Coastal Communities (Health) Bill Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department of Health and Social Care
Caroline Voaden
Main Page: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)Department Debates - View all Caroline Voaden's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
Coastal Communities (Health) Bill
Caroline Voaden Excerpts(1 day, 6 hours ago)
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Steff Aquarone
That is a wonderful example of how designing from the outside in can work. We have seen that with buses and with broadband, and it is plain that we suffer the same with all forms of health services. The former Health Secretary, the right hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting), said:
“If Australia can effectively serve communities living in the remote outback, we can meet the needs of people living in rural and coastal England.”
Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)
In my constituency it can take a very long time to get to the nearest hospital because of small, narrow lanes, and it can be almost impossible in the summer when there is heavy holiday traffic. The integrated care board has talked about merging emergency cardiac care between three hospitals, which would make the journey so long that people would literally die en route to the hospital. We have been campaigning hard for the ICB not to do that. Does my hon. Friend agree that while merging some services may be the way forward to enable ICBs to cover their costs, choosing a service like emergency cardiac care, where the time taken to get to the hospital, and therefore the distance travelled, is absolutely crucial to survival, is the wrong area to start when looking at service provision?
Steff Aquarone
That surely defies all sense. I understand, as my hon. Friend alluded to, that for reasons of professional development and training it may not be possible to deliver all services in all areas, but acute and emergency care is surely beyond reproach. I am yet to hear any understanding or potential safeguards for that risk from the Government, either here or in the other place. There was no acknowledgment of it when I brought forward and spoke to an amendment on the Health Bill, or when Lord Patel did so in the other place. Coastal communities deserve an explanation of why the Government are not ensuring that health services are delivered for them.