Coronavirus: New Cases

Debate between Lord Stirrup and Lord Kamall

Monday 11th July 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

My noble friend makes a very important point. You always have to look at these things in the round and you have to look at the trade-offs. Many noble Lords will recognise that, when we went into lockdown, there were build-ups in many parts of the NHS backlog and an increase in people suffering from mental health issues—the numbers were even larger than they were before—so clearly, we have to look at this as a trade-off. We have a living with Covid strategy. We constantly get updated by the UKHSA, which is looking at all this data. We are ready to stand up should we need to.

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

My Lords, the recent welcome inroads into NHS waiting lists are now being reversed. What plans do the Government have to ensure that, as Covid pressures mount, over the winter in particular, crucial NHS services and diagnoses are sustained—particularly, for example, early diagnoses of cancers?

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

The noble and gallant Lord makes a very important point: we have to continue with the living with Covid strategy, and keep an eye on the Covid cases, but also be aware that we need to clear the backlog, and that people have missed appointments. One of the things we are doing is looking more at diagnostics. Many noble Lords will be aware that about 80% of the waiting list is people waiting for diagnosis. Of those waiting for surgery, about 80% of them do not need to stay overnight in hospital. We want to make sure that we get the right balance between monitoring what is going on with Covid and at the same time clearing the backlog.

GP Access

Debate between Lord Stirrup and Lord Kamall

Tuesday 7th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

The noble Baroness makes an important point. Because of the focus on Covid and making sure we were keeping everyone safe, especially before we had a vaccine, precautions clearly had to be put in place. Of course, at the time it seemed eminently sensible to make sure that doctors and patients were protected. As the noble Baroness rightly highlights, the unintended consequence of this has been a backlog in seeing other patients. One of the things we are doing is making sure that, as we roll out these community diagnostic centres and modernise primary care, we can see patients in a more timely way. The GP does not necessarily have to be the first point of contact.

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

My Lords, how are the Government measuring and reporting retention levels of clinical staff in the NHS? This is one of the ways that will enable us to assess the effectiveness of the measures the Minister has said the Government are putting in place.

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

I thank the noble and gallant Lord for the question. The important point is that sometimes the assessment is done at a local level, sometimes it is done at an overall level and sometimes the department gathers the statistics. As we modernise and digitise the system, a lot more of that information will be able to be processed centrally, so that we can understand where we need to have better planning and to redeploy resources to meet the needs in certain areas.

Children: Cancer

Debate between Lord Stirrup and Lord Kamall

Thursday 26th May 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

All these issues are being looked at as we understand more about childhood cancer and also in the context of wider support. That is important not only during the time they are receiving treatment; as the noble Baroness rightly says, it is not just about the cancer itself but about some of the poor patients and their families, because when they get the bad news it affects their mental health. We have to look at this in a holistic way and there are a number of initiatives. I will write to the noble Baroness with some more detail.

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

My Lords, early diagnosis is key to successful outcomes in all kinds of cancer. In the long-term plan the Government set out an ambitious target for increasing the early diagnosis of most cancers. Can the Minister tell the House what impact Covid, the subsequent backlog and the shortage of clinicians in the NHS is having on the achievement of this target, how progress towards it is being measured and how it is being reported?

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

I thank the noble and gallant Lord for that question. I am really sorry—I have completely forgotten what it was. Can he remind me?

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

Could the Minister tell us what impact Covid, with its backlog and the shortage of NHS clinicians, is having on how the target is being measured and reported?

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

I completely apologise to all noble Lords. It is important that we look at this issue; I am afraid I will have to write to the noble and gallant Lord with more detail.

Breast Screening

Debate between Lord Stirrup and Lord Kamall

Tuesday 14th December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

My Lords, this issue, like many across the NHS, is exacerbated by what the Financial Times today referred to as a workforce crisis. When will the Government take urgent action to stem the large and increasing outflow of trained medical personnel that is proving so debilitating to the provision of health services across the board?

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

In previous debates this week I have outlined what we are doing to increase recruitment. On the specific issue in the mammography workforce, Health Education England is providing £5 million to support a new training and development programme through the National Breast Imaging Academy. That itself will increase recruitment, improve screening targets and increase early diagnosis of cancer.

NHS: Elective and Cancer Care Backlog

Debate between Lord Stirrup and Lord Kamall

Tuesday 7th December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

My noble friend makes an important point. What matters is not just the amount that you put in but the way that you spend it. This is why the Government announced the NHS long-term plan to look at where we should tackle issues and the nature of waiting lists and, given that much of the waiting list is for diagnostics, roll out diagnostic centres to meet that challenge.

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

My Lords, an exacerbating factor in the size of waiting lists more generally is the number of patients referred unnecessarily to secondary care specialists. One way of addressing this problem is to make more time available to GPs to investigate patients’ symptoms more carefully. Does the Minister agree that, in looking at the overall issue of waiting lists, we have to take into account the needs of primary care as well and not just secondary care?

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

The noble and gallant Lord makes the very important point that we have to look at the whole way we configure our system of healthcare in this country. Many things that were previously done in secondary care can be done in primary. In fact, some of the things that were done in GP surgeries can now be done in the community in diagnostics centres or even in pharmacies, as many people who have had their booster recently will acknowledge.