and one of its central tenets is that women are just not listened to and are ignored, resulting in terrible deaths and disabilities for so many children. Can the Minister give us his assurance that the duty of candour and listening to women will be at the heart of the Government’s response?

[Lord Markham (Con)]

Yes.

Menopause

Debate between Lord Markham and Baroness Hussein-Ece

Tuesday 18th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Markham (Con)]

I will not pretend to be able to give a detailed answer at this point. I am aware that part of the funding through the health and wellbeing fund is to make sure that women’s reproductive health is included in some of those research programmes, but I will look specifically at the cardiovascular point and respond in writing.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware of the report from the Fawcett Society which estimated that 900,000 women have left the workforce and countless others are reducing their hours and avoiding promotion because of their menopause symptoms? The Minister partially addressed this in response to the noble Baroness earlier, but what plans do the Government have, if any, to stem the flow of those experienced women leaving the workforce, which has an ongoing impact on equalities and the ability of women to pursue their careers in the way that men do?

[Lord Markham (Con)]

I again agree with the point. Helpfully, the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, pointed me towards the excellent Fawcett Society report this morning, for which I am grateful. It makes for a very interesting read. As I mentioned earlier, the statistic that 10% of women during the menopause end up leaving employment is a telling one. That is what the appointment of health ambassador for the employers is all about. I hope that noble Lords will see the seriousness with which I take this subject, because it is vital not only to women but to the economy and business as a whole. This time next year—if I am still here—I commit to doing a stocktake report on the progress that we have made on this over the year, because I think it is vital.