NHS Long-Term Plan

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Monday 18th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

The hon. Lady is right to ask that question, and I encourage her to hold her local NHS to account on that. There are some simple metrics, which we can share with her, that can tell us whether the NHS is using the money wisely, and one of them is whether her local hospitals are managing to reduce their emergency admissions by providing better care in the community. She is right that it is the litmus test of whether the money is being spent wisely.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

May I press the Secretary of State on his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova), particularly in relation to profoundly disabled adults, who need not just excellent healthcare, not even just excellent physical and social care, but access to services that maximise their social participation? Will he say a little more about the work being done in parallel with the social care Green Paper?

[Mr Hunt]

I want to reassure the hon. Lady that, in all our discussions about core social care funding and the funding accessed by local councils, we discuss working-age disabled adults every bit as much as the frail elderly. They are central. Many councils actually spend more on that group than on older people. We will not crack the social care problem unless we take that group of people extremely seriously.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Tuesday 8th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

That is one of a number of measures that we are looking at. We are absolutely determined to do something about this. One in 10 children starts school obese, and by the time they leave primary school the figure is one in five. We cannot wait any longer.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

14. What steps he is taking to improve health outcomes for stroke patients.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Tuesday 19th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

T8. Seriously unwell individuals continue to be placed in immigration detention, despite the “adults at risk” policy, which states that that should not happen. Will the Secretary of State update the House on what discussions are taking place with Home Office colleagues to ensure that assessment, treatment and screening processes, and the application of rule 35, are properly followed so that vulnerable individuals are not held in detention in that way?

[Mr Hunt]

I always listen to what the hon. Lady says on these issues. I have had discussions with the Immigration Minister, but if she would like to write to me in detail I am happy to take the matter up further.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Tuesday 10th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

GPs in my constituency tell me that because of changes to personal data rules they will no longer be able to charge for providing reports for private insurance and legal claims. Will Ministers update the House on the situation? What assessment has been made of how GPs will cope with the additional costs they will face?

[Mr Hunt]

I am happy to look into that matter and write to the hon. Lady.

NHS Shared Business Services

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Tuesday 27th June 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I note the hon. Gentleman’s comments, but he will understand that I am not in a position to pass judgment at the Dispatch Box on the behaviour of individuals. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has respected and well-established systems in place to ensure that people who are not fit and proper to be company directors are not able to continue with their duties.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

My constituents are served not by the SBS contract, but by the Capita contract. I have raised problems with that contract to the Secretary of State on many occasions. There are still problems with the helpline, which appears incapable of logging and following through with complaints. Why is this contract, which is clearly failing, not taken back in-house by the Government?

[Mr Hunt]

Just to be clear, this is a different contract, as I know the hon. Lady understands. We have been working hard, and I know that the hon. Lady worked hard with my Department in the previous Parliament to try to get to the bottom of the problems with the Capita contract. My understanding is that the situation is improving, but I will happily look into the individual situation she mentioned.

NHS Shared Business Services

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Monday 27th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

The hon. Lady should have listened to the facts when I told her. When this came to light, more than 700,000 records were checked: 2,500 of the higher-risk ones are being checked by two clinicians—80% of them have already been checked. A huge amount of work has been done to clear up the situation. I completely agree with her that it was unacceptable that it happened in the first place, but I gently say to her that we are not the first Government to be let down by suppliers.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

A few moments ago, the Secretary of State alluded to teething problems with the Capita contract. I must tell him that GP practices in my constituency told me only a couple of weeks ago that those problems not only continue but are worsening. How much longer will the Secretary of State give Capita to perform under the contract it has with the Department of Health? If it cannot perform, how quickly can we expect the Secretary of State to decide to take that work back in-house?

[Mr Hunt]

If Capita does not perform what it is contracted to do, we will take all necessary measures, including ending the contract. The hon. Lady is right that there have been a number of problems with that contract in its early days. We believe that the situation on the ground is beginning to improve, but a lot of progress still needs to be made.

