Health Bill

Debate between Karin Smyth and Deirdre Costigan

Report stage & 3rd reading
Tuesday 8th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Karin Smyth]

I am going to press on a little bit, if I may.

I remind the House that we are doing this within the existing legal structures, and that our approach is not to put in place additional duties and layers of detail and specificity in primary legislation. I think we should avoid the temptation to create separate statutory obligations for each condition or patient group, particularly in an age where people are living longer and very often with more than one health condition. Instead, we should commit ourselves to tackling inequalities for everyone, everywhere.

We have again heard from the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan), about corridor care. The Government have been consistently clear that corridor care is not an acceptable standard of care and should not be normalised, and it is our intention to reduce and ultimately eradicate it. I think it is worth reminding the House that corridor care does not occur everywhere; some places have made huge steps to avoid it, and we want to share that learning. I particularly commend Barnsley foundation trust, South Warwickshire foundation trust and the Dudley group foundation trust, where there have been zero incidents in the last reporting. We must recognise that corridor care is one of the most visible and distressing symptoms of systemic pressures across the urgent and emergency care pathway, and our focus is on taking action now to tackle those underlying pressures.

We are improving patient flow, strengthening discharge arrangements, investing in urgent and emergency care services, and providing targeted support to the systems and trusts facing the greatest challenges from corridor care, so that improvements can be delivered where they are needed most. To ensure that we can understand where these challenges are, we have already introduced a national definition of corridor care, and strengthened reporting and oversight arrangements.

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for giving way and wish her a happy birthday, too. The NHS trust in north-west London was recently found to be one of the most improved in London in terms of reducing waiting lists. Does she agree that all the changes that she is bringing in through the Bill, including those discussed today, will help us to bring down those waiting lists even further and address the issues with corridor care that she has outlined?

[Karin Smyth]

I thank my hon. Friend for her best wishes and commend the work that she and many other Members are doing directly with their trusts to understand the impact of the work that we are doing to bring down those waiting lists and improve access for patients. As I have said, corridor care is a sign of systemic failure in the system and is unacceptable. I think we have all witnessed it in our local trusts, but it is coming down in places, and we want to continue to see it eradicated.

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for North East Hertfordshire (Chris Hinchliff) for his championing of the families of children suffering from life-threatening illnesses. I know that Members on both sides of the House recognise the profound impact that receiving a diagnosis of a life-threatening condition has on a child and their family. It is vital that all these families feel supported, informed and cared for, and I wholeheartedly recognise that the support that they are offered now is often not proactive or joined up, with the onus, as he said, being on families to navigate the system and seek support themselves.

With that in mind, the Government commissioned a report on the mental health impacts of life-threatening childhood illness on families, named in the memory of Hugh Menai-Davis. I pay tribute to Hugh’s parents for their campaigning and offer them my deepest condolences.

The report process is progressing well, and I can commit to the report being published in this Parliament, with a full Government response issued within three months of publication. For too long, children’s health has not been a priority, which is why my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has directed the Department to make maternal and child health central to its work. We know that a child’s health has ramifications for the wellbeing of the whole family, and there must be better solutions to join up support for parents of unwell children.

The new cross-Government mental health strategy will also address how we better support parents and families, and the Government intend to work closely with parents, families and campaigners to identify workable solutions and make available more proactive support.

I turn now to the Opposition amendments, starting with new clause 142, in the name of the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson).

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Karin Smyth and Deirdre Costigan

Tuesday 19th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Karin Smyth]

The hon. Lady highlights the important matter of the lifetime of some of the machines, which we are finally addressing after the last 14 years of not addressing issues that include providing support to ensure that the machines work properly. Officials regularly meet Radiotherapy UK and the Department values its input. If there are specific incidents that the hon. Lady wishes to highlight, I am happy to respond to her.

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree that the NHS cannot continue to rely on outdated and obsolete equipment? It is ridiculous that GPs still use pagers and hospitals communicate with each other using fax machines. After 14 years of decline under the previous Government, will she commit to bringing our NHS into the 21st century?

[Karin Smyth]

My hon. Friend lays bare an important issue. We all know, and critically, staff know, that we are asking them to do the most incredible job with outdated technology. It is bad for staff and it is bad for patients. That is why moving from an analogue to a digital system is crucial. I was fortunate to visit colleagues at NHS England offices up in Leeds last week to see some of the fantastic work they are doing on the app. We will ensure that the NHS comes into the 21st century.