Special Measures Regime

Mark Reckless Excerpts

Wednesday 16th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the tone of his comments and totally agree with his sentiments. Tameside has recruited 70 new nurses and nursing staff. To take one important indicator—it is only one—the number of falls has decreased by 18%. The staff definitely feel more supported by the management. However, he is right that this is a long process—the trust has been troubled for many years—and we are absolutely determined to back the staff and get them over the line.

[Mark Reckless (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

Mortality rates at Medway are not as elevated as they were in 2005, but does the Secretary of State believe that the astonishingly well paid interim managers have made any sustainable improvements, and will he expand on how University Hospitals Birmingham will help us to drive improvements at Medway?

[Mr Hunt]

To be frank with my hon. Friend, the situation at Medway is still troubling. It has made some improvements to maternity services and has about 100 more nurses, and the dementia unit has made progress, but we have not had the stability of management and leadership that will be necessary to sustain improvement. It always takes a very long time to make such improvements. We will therefore work hard to do that. I hope that the partnership with UHB will be a part of that change, because Julie Moore is one of the best chief executives we have in the NHS. I will work closely with my hon. Friend, because I know he takes a great interest, to ensure that we get the lasting changes we need at Medway.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Mark Reckless Excerpts

Tuesday 10th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

That is what today’s announcement is all about. We are trying to reassure them that we are leaving no stone unturned, and where there are things that we can do in the short term, we are doing those things because we want every older person to feel confident that their NHS will be there for them—that their local A and E department will be able to cope with the additional pressures that develop every winter. But I would also say to them that where there are alternatives to A and E departments, people should consider those as well. That is why some of the measures that we are investing in are good alternatives to A and E, which can often give more appropriate treatment.

[Mark Reckless (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

Hospital staff have acted with extraordinary enthusiasm to, as they put it, reboot Medway following the Keogh review. Can the Secretary of State confirm that the £6 million or so extra that he may provide to help our A and E should be in addition to anything that the clinical commissioning group might otherwise have agreed to provide?

[Mr Hunt]

Yes, I am happy to confirm that it is additional money. I thank my hon. Friend for the interest that he shows in his local hospital, which is going through a very challenging time. We are absolutely determined that where hospitals are failing or delivering inadequate care, we will not sit on those problems; we will expose them and deal with them. That is the best thing we can do for my hon. Friend’s constituents and people all over the country where there are, unfortunately, problems with local hospitals.

Hospital Mortality Rates

Mark Reckless Excerpts

Tuesday 16th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

We spend more than £1 billion every year on clinical negligence because the hon. Gentleman’s Government changed the rules so that trusts suffer no financial penalty when they have to pay a clinical negligence claim. That is something we really need to look at, because it is removing one of the biggest possible incentives for trusts to treat people safely.

[Mark Reckless (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

Is the Secretary of State aware that in Medway we were left with just three consultants to share cover of A and E, but we have now increased the number to six, and it will soon rise to eight?

[Mr Hunt]

These are precisely the problems that this review is designed to root out. There were problems with long A and E waits as well as with inappropriate medical interventions and poor communication with patients, but I hope my hon. Friend’s constituents will be reassured by the transparency of what is happening today, and the fact that I am making this Government accountable for sorting out those sorts of problems.

Immigrants (NHS Treatment)

Mark Reckless Excerpts

Monday 25th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I cannot tell my hon. Friend the answer except for one detail: my two children were not born to a mother from the EU.

[Mark Reckless (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

The Secretary of State has explained that the July guidance was from an independent body and in line with the existing rules. Who wrote the existing rules? Will he confirm that he will change them?

[Mr Hunt]

The rules existed for 13 years under the Labour Government, who did absolutely nothing to change them. We are tackling the problem. If Labour Members had any grace, they would thank us for doing so.