Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dan Poulter and Greg Mulholland

Tuesday 13th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)]

All the talk about appointments concentrates on GPs and A and E, but does not seem to focus on pharmacies, which have a hugely important role to play, considering how many years pharmacists train for. My constituent Mr. Dhand of the Headingley pharmacy is undertaking a pilot to see how many people could and should have gone to a pharmacy rather than to a GP. Would Ministers support that?

[Dr Poulter]

I very much welcome what the hon. Gentleman’s constituent is doing locally. For many patients the pharmacy is often the first point of contact with the NHS, so the more we can do as a Government to support local pharmacists in delivering community services, the better.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dan Poulter and Greg Mulholland

Tuesday 16th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Dr Poulter]

I commend the right hon. Gentleman’s work in raising the profile of diabetes. A lot of the Government’s work is focused on the importance of improving public health in this country and in particular on obesity, and if we are to tackle that we have to deal with diabetes. As a key part of that, we are now giving 40% of the public health money to local authorities to do exactly what he has just described: to focus money in the right places to tackle cardiovascular disease in those communities that most need it, particularly in inner-city areas.

[Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)]

The role of local authorities in scrutinising NHS decisions is now even more important, yet the joint health overview and scrutiny committee of Yorkshire and Humber councils was consistently denied a number of important documents, which was one reason the High Court ruled that the decision taken in the Safe and Sustainable review was unlawful. This is now in tatters. Will the Minister now confirm whether he will instruct NHS England not to appeal the High Court decision?

[Dr Poulter]

Surely the validity of evidence is a matter for the court. I am sure my hon. Friend would recognise that there has to be a distinction between what we do here in Parliament and what is done in the courts. If NHS England would like to appeal the decision and if it thinks there are good grounds to do that, it must do that. The decision will then ultimately be made in the courts, on the basis of how valid that appeal is.

health

Debate between Dan Poulter and Greg Mulholland

Tuesday 18th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Dr Daniel Poulter)]

I thank hon. Members for their kind comments. A lot of ground has been covered in this debate and many good points have been raised about local NHS services. I hope that hon. Members will forgive me if I cannot give comprehensive answers about everything that has been raised, but I will do my best in the time that is available.

It was clear from all the points that were made in the debate that every hon. Member sees the NHS through the prism of the patient. That is the right way to regard how NHS services are delivered. Patients are the priority for our NHS services and for the Government, and they were the priority for the former Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), in his decision to push ahead with the NHS reforms. The basis of the “No decision about me without me” policy is that patients are the most important thing. They are why doctors and nurses do their work and why all Governments endeavour to fight for a better NHS.

I turn now to the concerns of individual Members. I believe that I am right to wish my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes South (Iain Stewart) a happy birthday. A number of hon. Members have concerns about the competitive procurement processes for community health services in Milton Keynes. He mentioned the concerns of my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North (Mark Lancaster). Our policy is clear that it is for the local NHS, and the primary care trust in particular, to look at the options for different procurement procedures and to decide what is best for local people. The local strategic health authority has played an important role in assuring the PCT’s decisions. Whichever option is chosen, it must be possible to put it in place before 31 March 2013, to avoid the continuing and damaging uncertainty for staff. I am happy to meet my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes South and other hon. Friends to discuss the matter further.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Sir Alan Beith) talked about maternity services, which is a matter close to my heart. This morning, I visited Newham university hospital, which faces different challenges in maternity care. I looked at the fantastic new unit that has been opened at Newham, which will meet those challenges and provide high-quality maternity care to that part of London.

My right hon. Friend was right to point out that the challenges for maternity services—indeed, for all health care services—in more rural areas such as Berwick-upon-Tweed are different from those in more urban parts of the country, such as London. Women and families in Berwick, like women and families everywhere, deserve maternity services that focus on improving the delivering of high-quality health care for women and babies, and on improving women’s experience of care.

The decision temporarily to close the midwifery-led maternity unit and in-patient post-natal services at the Berwick infirmary, to which my right hon. Friend alluded, was difficult for the local trust to make. He is right to say that in making such decisions there should be regard to the rurality of the area. He made good suggestions about the potential for rotating staff to support rural maternity units. I understand that the decision was made to protect the quality and safety of maternity services in the area and, in particular, to protect the quality of care and safety of women in labour.