Mental Health and NHS Performance

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Monday 9th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his interest in that issue. Sometimes, this is a challenging area. We legislated for parity of esteem, with cross-party support, in 2012. The danger is that such a concept can be nebulous, which is why we asked Paul Farmer, the chief executive of Mind, to look independently at what would be reasonable, fair and sensible progress towards parity of esteem by 2020. He said that he thought it would be a 10-year process, but that this was the right ambition for 2020. It was his report that the Prime Minister accepted this morning. We are making progress against benchmarks that independent people have looked at. The hon. Gentleman is right to say that we will not get there by 2020, but we must make sure that we deliver on that commitment while he and I are both MPs.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

Very seriously mentally ill people rely on support from a whole range of services, including—obviously—mental health services, but also housing, social services, sometimes the criminal justice system and, crucially, family support services. What is being done to ensure a whole-Government strategy to raise the standard of care, particularly for very severely ill people who need protection from harm both to themselves and, sadly, sometimes to others in society?

[Mr Hunt]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right. One example where that is particularly true is in addiction services. Highly vulnerable people whom we are trying to help kick a drugs habit may also have a housing problem, a debt problem or a work problem. Unless we solve those problems holistically, we are unlikely to be able to address the health problem that sits at the heart of those challenges. In essence, that is what the STP process is trying to address—I am talking about providing more joined-up integrated services. I am happy to have further discussions with her as to how we can make more progress in that area.

NHS Funding

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Monday 31st October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for bringing Professor Briggs to meet me. He is an extremely inspiring man. He has established that every time someone has an infection during an orthopaedic operation, it costs the NHS £100,000 to put it right, but that is happening 0.5% of the time in the case of some surgeons and 4% of the time in the case of others. Dealing with variation of that kind is a way not just to reduce costs, but to avoid enormous human heartache.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

NHS managers in Greater Manchester have made it clear that the pressures on the NHS are a function of pressures on the social care system and that costs are rising because of increases in the national living wage and the need to fund overnight cover. What is the Secretary of State doing to address those financial pressures on social care, given that the precept does no more than scratch the surface?

[Mr Hunt]

I agree that there are real pressures, although I should add that many Members were worried about some of the poor working conditions of people in the social care system and that 900,000 people on low pay in the system will benefit from the introduction of the national living wage. However, I agree that leaving people parked in hospitals when they should be being looked after in the community is financial nonsense. What is happening in Greater Manchester is one of the most impressive examples of health and social care integration in the country, and that must be the long- term answer.

NHS Reform

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Thursday 16th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

It will, Mr Speaker.

My hon. Friend’s idea is really interesting, and I am happy to take it up and explore whether we need to replicate that immunity so that we can get to the truth more quickly in a no-blame context.

I thank my hon. Friend for the work of the Public Administration Select Committee. I think it is true to say that we would not have the new patient safety investigation service, modelled on the air accidents investigation branch, which has worked so well in the airline industry, if it had not been for the work of PASC. It brought the idea to my attention and it was a good idea, and I know that he will help me make sure that it is a success in practice as well.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

I support the comments of my neighbours, the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale West (Mr Brady) and my hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Mike Kane). Three years ago the new health deal for Trafford resulted in the reduction of overnight and weekend services at Trafford General hospital on the basis that patients would receive better specialist care at Wythenshawe hospital. Does the Secretary of State understand that local people feel that the process has been chaotic, opaque and unresponsive to their concerns, and will he undertake to review the decision as a matter of urgency?

[Mr Hunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for the responsible approach that she took to the changes at Trafford general. Of course, I will listen to her concerns carefully, alongside those of her colleagues, and take them up with the NHS. Perhaps if she comes to the meeting that I am organising for her colleagues, that will provide an opportunity for me to do that.

