NHS: Independent Investigation Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department of Health and Social Care
Anna Dixon
Main Page: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)Department Debates - View all Anna Dixon's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Wes Streeting
NHS staff did not break the NHS—the Conservatives did—and this Labour Government will mobilise them to help fix it.
Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)
It was great to see the Prime Minister speaking this morning at the King’s Fund, where I worked as director of policy for a number of years. In my constituency, I met a man who had been told he needed urgent surgery on his leg, but was still waiting 18 months later and had had to give up work. It is clear from today’s report that too many people have been stuck on NHS waiting lists and locked out of work. Does the Secretary of State share my view that a healthy nation is critical to a healthy economy, and will he work with his colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions to deliver that?
Wes Streeting
My hon. Friend is absolutely right: the health of the nation and the health of the economy are inextricably linked. Under this Government, the Department of Health and Social Care is a Department for growth as well as a Department for health and care, and the Chancellor understands those linkages too. I can say to my hon. Friend and all of her friends at the King’s Fund—we were delighted to see them host the Prime Minister this morning—that unlike our predecessors, this Government cannot get enough of experts.