Health

Paul Burstow Excerpts

Monday 9th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Gordon Birtwistle]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her intervention. I do not know of a company that delivers services in Burnley that has an owner who drives a Lamborghini. In fact, I do not know anyone in my neck of the woods who has a Lamborghini. I do not know many people who can spell the word Lamborghini. At the end of the day, the hon. Lady is right: there are companies that are taking money, particularly from the state, and giving a very poor service. I do not want this to be a political point. What I want is to plead with the Minister and with the people in control—I am not in control, so I cannot deliver this—and say that we are living in an age where people are getting old and need looking after. Why can we not do a little bit more to look after these people? The people who get the sums of money to deliver this service should be a little bit more considerate and compassionate. They should not just walk through the door with a metal tray with a bit of food on that no one wants to eat, because it does not feel like the proper food they used to eat. Can we not just do a little bit more?

My message today is: can we do a bit more for our old people—the people who have put us where we are today, who have delivered the prosperity of this country over the years; and who have fought for us in wars? Can we not show them a bit more consideration? If those companies with Lamborghinis exist, can we lean on some of them to train people properly to ensure that they have a bit more compassion?

[Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam) (LD)]

I hope my hon. Friend will forgive me for turning my back to him, but I want to tell him through the Chair that one of the places that is trying to do what he is talking about, and which I visited recently, is Wiltshire, which is using its relationships with contractors to drive out 15-minute contracting and drive up training standards, which is making a difference. That is happening now, and it needs to happen in more places.

[Gordon Birtwistle]

I am delighted to hear that, and I would like Wiltshire to become a standard that everyone else copies. I would hope that my constituency and the rest of Lancashire copies that. There are great companies—I know a few good companies that really care about the customer. These elderly people are customers: if Tesco treated people like some of those carers, they would shop somewhere else. Unfortunately, elderly people cannot go anywhere else, because a contract has been organised, and they have to use it. I urge the Minister to consider those suggestions and look at ways of improving the service that we deliver to our old people. I would be very happy if he did so, and I am sure that he would be too.