Health and Social Care

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Tuesday 2nd June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend has an excellent hospital, which I hope to visit at some stage. A third of the hospitals that are in deficit have PFI debts that make it much harder to get back into surplus. That is a persistent problem, and we are doing everything we can to help them deal with it.

The reality is that hard-working NHS staff have made terrific progress in incredibly tough circumstances in recent years. More than a million more operations were performed last year compared with five years ago, yet fewer people are waiting more than 18 weeks for their operation. Seven hundred thousand more people were treated for cancer in the last Parliament than the one before. Despite winter pressures, we have the fastest A&E turnaround times of any country in the world that measures them. There is more focus on safety than anywhere in the world post Mid Staffs, with 21 hospitals in special measures, seven that have exited special measures, and improvements in quality and safety at all of them.

There are more doctors and nurses than ever before in the history of the NHS. Public satisfaction with the NHS was up 5% last year; dissatisfaction is at its lowest ever level. The independent Commonwealth Fund found that under the coalition the NHS became the top performing health system of any major country—better than the US, Australia, France and Germany. That is not to say that there are not huge challenges, including the fact that by the end of this Parliament we will have a million more over-70s, so we need important changes, especially a focus on prevention, not cure. That means much better community care for vulnerable people so that we get help to them before they need expensive hospital treatment. Part of that is the integration of health and social care, which the right hon. Member for Leigh deserves credit for championing. It also means transformed services through GPs, including the recruitment of more GPs to expand primary care capacity, and a new deal that puts GPs back in the driving seat for all NHS care received by their patients.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State is right to emphasise the need for greater resourcing and support for GPs. What steps is he taking to help GPs with earlier diagnosis of complex cancers? Early diagnosis leads to more effective treatment and less need for hospitalisation.

[Mr Hunt]

The hon. Lady is right. This week we saw the results of the international cancer benchmarks study, which showed that our GPs take longer than GPs in Norway, Sweden, Canada and Australia to diagnose cancers, and we still have a survival rate that lags. This needs urgent attention. The chief executive of Cancer Research UK is putting together a cancer strategy for the Government that I hope will address this issue. We will bring the results of that to the House.

Francis Report: Update and Response

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Wednesday 11th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State has said that trusts are becoming more transparent in relation to data, and of course that is welcome, but data alone may not provide full information for patients. In 2011, Trafford general hospital had very poor standardised mortality figures, but, thanks to the assiduity of my constituent Mr Dennis Wrigley, we now know that they were due to a recording error. How will the Secretary of State encourage trusts not just to provide raw data, but to contextualise the data and tell patients what they might mean?

[Mr Hunt]

I hope the hon. Lady will be pleased to know that we have now made it a criminal offence to supply false or misleading information, but let me respond to the broad point that she has made, because I think it is important.

The publication of data is indeed welcome, but we do not want it to cause the entire NHS to focus on gaming the system, or changing the way in which data are collected in order to make its organisation look better. The purpose of data is to identify issues. The CQC then makes rounded judgments on the performance of institutions, which are based not just on data but on visits and conversations with patients, doctors and nurses. I think that that system can provide us with the best understanding of how well those institutions are actually doing.

A and E (Major Incidents)

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Wednesday 7th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I am very sympathetic to my hon. Friend’s view. Indeed, I have spoken to him about it on several occasions. I very much hope that the merger can go ahead as soon as possible.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

What is being done to address staff well-being during this exceptionally pressured period? Repeated pressure on A and E—with staff being required, or volunteering, to do extra shifts—does in the end put pressure on staff, and may cause burn-out and risk to patients. What is being done to attend to that issue?

[Mr Hunt]

There are two things. First, as I am sure the hon. Lady does, I take every opportunity to praise the work being done by staff through a very difficult and challenging period. Secondly, the practical way in which we can most help them is to try to recruit more staff where we possibly can, and to make sure that resources are not a barrier to recruiting more staff. We have about 5,000 more nurses in hospitals compared with 12 months ago, and that has made a difference.

