NHS Commissioning Board (Mandate)

Jeremy Lefroy Excerpts

Tuesday 13th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

Some will be, some won’t be, but the hon. Lady should not underestimate the computer literacy of people who are adopting the internet at breakneck speed, including the 40% of pensioners who now do their banking online.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s objectives, particularly on the quality of care and—I would add—patient safety, which is so important. With an ageing population—a 50% increase in the number of over-60s by 2045 has been predicted—equality of access will require most clinical services to be close at hand. How does he expect to hold the board to account over its duty to reduce inequalities of access?

[Mr Hunt]

The waiting time targets are among the board’s responsibilities under the mandate. Having care close to home is a key priority for many patients, often because they think that the quality of care will be better, if it is at a local hospital or—even better—in their own home. One major change resulting from the increased role for GPs under the mandate will be much better support for domiciliary care, which will enable people to live at home for longer.