Hospitals

Debate between Connor Naismith and John Milne

Wednesday 23rd April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Connor Naismith (Crewe and Nantwich) (Lab)]

In 2020, the Conservative Government announced the new hospital programme. The Prime Minister at the time, known for his complicated relationship with the truth, said that spades were in the ground, but it is clear from their disastrous 14 years in power that we cannot build on promises alone and we cannot change the country on empty slogans.

Fast forward to today, and the Labour Government have committed to building the hospitals not just with words, but with cold hard cash and a credible plan for delivery. I note that the Liberal Democrats appear to try to draw a comparison between the inheritance left to the coalition Government and that left to this Government by the previous Conservative Government. I have to take the opportunity to remind them that the coalition Government were left an NHS with the highest patient satisfaction on record and the lowest waiting lists on record. I welcome the progress made once again by this Labour Government in bringing down waiting lists six months in a row.

I am delighted that Leighton hospital in my constituency will be in wave 1 of the new hospital programme. Leighton has been in desperate need of an upgrade for some time. Building began on a new modular unit in January 2025, with some services due to move there by the summer of 2025. The original out-patient department has RAAC planks in the roof that are now well beyond their lifespan. Recent risk assessments have graded the condition as catastrophic, with an incident likely. That compounds the betrayal of the empty promises from the previous Government. The rebuild will mean that the hospital can serve my constituents, who desperately need medical facilities, for many years to come. The value of that is immeasurable.

I also welcome the Government’s commitment to changing the way we use health services. The NHS is our most beloved institution and it has served us effectively for a long time, but it must adapt. That is why I particularly welcome plans to turn Leighton into a health and care neighbourhood, transforming it into a site where provision is joined up; a place where resources are utilised well and people are actively involved in their care; a place where technology, digital and data help both proactive and personalised care to be more effective; and a place where we look after each other, we collaborate and people join forces to improve the whole.

[John Milne (Horsham) (LD)]

In my constituency, there has been a popular campaign for a general hospital for many decades without success. Given that we did not even make it on to Boris’s fantasy list of 40 hospitals, we are certainly not going to succeed now. In the absence of that hospital, what we need is a strategy to move more of the treatments for which distance really matters into smaller local clinics. In Horsham, that might include wound dressing and sexual health services. Does the hon. Member agree that if we are going to continue to be denied the hospital we deserve, the kind of localised treatment strategy he is suggesting could be implemented at very low cost?

[Connor Naismith]

I agree with the hon. Member that we must move care into the community. Where we are not able to build hospitals as quickly as we would like to, community care is so important.

The NHS needs to be reformed to serve an ageing population, taking long-term patient care out of hospitals and putting care back into the heart of communities. We need more joined-up proactive, health and social care services, and we need to change our mindset from sickness to prevention. In support of that, the NHS Confederation set out in a recent report that working more at the neighbourhood level, which the Government intend to do, can improve people’s health and wellbeing.

I appreciate the efforts and sentiments from the Liberal Democrats today, but big promises with no clear plan are what got us into this mess to begin with. Empty words to gain votes have destroyed voters’ confidence in our politics, and only a sensible Government with a credible plan for delivery of their commitments will restore that trust, so I am thankful that this Government’s approach has been to set out a clear plan to deliver. Labour is the party of the NHS, from the original conception of the service back in the ’40s to the modern day. I am confident that, as we have already seen in the example I cited from Leighton, this Government will deliver for the British people.