A and E and Ambulance Services

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Thursday 18th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I commend the care at Worthing hospital. As he will know, I try to go out on the NHS front line and take part in a shift most weeks, and the very first hospital I went to was Worthing hospital, where I thought the care was excellent. He is right that it is about close working; people in care homes who end up going to A and Es when they could have been better looked after at their care home is probably top of the list of admissions to hospital that we could avoid, because we know the vast majority of those people will end up being admitted to hospital if they arrive at an A and E. That is often not the best thing for people with late-stage dementia, for example, so my hon. Friend is absolutely right and I want to reassure him that that is a big focus of our efforts this winter.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

Mrs J, an elderly constituent of mine, waited two hours following a fall for an ambulance that should have reached her in 30 minutes. The Secretary of State will be aware that there have been similar cases, not least the one described to the Deputy Prime Minister by my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Julie Hilling) at Prime Minister’s questions last week. Two calls were made to the North West ambulance service in respect of Mrs J, and one was received from NWAS one and a half hours after the first report, explaining there would be a delay in getting an ambulance to her because of pressures in the system. While it is welcome that the family and carers were kept informed about what was going on, is it not a symptom of terrible pressures in the system that routine operating procedures now have to include call-backs to explain delays?

[Mr Hunt]

The hon. Lady is right, and there is particular pressure in the ambulance service across the country. We are putting in £50 million of winter-pressures money to help address those issues. Where there are unavoidable delays because of other emergencies at the same time, it is important to get the communication right, and I do not think we do that as well as we should. There are times when we could give more specific information about the likely arrival times of ambulances, according to the algorithms used by 999 and 111 call-handlers. That would keep the public better informed. That is something we are looking at.

NHS Investigations (Jimmy Savile)

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Thursday 26th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right and touches on a matter that we have not touched on so far this morning. Recruitment is a very important area that we must get right in this process, and I wholeheartedly agree with what he said.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

Today will be an emotional day for victims and their families as the report is published. Will the Secretary of State tell the House how victims have been supported and informed about the publication, particularly today and in the run-up to today, and how they will be kept informed as subsequent actions are carried forward? In particular, what efforts have been made to inform and support those who are most vulnerable, such as those with learning difficulties or who are severely mentally unwell, perhaps as a result of the abuse they suffered many years ago?

[Mr Hunt]

The hon. Lady is right to raise that issue, and the guidance that I have issued to NHS organisations today makes it clear that I want to give maximum protection not just to the victims identified in these reports, but to people going forward. That is the least we owe them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Tuesday 10th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is right to say that some bad changes were made. What will most benefit his constituents, whether or not they are part of the initial tranche of the Prime Minister’s challenge fund, is the reintroduction of named GPs for the over-75s. For people with complex long-term conditions, continuity of care is extremely important, and every single one of his constituents aged 75 or over will now get a named GP.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

We are very pleased in Old Trafford to have secured funding for 80 extra care beds for one of the most deprived parts of my community. We also hope to be able to bring health care services, including GP surgeries, on to the same sites, but we are experiencing difficulty in unblocking funding via the NHS area team. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss this issue and how we might be able to move forward?

[Mr Hunt]

Yes, I would be more than happy to meet the hon. Lady and see what I can do to help her to improve health care in her area.

Accident and Emergency

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Wednesday 18th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I am going to make some progress and then I will give way.

There are 216 more consultants and 111 more registrars than during Labour’s time. On ambulance performance, frankly the right hon. Gentleman should be ashamed, because his whipping up of the problem so appalled the ambulance service that he received a letter from the chief executive of the south-western ambulance service, who said about his comments in the House of Commons:

“It is both disappointing and concerning that the information provided to your office has been misinterpreted and misreported in order to present a grossly inaccurate picture for the purposes of apparent political gain...I am astonished that anyone would present such misleading information to the House of Commons.”

