Patient Safety

Andrew Percy Excerpts
Tuesday 24th June 2014

(10 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Jeremy Hunt Portrait Mr Hunt
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I do not know the answer to that question, so I will look further into the matter and get back to the hon. Lady.

Andrew Percy Portrait Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)
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As the hon. Member for Scunthorpe (Nic Dakin) mentioned, local GPs raised concerns last week about a cluster of cases at Scunthorpe and Grimsby hospitals—not at Goole hospital, which was also revealed last week never to have breached its four-hour waiting target. There is still a lot more to be done, so does the Secretary of State share my concern at the evidence received by the Health Select Committee last week from the Care Quality Commission, which stated that all too often, members of staff who raise concerns are dealt with by the human resources department rather than in a proper way that allows their complaints to be properly aired?

Jeremy Hunt Portrait Mr Hunt
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That is a very good point, and I thank my hon. Friend for welcoming me to Goole hospital; I had a very good visit. That hospital is in special measures but it is making real progress. It was interesting to talk to staff at the front line. I do not know when the hospital will be ready to leave special measures, but the staff on the front line felt that things were changing, and they welcomed that. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that if someone raises a safety concern, it should not be viewed as an HR issue; it is a patient safety issue, and trusts need to treat it as such.