NHS and Social Care Commission

Chris Davies Excerpts

Thursday 28th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Norman Lamb]

I totally agree with the hon. Gentleman’s last point, but also his substantive point. The problem is that these are all ad hoc arrangements that are about good leaders doing something despite the system, not because of it. We have to mainstream this and align the incentives throughout the healthcare system so that everyone is focused on preventing ill health, preventing deterioration of health, and getting people better as quickly as possible.

Let me give an example of the pressure that the system is facing. It is fair to say, as a gentle challenge to the Government, that this year we are not seeing the data on accident and emergency pressures over the winter period, so the situation is slightly hidden from view. However, I heard that on Tuesday this week all the hospitals in Hertfordshire, north London, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire were on black alert, which occurs, in essence, when hospitals are completely full and under enormous pressure. One of the key system leaders in that area said that he had not seen anything like it for 20 years. This is happening at a time when there is no flu epidemic, and certainly no severe weather. This is one of the mildest winters on record, and yet we are seeing hospitals placed under impossible pressure.

[Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

I commend you for trying to bring the parties together to have a commission to look into the matter of the NHS, but we are now living in a devolved Great Britain. It is great to get the parties together in England, but how do you propose to get Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland together? I will give an example. My wife works for the NHS. She worked for the NHS for 18 years in Wales. She gets treated by the NHS in Wales because we live in Wales, but she works for NHS England. Given that there are so many cross-border issues, especially in Brecon and Radnorshire, how do you propose to get the whole of Great Britain to work with this plan?

[Norman Lamb]

I said at the start that I am primarily focused on England because health is a devolved responsibility, but I also said that the same pressures apply everywhere, and so the case for a process of this sort in Wales, in Scotland and in Northern Ireland is just as strong as it is England. I would encourage this debate to take place in Wales as well. We must overcome the clashes between the parties to recognise that something bigger is going on and we need to work together.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Wollaston]

Indeed. The data from Public Heath England are absolutely stark: from looking at the index of multiple deprivation and the incidence of childhood obesity, we can see that not only is there a large gap, but that that gap is widening. As part of the strategy, the Government must aim not only to lower overall levels of childhood obesity, but to narrow that gap, particularly by looking at measures that will help to do so. I thank the hon. Gentleman for making that point.

The right hon. Member for North Norfolk referred to the need for self-care, and we know that we need a much greater focus on how we can support people to improve their own health. If we are going to raise money for the whole health and care system, there are mechanisms to do so that will also help to prevent ill health in the future. One example is a sugary drinks tax, which could lever money into a very straitened public health budget to put in place measures that we know will help. We need the NHS to get on with prevention, and in my view we need more of the funding that is available to go into saving money for the future.

[Chris Davies]

May I say what respect around the House we have for you as Chair of the Health Committee? I would therefore be very interested to hear your view of the “Five Year Forward View”—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)]

Order. I let the hon. Gentleman get away with it earlier, because I appreciate that he has not been in the House for very long, but when he uses the word “you”, he is addressing not the hon. Lady, but the Chair. I know he means his compliments not for the Chair, but for the hon. Lady, so he must refer to her as such.

[Chris Davies]

I apologise profusely, Madam Deputy Speaker. We of course have great respect for you, too.

The “Five Year Forward View” plan is already under way, led by the former Labour adviser Simon Stevens. It is looking at reforming heath and care services, and is backed by the funding that the NHS has already said it requires. Does my hon. Friend feel that setting up yet another body would benefit the NHS, or would it be a hindrance?

[Dr Wollaston]

I thank my hon. Friend for mentioning the “Five Year Forward View”, but I would respond by saying that Simon Stevens has referred to prevention and social care as “unfinished business” from the spending review. If we are to deliver the plan, we need to listen to his views and be mindful of the fact that spending on social care actually saves the NHS money. We cannot separate social care from the NHS, and we should not ignore his wise words on the importance of prevention in delivering the “Five Year Forward View”.