I have been assured that the trust is working closely with commissioners to look at the future of maternity services in Berwick. The review will be completed in the coming months. My right hon. Friend may be aware of the recent birthplace study, which discusses good and bad practice in supporting smaller maternity units. I am sure that the commissioners will have regard to that study in making decisions about the future of the unit in his area. He should be assured that I will take a close interest in the matter and support his advocacy on behalf of his constituents.

My hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Central and Acton (Angie Bray) made some points about the service reconfiguration of health care services in London. The hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh) also mentioned that issue, and I am sure she would like to pay tribute—as I do—to my right hon. Friends the Members for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake) and for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Burstow), for their work over the years campaigning for services at St Helier hospital.

Key tests must be passed to ensure that clinical services are suitable for reconfiguration. First, there must be support from local clinicians, and, secondly, arrangements for public and patient engagement and consultation—including with local authorities—must be strengthened and put in place. Thirdly, we need greater clarity on the clinical evidence bases underpinning proposals, and, finally, any proposals should take into account the need to develop and support patient choice.

The reconfiguration of front-line health services is up to the local NHS, and no decisions will be taken until there has been a full public consultation. St Helier hospital is part of the south-west London reconfiguration scheme “Better Services, Better Value”, which is in its pre-consultation stage and is led by local GPs, nurses, acute clinicians, other health care professionals and patient representatives. Under “Better Services, Better Value”, the number of accident and emergency and maternity units will be reduced from four to three, and the likely recommendation is for St Helier to become a local hospital with an urgent care centre.

Ealing hospital is part of the “Shaping a healthier future” scheme in north-west London. Proposals for that scheme include centralising A and E units, and having maternity facilities on fewer sites. However, I reassure my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Central and Acton that there are no plans to close any hospitals, and certainly not Ealing hospital. As she said, a full public consultation began on 2 July this year and will finish no earlier than 8 October, and I encourage my hon. Friend and her constituents to continue engaging with that process. She outlined the good campaign that she has been running to encourage local engagement, and I am sure she will continue with that so that local voices can be heard when health care decisions are made in the area.

The issue of children’s congenital heart surgery was raised by a number of hon. Members, including my hon. Friends the Members for Leeds North West (Greg Mulholland) and for Pudsey (Stuart Andrew). My hon. Friend the Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Gordon Henderson) spoke passionately about Jacob, the son of one of his constituents.

A number of hon. Members are concerned about the “Safe and Sustainable” review of specialist paediatric services, and particularly its focus on the reconfiguration of heart surgery services. However, as was made clear in a number of contributions, its findings were based on Professor Kennedy’s review of paediatric heart services at Bristol after the heart scandal there, and the “Safe and Sustainable” review is independent of the Government, as it should be. In those circumstances, and given the notice of legal proceedings and referrals to the Secretary of State, it is not appropriate for me to comment further on that review or its outcome, and that stands for my statement on the Floor of the House as well as for my correspondence with constituents. I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North West has written to the Department on this matter, and the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), replied with details of how anyone who wishes to raise concerns about the review can get their voices heard.

[Greg Mulholland]

I commend the Minister for his professionalism in both his previous career and his current role. Although I accept what he says, does he agree that our statutory process must be allowed to look at whether this review is, as we believe, a dodgy decision, or, as the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts contends, a fair one? Does the Minister at least agree that such scrutiny should take place, and that the fact that it is being prevented because documents have not been released is wrong and must be rectified? That is all I ask him to say today.

[Dr Poulter]

As my hon. Friend is aware, there is a process for scrutinising all decisions and, as I have outlined, if the correct procedure has not been followed, decisions are open to judicial review. To reassure hon. Members, we have accepted, from a medical perspective, the principle that fewer units deliver better care for patients and better surgical results for children. Therefore, this review is not about closing units in any particular hospital, but about specialist surgical services. Day-to-day care of patients and paediatric care for those who have had surgery will continue locally even after this review, and that should reassure local patients.