Something else that the right hon. Gentleman did not want to tell the House regarding delays is that there has been a 28% fall in the number of 30-minute handover delays compared with the same period last year—that magically did not make it into his speech. Yes, ambulance services are under pressure; yes, there are issues with the performance of some trusts; and yes, this is a busy winter, but the one thing they and the patients they serve can do without is Opposition politicians demotivating crews by misrepresenting the reality on the ground.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

Patients in Trafford will not recognise the Secretary of State’s characterisation of this as a crisis that is in the past. They are reporting long delays at Wythenshawe hospital’s and Manchester Royal infirmary’s A and E departments, particularly, as he will know, because Trafford general hospital’s A and E was downgraded to an urgent care centre and now closes overnight, as of three weeks ago. Does he agree that during transition periods for such reconfigurations it would make sense to ensure that there were adequate resources for neighbouring A and Es to take on the new patients? Those resources have not been provided to these hospitals; will he guarantee to provide them now?

[Mr Hunt]

I recognise the hon. Lady’s concern for her constituents. I have looked into the issues in the Manchester and Trafford areas very carefully, and I am assured by people on the ground that the problems and challenges they face do not relate to the changes that have been announced in Trafford.

Care Bill [Lords]

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Monday 16th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I am going to make some progress.

Some 100,000 older people will benefit financially and everyone will be protected from the catastrophic cost of care.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

rose—

[Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hunt]

The right hon. Gentleman will have a chance to speak later.

We want to be one of the first countries in the world where it is as normal to save for one’s social care costs as it is for one’s pension, and this Bill’s provisions make that possible. The deferred payments scheme, with a threshold of £23,250, on which we openly consulted, excludes only the wealthiest 15% of people entering residential care. How extraordinary it is that Labour should play politics by feigning concern for the richest in society, when they failed to do anything for the poorest over 13 years when they had the chance to do so.

[Kate Green]

Will the Secretary of State give way?

[Mr Hunt]

The Government’s response to the tragedy of Mid Staffs has been widely welcomed, which is why the Opposition’s stance today is so disappointing. Robert Francis welcomed our measures as a

“carefully considered and thorough response”

to his recommendations that will

“contribute greatly towards a new culture of caring and making our hospitals safer places for their patients.”

The BMA said that it supports

“the Government’s commitment to put patient care first and foremost”.

The Patients Association said that it believes that this

“is a move towards restoring the faith patients have in the NHS.”

This Government would prefer to proceed on vital matters such as this with cross-party support, but I must warn the Opposition that we will do what is right for patients, whether or not we have their support. If they are today refusing to learn those lessons by not supporting this Bill, the country will draw its own conclusions about their fitness to run the NHS. They will know that for Labour it is all about politics, and it is politics before patients every time. We, on the other hand, profoundly believe that if we focus on patients, our NHS can be the safest, highest quality, most compassionate and fairest health care system in the world, and we will stop at nothing to make that happen. I commend this Bill to the House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Tuesday 22nd October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I absolutely can reassure my hon. Friend about that. The point about the new, improved system for recovering charges is that we want the money to go back to the people providing the services so that they will be able to resource them better. This is not the diversionary tactic that some have accused us this morning of introducing; £500 million could have a huge impact on the NHS front line and allow his GPs to do a much better job.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

This evening, the joint health overview and scrutiny committee for Trafford and Manchester will meet to consider whether the preconditions for the reconfiguration of services in Trafford, including those set down by the Secretary of State, have been met. I understand that the NHS area team has already confirmed that it believes the conditions have been fulfilled, but will the Secretary of State tell me what would happen if, as seems possible, the scrutiny committee were to take a different view tonight and decide that not all the conditions had been met?

