Edenfield Centre: Treatment of Patients Debate
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Rachel Hopkins
Main Page: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South and South Bedfordshire)Department Debates - View all Rachel Hopkins's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
Edenfield Centre: Treatment of Patients
Rachel Hopkins Excerpts(2 years, 1 month ago)
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Will Quince
On the hon. Member’s first question, I am a little cautious only because I am not the responsible Minister, but my understanding—I have not heard this at first hand—is that the first whistleblower complaint was made around Easter. I know that the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham, will write to him on the specifics about the point at which the CQC was first notified.
Is this in any way acceptable? The answer is no. Do we therefore need to look at processes and how the CQC investigated, how it acts and its ability to identify? Yes, of course we do. But, in the same way, going back to my time as Children and Families Minister, I know that when people act in a way in which they know they should not, they deliberately hide that from the authorities and investigative bodies. So we do need to cut the CQC a little bit of slack, because this is often not in plain sight. Where it is, it is easier to identify. However, the hon. Member is right that where there is a whistleblower complaint, we must act, and we must act swiftly.
Rachel Hopkins (Luton South) (Lab)
We hear far too often of staff being completely overstretched, with far too many vacancies in mental health services. That was cited as one of the factors in the Edenfield scandal, but it is all too common. The Government were happy to clap for key worker staff, but they refuse to treat them with dignity and respect. Labour has pledged to invest in the NHS mental health workforce. We will recruit 8,500 extra staff. Why will the Minister not make the same commitment?
Will Quince
We are absolutely fully committed to attracting, training and recruiting the mental health workforce of the future. Through our plans set out in “Implementing the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health” and “Stepping Forward to 2020/21: the mental health workforce plan for England”, we have expanded and diversified the types of roles available. The hon. Lady asks us for our plans. Our aim is an additional 27,000 mental health professionals in the workforce by 2023-24 to deliver the transformation of mental health services in England that we all want to see.