Business of the House

Andrew Rosindell Excerpts

Thursday 21st November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

John Prescott was at the vanguard of the issues my hon. Friend raises. It was thanks to him that the Kyoto agreement was agreed all those years ago. He was far-sighted about the need for international collective agreement to tackle climate change, a legacy that this Government are proud to take forward at COP. My hon. Friend is right to identity the issues climate change raises for his constituency, for which he is a great champion, and I am sure they would make a good topic for a debate.

[Andrew Rosindell (Romford) (Con)]

The Leader of the House will know that Queen’s Hospital is based in Romford. It serves the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge. I was proud to visit the hospital recently to see its amazing work around the clock with people who have suffered a stroke, who come from a huge radius, from the midlands to the south-east. The one problem with our local hospital is that the A&E department is completely overstretched. People are waiting on trollies, sometimes for 24 hours, which is unacceptable. Will the Leader of the House arrange for the Minister responsible for hospitals to visit Queen’s Hospital with me, and will she arrange for a debate in the House in Government time on that vital topic, which really affects my constituents?

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the issues facing Queen’s Hospital in his constituency, particularly the A&E department. My husband is an A&E consultant, so I hear most evenings about the crisis facing our accident and emergency departments. That crisis has increased exponentially over the past 14 years, I am sorry to say, and he and other doctors working on the frontline would contrast that starkly with the situation under the last Labour Government, which provided support to accident and emergency. I am sure the Health Secretary would be delighted to debate those issues with the hon. Gentleman and the Opposition, because A&E needs some serious investment, which is what this Government are all about.