Francis Report: Update and Response

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jackie Doyle-Price

Wednesday 11th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I agree that unions have an important role, but this should not have to be about unions. Regardless of whether a hospital has unions, people should be able to contact someone independent if they feel that their concerns about poor care are not being listened to, and that person should be enthusiastic about listening to what they say.

[Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock) (Con)]

This morning I was contacted about a patient at Basildon hospital who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and who, on asking for assistance to go to the toilet, was told by nurses that they were too busy, so he had to use his pad. He was left in some distress, and suffering from nappy rash. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, when we are developing a patient-centred culture in the NHS, such behaviour should not be tolerated?

[Mr Hunt]

I do agree, and I have had many discussions with my hon. Friend about how local health care services can be improved. It shows real courage to raise a concern about patient care at one’s own local hospital. Basildon is a fantastic hospital—it is very well run, and it has really turned a corner—but that does not mean it is perfect, as I am sure its chief executive would be the first to accept. It is possible to have a sensible debate about improving care while being honest about the problems. That is the big change we need to make, and my hon. Friend has given us an example.

Patient Safety

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jackie Doyle-Price

Tuesday 24th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

What I will take responsibility for is agreeing to a public inquiry into what happened at Mid Staffs—something rejected by the Labour party—that has woken up the whole NHS to the need for safe staffing in all our wards. We are implementing the report and that will indeed be reflected in the nurse training numbers going forward.

[Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock) (Con)]

Basildon and Thurrock hospital was the first to exit the special measures regime after a number of years of failure. It did so because the leadership embraced what happened, was willing to learn the lessons from what went wrong and went out of its way to fix them. Far from being a naming, shaming and blaming culture, is it not the truth that my right hon. Friend is strengthening the culture of accountability in the NHS, which is as it should be?

[Mr Hunt]

Yes, and I would like to thank my hon. Friend for her superb work in supporting Basildon and Thurrock hospital through a very difficult period. I think that the chief executive there, Clare Panniker, is an exemplary one. She wrote an article in The Guardian pointing out that it is incredibly painful for trusts when they go into special measures, that it causes a lot of pressure in the local media, but that it also means that change can be made much more quickly when an urgency to solve these problems, many of which have been around for years and years, is created. I commend the staff of that hospital not just for coming out of special measures but for being rated “good” by the chief inspector of hospitals—a fantastic achievement.

Health

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jackie Doyle-Price

Monday 9th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

The decision to place 11 trusts into special measures last summer was not taken lightly, but we can see today that it was the right decision. Across the whole NHS, the number of people who think they would be safe in an NHS hospital is as high as it has ever been, the number of people who think that people are treated with dignity and respect has risen by six percentage points over the year and the number of people who think that people are treated with compassion has gone up by eight percentage points. This Government have introduced new chief inspectors of hospitals, general practice and adult social care to oversee the toughest, most transparent and most independent rating system of any country anywhere. We have improved accountability with a statutory duty of candour, and we are supporting staff by publishing ward-level nurse staffing levels for every trust.

[Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock) (Con)]

rose—

[Barbara Keeley]

rose—

[Mr Hunt]

I will give way to my hon. Friend because she is affected by Basildon hospital.

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way. I am sorry that his congratulations to Basildon hospital were so dreadfully interrupted earlier, because its journey since 2009, when real deficiencies were highlighted, to where we are now with the special measures being lifted is, as he has said, real testament to the leadership of the hospital’s new management and the commitment of the staff. I thank him for the impetus that he has given that process, because it is only by admitting when things go wrong that we can put them right; that is the difference between the Government and the Opposition.

[Mr Hunt]

I congratulate my hon. Friend for her work campaigning for higher standards at her local hospital, and I agree with her. Why is it that interventions to do with improving safety and compassionate care are coming only from Government Members and that the Opposition are not interested? I just challenge Labour Members on whether they are really on the right side of the big changes that need to happen in our NHS.

Hospital Mortality Rates

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jackie Doyle-Price

Tuesday 16th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

That is exactly what I am doing; the best hope we can give to the hon. Gentleman’s constituents is to say that we are putting them first by being honest about the problems and by tackling the mediocrity that has been a feature of too many hospitals for too long.

[Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock) (Con)]

Bereaved families in Thurrock have had their pain compounded by how the Basildon and Thurrock trust has investigated complaints and incidents. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the way in which hospitals investigate such incidents is an important aspect of the transparency and accountability agenda?

[Mr Hunt]

It is, and this year we will be introducing in law a duty of candour that will make it a criminal offence for boards not to be honest, not only with families if patients have been harmed, but with the system, which is extremely important. Salford Royal hospital has one of the most successful safety records in the country, and it has achieved that by creating an atmosphere of trust so that front-line staff are not afraid to speak out about the problems that they encounter, however junior they are. It takes outstanding leadership to get that right, and part of the turning point that we require today is an understanding of what is involved in such leadership, which we need in many more places.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jackie Doyle-Price

Tuesday 26th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

The inspection regime will of course cover such issues as part of its inspection of whether basic standards of care are being met. Yes, of course such issues matter, but there are challenges beyond what an inspection regime can deliver which we will need to address to deal with these issues. In particular, a problem we are wrestling with at the moment is who will take responsibility for the frail elderly when they are discharged from hospital. One reason why they stay in hospital for a long time is because geriatricians are nervous about sending them back into the community. They do not think anyone will take responsibility for them and that is something we have to look at.

[Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock) (Con)]

On the respective roles of CQC and Monitor, can my right hon. Friend indicate that he expects Monitor to use the full regulatory tools at its disposal and give appropriate challenge to the boards of foundation trusts and hospitals where failure is indicated?

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. One of the changes we are announcing today is that, in the case of foundation trusts, CQC will be delegating its enforcement powers to Monitor so that it has more powers to insist on necessary changes and ensure that fundamental standards are not being breached.