GP Appointment Availability

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Alex Sobel

Tuesday 26th October 2021 Westminster Hall

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Robertson. I thank the hon. Member for Beaconsfield (Joy Morrissey) for calling today’s important debate. Let me set out the challenge, and how Government can make a difference.

York Medical Group has 44,000 patients on its books. In a single calendar month, it received 41,000 calls from people who needed to see a clinician—unprecedented demand, with higher acuity, co-morbidity and complex needs. When patients get through to the call-handling system, they are triaged and, when urgent attention is needed, that is followed up by a clinical conversation. Appointments are allocated, tests are ordered, referrals are made, and prescriptions are issued.

Of course, people are also applying to see a practitioner through the internet or are turning up at the surgery. That is managed by exceptional staff, who are really pulling out all the stops to support their local community. However, this logistical agility to meet the serious demand is outstripped by the pressures placed on it. When spending time embedded in the system—as I did, spending time with call handlers and with GPs—I saw how relentless they were in trying to meet that demand, but that demand is continuing to put pressure on them.

[Alex Sobel (Leeds North West) (Lab/Co-op)]

My constituency is only 25 miles from my hon. Friend’s. A constituent came to see me last week; they could not get an appointment with their GP, but were told to go to the accident and emergency department in Leeds. It took two hours at the A&E to be triaged, and they were then told it would be a further six to seven hours to see a doctor. They ended up going home because it was too cold at the hospital to wait. Does this issue not impose pressure right across our health system, to the point that it is near collapse? Winter has not even properly started yet.

HS2

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Alex Sobel

Monday 13th September 2021 Westminster Hall

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Mundell. I thank the Petitions Committee for bringing forward today’s debate, and the 311 constituents of mine who have petitioned. The Government need to get a grip of this project; that has come over loud and clear in the debate so far, and that point will no doubt be echoed in the next hour or so.

We are in the midst of not only a climate emergency, but an environmental emergency. We cannot plough lines through the middle of these cathedrals of nature, while avoiding wonderful cathedrals such as that in the destination city that HS2 is meant to arrive at some time in the future—we know not when. The paths these lines take should be integrated with the rest of the rail network.

[Alex Sobel (Leeds North West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Is not the effect of what is happening with HS2 that we have further delays to Northern Powerhouse Rail, which is hugely important for connectivity across the north of England, and other rail projects?

[Rachael Maskell]

I agree that the sequencing of this project needs to be re-examined, because we need interconnectivity, and we need it mapped on to the rest of our rail system.

I want to focus on the impact the plans are having on the economy of York. In Crewe, we are talking about 36,000 jobs, and in Curzon Street, 37,000, yet in York there will be just 6,500 jobs, in areas adjacent to the rail system—on Network Rail land, which comes under the Minister’s Department. The question I want answered today is: why is the economic opportunity of HS2, which the Minister has espoused, not translating into reality? Network Rail will redevelop that land for luxury apartments—not for anybody in my constituency to live in, but so that people can commute down to London, sucking out the wealth from my constituency. It does not make economic sense. It does not make sense for transport, and it comes at a cost to our environment. Therefore, the project needs to re-examine its purpose.

The Minister has a responsibility to ensure that jobs come to my city. There is no point talking about spending all this money if it is not going to drive up the opportunity for my constituents, so I ask the Minister to take a look at the figures. We see that 2,500 housing units are to be built adjacent to the station. My constituents simply cannot afford them because of the high cost of living. It does not make sense to push out those job opportunities while saying that they are the whole purpose of the railway. I have to say to the Minister that in the light of HS2’s economic suction from the north and my constituency, and its environmental impact, he has not yet presented a case that stacks up, and that says that HS2 will benefit places such as York. I ask him to look at that again.

Finally, if we are looking at truly levelling up, we have to look at all the opportunities for interconnectivity. In the north we need to see Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester and York as part of the rail network, and have proper integration and speeds, and that simply is not happening. The east-west route is far too slow and costly for my constituents to really benefit from. We have to see connectivity across the network before this project proceeds, not least because we know that people have changed the way that they are moving about our country. At this time, we need to ensure that we are investing in things that will increase our productivity.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Alex Sobel

Thursday 17th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Alex Sobel (Leeds North West) (Lab/Co-op)]

What plans there are for rewilding, tree-planting and sustainable farming on Church estates.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

What steps the Church of England is taking to increase planting and rewilding on its land.