[Mr Hunt]

We will obviously respect the legal processes, but if the scrutiny committee were to take such a view tonight, we would certainly look very closely at its concerns and ensure that we had satisfied ourselves on them before proceeding.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Tuesday 10th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I am delighted to hear about the excellent Vale community hospital in Dursley. On my hon. Friend’s general point, we have not been good at persuading the public that there is anything between GP surgeries and A and E departments. The NHS has tried repeatedly to come up with walk-in centres and urgent care centres. Some have been successful, and some have not. At the heart of the challenge is the fact that the public want a 24/7 service for accidents and emergencies and urgent care. We have to ensure that they have it and that they understand where it is.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

Last year, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust both missed their A and E waiting targets on 30 out of 35 weeks. This year, of course, they will be coping with the additional challenge of absorbing the fallout of the downgrading of the A and E at Trafford general hospital. I note that neither trust has been awarded additional funding today. Can the Secretary of State assure me that the risk model that NHS England applied has properly taken account of the consequences of having to absorb major organisational change and, if it turns out that there are more pressures on those A and E departments this winter, that provisional funding will be looked at again?

[Mr Hunt]

I can absolutely reassure the hon. Lady on that point. We are extremely careful—I have had good discussions with her about this—before making any structural changes, to ensure that the impact on neighbouring A and E departments is properly thought through. Since the statement to the House about Trafford hospital, we have approved a capital funding programme for one of the neighbouring hospitals that will be affected. That is extremely important and we will continue to monitor it closely.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Tuesday 16th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

The truth is that we do not know the cost, which is why we are carrying out an independent audit this summer. The £12 million figure is the amount written off by the NHS each year because of unpaid overseas invoices, but many people think that the costs are much greater. We want an answer for the hon. Gentleman and everyone in the House, so we are carrying out that independent audit and we will publish the results later in the autumn.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

I know that the whole House will want to recognise the fact that this month marks the 65th anniversary of the NHS. This country blazed a trail by introducing universal health care coverage in 1948, and the NHS remains the single biggest reason why most people are proud to be British. The whole House will want to note that whatever failings are being exposed by a new era of transparency in NHS care, the overwhelming majority of doctors, nurses, health care assistants and managers do a remarkable job, working incredibly long hours for the benefit of us and our families, and we salute them for all they do.

[Kate Green]

When changes were made at Lewisham hospital, the Secretary of State refused to meet local campaigners. Following his announcement last week about changes to services at Trafford general hospital, local campaigners from Trafford would like to know if he is prepared to meet them.

[Mr Hunt]

That is not quite a fair representation of what happened in the case of Lewisham, or indeed for Trafford, because I agreed to meet all local MPs regarding Lewisham. These things are carefully constrained by what is legally possible so as to be fair to all sides, but I met all Lewisham MPs. As the hon. Lady knows, I have agreed to meet her—I think that we are meeting later this afternoon—and I am sure that she will express the concerns of campaigners in Trafford.

Health Services (North-West)

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Thursday 11th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I know that my hon. Friend has campaigned, rightly, to represent the concerns of his constituents about the extra travel that they will have to undertake. I would like to reassure him that we considered that issue very carefully. The Independent Reconfiguration Panel recognises that travel is a consideration, but also believes that for his constituents, even for the people who have to travel further, there will be better clinical outcomes for specialist vascular surgery. We are not talking about routine surgery, diagnosis or rehabilitation work but about conditions such as aneurysms and carotid artery disease which require specialist care. Patients can get much better help if that is concentrated in specialist centres.

As to why those particular centres were chosen, it was a genuinely difficult decision. There is a bigger concentration of population in the south of the region and there is also more social deprivation and more unmet need. I know it was a difficult decision, but it was decided that that would be best for the 2.8 million people in the area and also better for my hon. Friend’s constituents.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

I am very grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to ask a question, and I apologise for missing the opening statements. As you know, I think, it was only when we saw this morning’s Order Paper that we knew that a statement would be made this morning, and I was on the way to Manchester at the time to meet constituents. I am very grateful indeed for the opportunity to ask the Secretary of State a question. My constituents would be horrified were I not in the Chamber this morning to do so.

