Accident and Emergency Departments

Debate between Lord Prior of Brampton and Lord McKenzie of Luton

Monday 30th November 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

The noble Lord makes a good point. If qualified people take the call, the level of risk they are prepared to absorb will be greater, and that applies throughout the whole system.

[Lord McKenzie of Luton (Lab)]

My Lords, I draw attention to my interest in the register. As we have heard from the Minister, the Government seem to accept the case that accident prevention programmes can have a significant beneficial impact on A&E attendances, but the Minister says that it is all down to local authorities. Given the huge cuts in local authority spending, with more announced just last week, what is the Minister’s assessment of the opportunities of local authorities to gain this benefit?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

The report done by Queen Mary’s, which was based in Oxford, indicated that the under-fives attending A&E departments accounted for 7% of all attendances, which gives an idea of the scale of what we might try to achieve. The reduction, in real terms, in local authority spending over the next five years is 3.9% per annum. Our feeling is that local authorities are well equipped to live with that kind of reduction.

Local Authorities: Public Health Budget

Debate between Lord Prior of Brampton and Lord McKenzie of Luton

Wednesday 15th July 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

A condition of the grant to local authorities is that they take on the responsibilities that the Secretary of State has under the Health and Social Care Act to reduce inequalities. As statutory bodies, local authorities have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to provide equal opportunities for people with protected characteristics.

[Lord McKenzie of Luton (Lab)]

My Lords, just last month, the Secretary of State for Health told the Commons:

“The big change we need to see in the NHS over this Parliament is a move from a focus on cure to a focus on prevention”.—[Official Report, Commons, 2/6/15; col. 459.]

Two days later, on 4 June, the Chancellor announced a £200 million cut in the Budget. How joined up is that, and how is it justified?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

Most people in this House will recognise that a strong and successful National Health Service depends on a strong and successful economy. Sometimes Governments have to take difficult decisions to improve the long-term strength of the economy, which is what we did in that case.