Oral Answers to Questions

Glyn Davies Excerpts

Tuesday 24th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I repeat:

“Claims of mass NHS privatisation were and are exaggerated”.

If the right hon. Gentleman does not like the reforms, let us look at a country that did not have them—Wales. The number of people waiting too long for A and E is nearly double that in England, the number of people waiting too long for urgent ambulances is nearly double that in England, and the number of people waiting for operations is 10 times that in England. That is our record—it is a record of success.

[Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)]

T3. Not enough GPs want to practise in rural Wales. I am told that one of the reasons is that GPs registered in England have to go through a bureaucratic process to be able to work in Wales. Will my hon. Friend the Minister work with the Welsh Government to ensure that we have a common registration process so that GPs can move between England and Wales without having lengthy, time-wasting new bureaucracy?

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

I am very happy to look into that issue and to do what we can to support our NHS work force to move as freely as possible between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. GP numbers in England have increased because we have protected the NHS budget, unlike in Wales, where it has been cut by the Labour Administration.