International Healthcare Outcomes

Lord McFall of Alcluith Excerpts

Thursday 19th May 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

My noble friend makes an important point. When you look at the Civitas report, there are a number of statistics where the UK does quite well, but they were not always highlighted. This comes back to the point that this is not only about money; it is about how you spend that money and ensure that you focus on outcomes. One thing we are looking at is better use of the money, for example by using new technology to identify the waiting list and prioritise based on need, as opposed to waiting time.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, we have a virtual contribution from the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton.

[Baroness Brinton (LD) [V]]

My Lords, the Civitas report shows that UK deaths from haemorrhagic strokes have increased by over a third over the last nine years, compared to an average fall of 5% elsewhere, with a stark increase in deaths from 2017 onward. This coincides with the Government’s introduction of category 1 and category 2 calls for ambulance services, and the downgrade of suspected strokes to category 2. South Western Ambulance Service figures have shown that the current ambulance wait for category 2 is now one hour and 20 minutes. Will the Government now move strokes into category 1 as a matter of urgency?