1 Emily Darlington debates involving the Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Independent Investigation

Emily Darlington Excerpts
Thursday 12th September 2024

(2 months, 1 week ago)

Commons Chamber
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Judith Cummins Portrait Madam Deputy Speaker
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Order. I ask Members to help each other with one or two-sentence questions.

Emily Darlington Portrait Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)
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To return to a subject close to the Secretary of State’s heart, does he agree that people’s actual experience is how we will measure whether the NHS has been improved? One of my children’s grandparents, who was diagnosed under a Labour Government, had 12 great years of cutting-edge treatments and 12 years with their grandchildren. Their grandfather, who was diagnosed under a Conservative Government, had 12 weeks.

Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
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I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the work she does championing Milton Keynes. Therein lies the challenge: it cannot be right that delays in diagnosis lead to the difference between life and death. I am very lucky that my cancer was caught early. It was diagnosed quickly and treated quickly. Not everyone is fortunate, and I am so sorry that my hon. Friend’s family is bearing the consequences of what happens when things go wrong.