Women’s Health Strategy
Debate between Richard Holden and Karin Smyth(4 days, 6 hours ago)
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Karin Smyth
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point about both the work of the Chair of the Select Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen), and the importance of primary and community care recognising, listening to and supporting women through women’s health, as well as making sure that our knowledge and good practice is spread across the team. This is an area where different systems have women’s health hubs using different teams and different technology, and they have different links to secondary care colleagues and specialist colleagues. By listening to each other and working together, they are so good at spreading some of that good practice.
Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)
I welcome the Minister coming to the House to answer the urgent question, because the argument she is putting forward seems slightly confused. First, women’s health hubs seem to be working on the whole, and there are lots of them, so why remove the target for everybody to have them if we are already 90% there? Secondly, many of the hubs seem to be doing good work, and best practice is clearly emerging, so why cancel the target for the programme rather than spread that good practice throughout the system? I think the broad question from the Opposition is: why remove the targets specifically relating to women from the Government’s agenda going forward? It feels to many women and to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which has been in contact with me, that that downgrades the status of women in the NHS.
Karin Smyth
I will try to be brief, but this is hard to explain—[Interruption.] No, this is to answer the right hon. Gentleman. Targets in the NHS have not been met since 2015, which was under his Government’s watch but, actually, this target has been met—there are only three places in the country that do not have a hub—so there is no target for them because that has already been met. The issue now is to look at the outcomes from those hubs to see how they are performing. We think, and the system thinks, that they do a good job. That is why they are staying, why we are committed to them, and why we want to learn from them.
National Insurance Contributions: Healthcare
Debate between Richard Holden and Karin Smyth(2 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Karin Smyth
I respect my hon. Friend’s expertise and service to the national health service. He will understand the need to make the shift into neighbourhood health services. We have been clear that we will ensure the NHS spends all its allocations in the most effective way to enable that shift, as part of our 10-year plan.
Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)
A trustee of the Hamelin Trust, a not-for-profit provider of care and support across Essex, has contacted me because he is concerned about the £92,650 rise in national insurance that Hamelin will have to pay because of the measures introduced by the Government. He said:
“This will affect what they can do to support our communities and subsequently put more pressure on the NHS and local authorities. The impact on disabled people and older adults who rely on regular, consistent, high-quality care will be profound.”
I do not believe that the Government intended to hammer the disabled or older people who need care, so will the Minister prove me right and look at the policy again?
Karin Smyth
The right hon. Gentleman was part of the last Government—I am pleased to note that he is talking to his new constituents. The £22 billion black hole and the report from Lord Darzi indicate the fragility of the system we have inherited. We are ensuring that vulnerable groups are supported through the allocations provided to both the Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Work and Pensions.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Richard Holden and Karin Smyth(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
The Cass review is a robust report backed by clinicians and firmly grounded in evidence. The Government and NHS England will be implementing Dr Cass’s recommendations in full, so that children and young people get the safe, holistic care and support they need.
Mr Holden
Dr Cass’s review was an important moment for services for young people in this country. Will the Minister restate the Government’s commitment to ensuring that all the review’s findings, which are based on evidence ahead of ideology, are implemented? Does the Minister also reject calls from various vested interest groups to pause implementation, and press ahead as quickly as possible to protect vulnerable young people in our country?
Karin Smyth
As I said in my original answer, the Government are absolutely committed to implementing all of Dr Cass’s evidence-based review in full.