Oral Answers to Questions
Paulette Hamilton Excerpts(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Prime Minister
My choice is to stabilise the economy after 14 years of failure, and I will tell the House why: when a Government lose control of the economy, it is working people who pay the price. I will not let that happen under a Labour Government.
Paulette Hamilton (Birmingham Erdington) (Lab)
More than half of people with pancreatic cancer die within three months of diagnosis, and seven in 10 never even receive treatment. Every two minutes in the UK, someone is diagnosed with cancer, but for those diagnosed with the least survivable cancer, time has too often already run out. I am really proud of the Labour Government’s commitment to our NHS, but will the Prime Minister now commit to reviewing the long-term cancer strategy so that we can improve diagnosis and treatment rates in this country?
The Prime Minister
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue; it is the second time it has been raised in this session. I will have a lot more to say tomorrow, when I deal with Lord Darzi’s report. I pay tribute to her for her tireless campaigning, particularly in relation to pancreatic cancer. Cancer patients have been failed by the last Government, and have been waiting far too long for diagnosis and treatment. We will get the NHS capturing cancer on time, diagnosing it earlier and treating it faster, so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases.