Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Karin Smyth and Steve Darling(2 days, 16 hours ago)
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The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
We inherited a decades-old system whereby patient voice was divorced from decision makers, with more than 20 organisations offering a place for patients and users to share feedback. The Health Bill will put the views of patients and users at the heart of decision making, ensuring that that directly informs those responsible for commissioning locally, and we will create a new patient experience directorate in the Department to ensure that patient and user insight directly shapes national policymaking.
Steve Darling
The abolition of Healthwatch will see the NHS and the Government effectively marking their own homework. Can the Minister please give some assurances about how the Government will ensure that the voice of those with learning disabilities, complex needs and dementia is heard?
Karin Smyth
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about the variety of needs that local commissioners need to take account of. That is exactly what the Health Bill will try to do, not by outsourcing that role to an outside body but by putting those views at the heart of what all commissioners do, which includes making sure that under-represented or often unheard voices do have a voice.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Karin Smyth and Steve Darling(7 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Steve Darling (Torbay) (LD)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
The Conservative Government’s promise of 40 new hospitals by 2030 was a fantasy—there was no funding beyond last March. In January, we published a realistic plan that put the programme on a credible and sustainable footing. We are committed to delivering all the schemes in the programme and are moving at pace with funding in place for design work, construction activity and business case development.
Steve Darling
The Conservatives still have not apologised for the appalling state that they left our NHS in. Torbay hospital is the third oldest hospital in the United Kingdom. It has a tower block wreathed in scaffolding to stop bits of it falling off rather than it being under repair, and it has sewage leaks throughout. Sadly, it needs significant investment, which has been kicked into the long grass. A senior manager described the situation only this week as “dire”. Will the Minister meet me and hospital representatives to explore how we can achieve the investment to turn this round?
Karin Smyth
The hon. Member makes an excellent point; it was echoed by Lord Darzi in his report about the state of our hospitals, and I know many hon. Members have similar problems. I have visited many such hospitals and would be happy to discuss the matter with him further. I remind him that, of course, the Torbay and South Devon NHS foundation trust has been provided with £7.3 million from the estates safety fund for works at the hospital, and we are absolutely committed to ensuring that it will be developed in line with the programme.