Oral Answers to Questions
Philip Hollobone Excerpts(10 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Ben Gummer
Thank you Mr Speaker—helpful as ever.
The hon. Gentleman is entirely right that those who seek to access acute services on a regular basis require special treatment. That is why we issued guidance in the previous Parliament. I very much hope that his local hospitals will be looking at that with due care and attention.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
Kettering general hospital is looking to develop a £30 million urgent care hub—one of the first of its type in the country—to replace and enhance the accident and emergency department, which is under growing strain. This project enjoyed the support of the previous Government. Will my hon. Friend agree to meet me and the two other MPs from north Northamptonshire to make sure that it remains on track?
Ben Gummer
I very much look forward to meeting my hon. Friend and his colleagues, and I have already committed to doing so. I hope that the lead he has taken with his colleagues in forging a cross-party consensus will be copied across the House.
NHS Success Regime
Philip Hollobone Excerpts(10 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Ben Gummer
I repeat to my hon. Friend the observation that I made earlier: it is interesting that in his opening contribution, the right hon. Member for Leigh did not make a single statement about patients and their centrality to what we are trying to do. The NHS has devised its own plan for its own success over the next five years, and the safety and care of patients lie at the heart of it. Only one party is supporting that plan, and that is why the Conservatives are the only party backing the NHS.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
I congratulate my hon. Friend on his response to the urgent question and the new Government on acting so swiftly. Having listened to the exchanges across the Floor of the House today, I think it would be particularly sensible and grown up for Her Majesty’s Government, first, to admit that there are geographical parts of our NHS that are not working as well as they might and, secondly, to seek local holistic solutions to put them right as soon as possible.
Ben Gummer
As so often, my hon. Friend is on the money. He has described exactly what NHS England is trying to achieve with the success regime.
Oral Answers to Questions
Philip Hollobone Excerpts(10 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Hunt
I am happy to ensure that inner-London MPs have a meeting with the Minister to discuss those issues. The underfunding of general practice has been an historical problem, because we have had very strong hospital targets, which have tended to suck resources into the acute sector and away from out-of-hospital care. We want to put that right.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
The problem in Northamptonshire is that because of rapid population growth, the gap between the appointments required of GP surgeries and the slots available is one of the biggest in the country. There are 333 Northamptonshire GPs at the moment; Healthwatch Northamptonshire estimates that another 183 will be required within the next five years. How are we going to fill that gap?
Mr Hunt
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to that issue. We have plans to train another 5,000 GPs across the country. In the last Parliament, we increased GPs by about 5%. We need to go much further, as part of a real transformation of out-of-hospital care.