This has been one of the most contentious and difficult issues facing the health economy in Trafford since my election. Although I welcome the Secretary of State’s offer to meet me and I was grateful for his time on the phone this morning, he will understand that people are concerned that doubts and fears about the future of Trafford general hospital are already leading to a downward spiral in people going to that hospital and the level of staffing and service that they receive there. What absolute guarantees can he give my constituents that there will be no diminution whatsoever of the service they receive during what may have to be a very protracted transition process, and that in particular there will be no repeat of our experiences over the most recent winter months, when neither Manchester Royal infirmary nor Wythenshawe A and Es were able to meet the accident and emergency waiting time targets on more than 15% of occasions?

[Mr Hunt]

I recognise that the hon. Lady would have liked to have been here for the statement, and indeed that she made a huge effort to get here. As I told her on the phone this morning, I am more than happy to meet her separately to discuss her concerns. With regard to her concern about a downward spiral, I hope today to reassure her constituents that a clear decision has been taken that will secure the hospital’s future as a successful and important hospital, a centre of excellence for elective orthopaedic work, and a hospital that has a very important role to play in the local health economy. We are making huge efforts to ensure that there will be no diminution of services but that services will improve. Of the three major teaching hospitals that will now provide A and E services for her constituency, one—Central Manchester university hospital—is not meeting its A and E targets. The measures announced today will help it meet those targets and make it more likely that her constituents will get a better service in A and E. However, as I made absolutely clear in my statement, I will not allow the changes to be made until all three hospitals are consistently meeting their A and E targets.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Tuesday 15th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I am interested to hear that suggestion from the Labour Benches, which is not necessarily where I would have expected it to come from. The hon. Gentleman might be surprised at my response, which is that I would be very concerned about such a system. I understand the issue and I think we need to modernise the process of GP and hospital appointments. Technology can play a good role in that, for example by giving people text reminders of appointments that they have booked. My concern is that the system suggested by the hon. Gentleman would put people off going to see their doctor if they needed to. I would not want to do anything that deterred people from using the NHS who most need to do so.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

10. What estimate he has made of the number of patients who waited longer than four hours for treatment in accident and emergency departments in 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Tuesday 23rd October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight this point. In the draft Care and Support Bill, local authorities will be required to meet the eligible needs of carers. That is a particular concern with dementia, because, all too often, someone looking after a partner with dementia gets to a tipping point where there is no alternative to residential care, but, if we can give them better support, they will have a better chance of remaining at home, which, in the vast majority of cases, is where they want to be.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

Many elderly people with dementia remain trapped in hospital, because there is not adequate provision in the community for them to be looked after at home. How does the Secretary of State intend funds to be extracted from hospitals to be spent in the community, particularly at a time when local authority funding cuts mean that many of the voluntary agencies providing that support are actually losing posts in my borough?

[Mr Hunt]

The hon. Lady is right to highlight this growing issue. One million people will have dementia by 2020, so we have to take it very seriously. It is not an either/or situation, though, because about 25% of patients in hospitals have dementia, and hospitals would like them placed in the community or at home, where they can be better looked after. This is one of those examples where, under the new reforms, we need much greater integration of services to ensure that those people are treated in the way they need to be.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Kate Green

Thursday 15th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

This week we announced the first cities that will be getting licences for local TV. They are Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Grimsby, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Preston, Southampton and Swansea. We hope to award a further 40 licences in the following year.

[Kate Green]

Ministers are aware of the considerable concern that Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ treatment of VAT on five-a-side league football is causing businesses such as the Trafford soccer dome in my constituency. What steps can Ministers take to support this popular sport and ensure that it continues to thrive?

[Mr Hunt]

The hon. Lady is from a constituency with fantastic sporting traditions. We want to do everything we can to get more young people playing sport next year of all years. If she supplies us with more details, we will happily make representations to the Treasury, although it is a very difficult climate in which to get concessions on things such as VAT.