Lord Patel
Main Page: Lord Patel (Crossbench - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Patel's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
(7 years ago)
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Lord O’Shaughnessy
My noble friend is absolutely right: there are no barriers. Indeed, the five-year forward view, in which the NHS sets out its own future, talks about integration and moving towards accountable care systems. Some capital programmes have been announced today under what will amount to a £10 billion capital programme over five years. These are precisely to deliver the transformation which is needed by making the kind of investment to provide that level of integration.
Lord Patel (CB)
My Lords, the Minister has said previously that he read the cross-party House of Lords report on the long-term sustainability of the NHS and adult social care with enthusiasm. No doubt he will have noticed several recommendations in it that would go a long way towards making the NHS financially stable and sustainable over the long term. Does he agree that what is now enthusiastically required from him and from the Government is to accept those recommendations? A short answer made up of a three-letter word will suffice.
Lord O’Shaughnessy
The noble Lord waits patiently. I pay tribute to the quality of the report and we have already accepted some of the ideas set out in it. Now that the Budget is over and the Treasury can turn its mind to additional things, we will be responding to the report very soon.