Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Rushanara Ali

Tuesday 15th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)]

T3. Since 2010, the percentage of patients who say that they can see their GP within 48 hours has halved from 80% to 40%. Given the pressure on the NHS, and especially on accident and emergency services, will the Secretary of State explain why the Government’s reforms are threatening to close 98 surgeries around the country, including five in Tower Hamlets? Will he publish the full list today?

[Mr Jeremy Hunt]

Let me gently explain to the hon. Lady that she has excellent GP provision in Tower Hamlets, led by Dr Sam Everington. It is a model of what can happen under the Government’s reforms. The way in which we are going to make it easier for people to see their GP is with additional capacity. We have 1,000 more GPs during this Parliament, and we have achieved that only because we took the difficult decision to get rid of 19,000 managers, which was bitterly opposed by the hon. Lady and the Labour party.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Rushanara Ali

Tuesday 25th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

It is intriguing that the shadow Secretary of State has chosen not to talk about a winter crisis, because it has not happened, despite the fact that he predicted it time after time. Let me tell him what was cavalier: the previous Labour Government’s refusal to give patients a right to opt out of giving their data to this programme, even though it was going on for their whole time in office. We believe that we should have a data revolution, but to do that we need to carry the public with us, which is why we need to have this important debate and give people the reassurance they deserve.

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)]

6. What recent assessment he has made of the number of available mental health crisis beds for young people in England.