Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown

Tuesday 13th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I have had a number of discussions with the College of Emergency Medicine and what it actually says is that the system is working pretty well—[Interruption.] Well, that is what the College of Emergency Medicine says. The country’s A and E doctors welcome the fact that with the winter pressures money, there are now 800 more doctors and 4,700 more nurses, but we always want to make sure that the money is getting through as quickly as possible, so if the hon. Lady has any particular examples, I would be happy to look into them.

[Dr William McCrea (South Antrim) (DUP)]

Surely the Secretary of State will accept that quicker appointments with the patient’s local GP will certainly alleviate some of the blockages in A and E.

[Mr Hunt]

I agree with that, and I hope that the hon. Gentleman will campaign to make sure that the Northern Ireland Executive put the extra money they have received as part of the Chancellor’s autumn statement into precisely that—good GP services for the people of Northern Ireland.

Social Care Funding

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown

Monday 11th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Dr William McCrea (South Antrim) (DUP)]

No one can deny that elderly and vulnerable people across the United Kingdom live in fear of having to go into care and what that would mean to them. This is not only about England; it is about the rest of the United Kingdom. So what discussions has the Secretary of State held with the devolved Administrations to ensure that our elderly citizens have certainty, fairness and peace of mind about the costs of old age, such as he claims his plan will bring?

[Mr Hunt]

This is a devolved matter, as the hon. Gentleman knows, but different approaches are being tried in all four constituent parts of the United Kingdom and we must look at what is happening in the different parts and all learn from each other.