Oral Answers to Questions

Liz McInnes Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd October 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Health (Stephen Barclay)]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight this. The Secretary of State was at the trust last week, and I visited earlier in the year. There is a specific range of actions, including partnership with Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; advanced clinical practitioner courses, which started in June; £1.8 million of capital to support improvements to patient flow; and a frailty pilot at Lincoln. There is an intensive programme of work with this trust, because we recognise my hon. Friend’s concerns.

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

T8. North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust spent £30 million in the past three years on private ambulances. Does the Minister agree that that money would have been far better spent on the recruitment and retention of NHS ambulance staff?

[Stephen Barclay]

As the hon. Lady will know, since 2010, the number of paramedics has increased by more than 30% and the pay band has been increased from band 5 to band 6. She will also know from the excellent work of Lord Carter that there was significant variation between ambulance services and a significant opportunity to make savings that can be reinvested in ambulances by addressing differences in sickness rates, “hear and treat” and “see and treat” rates and other variables. We have also committed additional funding for new ambulances, including in the north-west, which will be in place by this winter.