Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kieran Mullan and Stephen Kinnock

Tuesday 15th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Kinnock]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for setting out a list of all the failures of the past 14 years. He is dealing with that mess thanks to Members on the Benches he sits on. I strongly encourage his constituents to get actively involved in the 10-year plan that we will launch. There will be an important national engagement exercise on shifting from hospital to community, from sickness to prevention and from analogue to digital, because given the total and utter chaos that we inherited, we need systemic reform.

[Dr Kieran Mullan (Bexhill and Battle) (Con)]

I recently met representatives of Martins Oak and Oldwood surgeries in my constituency. Both surgeries have ambitious plans to move to bigger premises so that they can see more patients, but they face numerous challenges, including the gap between the lease lengths that the integrated care board will support and those that GP practices can get developers to sign up to. There are other challenges that I am sure the Minister can help unpick, so will he meet me to see whether we can help bring those ambitious plans for new surgeries to fruition?

[Stephen Kinnock]

The hon. Gentleman has considerable expertise in this area, given his background. I would be happy to discuss that issue with him, but I remind him that although there may well be specific issues, there is a generic problem: the total and utter failure to ensure investment, reform and strategic thinking about our system.