Health: Congenital Heart Disease

Lord Elton Excerpts

Thursday 20th July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Elton (Con)]

My Lords, there is no time for congratulations. I declare an interest. I am having a procedure in the Royal Brompton on Monday, and I thought I had better find out what state this organisation was in. I am not reassured. I have to tell my noble friend that I have heard what seems to me an irrefragable and irrefutable case against what is being proposed by the National Health Service England.

I hope to be reassured by what she tells me, but I have to warn her also, having sat in that seat for a short time for the Department of Health, that there are three sorts of political emergency you can face in her position. One is a coalition of experts who disagree with you; one is a body of public opinion which disagrees with you. Each of these is manageable. But when they agree with each other and disagree with you, you are in real trouble.

The barometer in this case is the taxi driver quoted by the noble Baroness, Lady Masham, who makes it clear that, even under the umbrella of August, this is going to go sour unless it is put right.