Underperforming NHS Trusts: Government Oversight

James McMurdock Excerpts

Wednesday 14th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[James McMurdock (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Ind)]

I appreciate your allowing me to speak at the last moment, Mr Stuart, and it is an honour to speak under your chairmanship. I thank the hon. Member for Chelmsford (Marie Goldman) for bringing this very important and timely debate to Westminster Hall.

I want it to be clear that although the list of figures that I am about to bring forward is concerning, I do not place any of the burden of blame on the shoulders of frontline staff—indeed, the more concerning the figures, the more gratitude and appreciation I show the staff for enduring these challenging circumstances and the challenging work environments they turn up to each day to give the highest quality of care—so much so that whistleblowers have brought to my attention, at great personal risk to their careers, concerns and details about the state of care and operational functionality at Basildon hospital.

I can give a quick example: a surgeon reached out to me, stating how senior management had come in and put in place the organisation and throughput practice that they thought best, while the surgeon was sat there with his own experience, seeing that surgical spaces were very often left empty because of the way processes were being put forward and forced upon the staff. Some changes have been put in place, but—although I have not personally been able to verify this—a consultant said to me that actually more management staff than consultants have been hired in the last couple of years.

I want to share some figures. I have almost a dozen bullet points here, and every single one is rather concerning, but suffice to say that Mid and South Essex trust—of which Basildon hospital, in my South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency, is part—ranks 131st out of 134. The Care Quality Commission ranked Basildon hospital as inadequate, and it was so concerned with the state of affairs there that it performed multiple repeat visits to try to improve things.

Complaining alone is not enough, but the hon. Member for Chelmsford raised two points that are really striking. The first is that problems should not be obvious. I should not turn up to a medical practice as a layman and be able to spot clear errors. I remember visiting the mental health ward at Basildon hospital; there was a foyer with overgrown grass, weeds up to your chest, garbage and concrete strewn everywhere. I was walking around with the CEO, and I said, “What’s happened here?” He turned around in complete shock, as if he had never seen it before, and said, “Oh, I’m not sure. Sometimes you just go nose-blind”—staggering. The problems do not just start there, but that is the standard of things.

While many of my constituents will be concerned to hear that Basildon hospital was ranked poorly, I want to stick up for the staff there and say that I will personally continue to use that hospital, because I recognise how important it is. I will make one last point, as I am being encouraged to conclude—

[Graham Stuart (in the Chair)]

Order. I call the Liberal Democrat spokesman.