NHS Reform
Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Christopher Chope(9 years, 4 months ago)
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Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)
Given the political priority which my right hon. Friend attaches to 24/7 consultant cover for accident and emergency hospitals, why was his Department unable to answer the question I put about which hospitals in England currently provide such cover? Will he collect that data and make sure that it is published?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Christopher Chope(9 years, 4 months ago)
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Mr Jeremy Hunt
I think that those were woeful and inadequate questions. What I said after the election was exactly the same as what I said before the election, which was that a number—[Interruption.] Yes, we will have about 5,000 more GPs by the end of the Parliament, which is just what I said before the election. I said that a total of 10,000 more people would be working in primary care. I also said before the election that the woeful problems in general practice would be dealt with only if we unpicked the terrible mistakes made by Labour in the GP contract. That is why this year we are bringing back named GPs for every single NHS patient.
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)
T4. Does the Secretary of State accept the verdict of the Competition Commission, which decided recently that it would be against the interests of patients for Royal Bournemouth General Hospital and Poole Hospital to merge? The clinical commissioning group has responded by saying that one of the hospitals will have to give up all its services.
Mr Hunt
I think that we must respect the independent view of the Competition and Markets Authority, but I also think that there are lessons to be learned by the NHS more generally from the way in which that process was conducted. There will have to be changes on the ground if we are to give patients the care that they need in the very constrained financial circumstances in which we operate.
Accident and Emergency Departments
Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Christopher Chope(11 years, 2 months ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
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Mr Hunt
As I recall, the risk register for that period found its way into the public domain. As for our publishing the risk register, we are following exactly the same policies as the hon. Gentleman’s Government followed in office. They refused to publish that register for the simple reason that officials need to be able to give Ministers frank advice in private if Ministers are to do their job properly. That is why we have not changed the policy.
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)
The Royal Bournemouth hospital accident and emergency department treats 70,000 patients a year. Will my right hon. Friend explain how it can possibly be in the interests of those patients for that department to be downgraded to a minor injuries unit?
Mr Hunt
The changes that my hon. Friend alludes to are locally driven and have not crossed my desk. I want to reassure him that if they do cross my desk, I would not approve them unless there was convincing evidence that that was in the interests of patients and there had been proper consultation.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Christopher Chope(11 years, 9 months ago)
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Mr Hunt
If we are to learn the lessons of the Francis report and admit to our mistakes, perhaps the right hon. Gentleman will reflect on the fact that, because we decided to protect the NHS budget, there are 8,000 more clinical staff in the NHS today, yet he still wants to cut the NHS budget from its current levels, as he confirmed only last December.
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)
T3. In today’s edition of the Daily Express, the Prime Minister promises to prevent immigrants freeloading on our NHS. Words are one thing, but can the Secretary of State spell out exactly what actions will be taken to deliver on the Prime Minister’s pledge?
Mr Jeremy Hunt
I am happy to confirm to my hon. Friend that we intend to take some profound steps in this area, because we have a national health service, not an international health service. We have to ask whether it is appropriate for us to be giving free health care to short-term visitors, to students, to people on temporary visas. We will be saying more about that issue shortly.
Social Care Funding
Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Christopher Chope(11 years, 9 months ago)
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Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)
Is it possible to have some transitional arrangements, because four years is a long time to wait for a family who are already paying care costs? Is it not possible to increase the capital allowance, for example by £20,000 a year, from now on? Is it not possible to allow care costs in excess of £75,000 to be set against future inheritance tax?
Mr Hunt
I understand where my hon. Friend is coming from. All I can say is that we had very strictly to produce a package that is affordable within the current financial constraints. For that reason, we have come up with the package we have. It is the earliest we think we can afford to do this and the lowest cap we think we can afford, but I will of course reflect on his comments.