Oral Answers to Questions Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department of Health and Social Care
Ronnie Cowan
Main Page: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)Department Debates - View all Ronnie Cowan's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
(7 years, 5 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Steve Brine)
I do indeed welcome that. Improvements to GP access in the NHS in South Tees have been put in place. Patients in Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland can now benefit from accessing GP appointments at a time that is convenient for them, seven days a week—that is exactly as it should be.
Ronnie Cowan (Inverclyde) (SNP)
T2. With the Scottish Government now committed to a soft opt-out system for organ donation similar to that implemented in Wales in 2015, is it not time that the UK Government followed the lead of the Welsh and Scottish Governments by introducing a similar system south of the border?
Mr Hunt
There is a lot of merit in the opt-out system that has been developed in Wales for some time and is now happening in Scotland. We are looking closely at the evidence, but we have a lot of sympathy with this. If the system does lead to an increase in organ donations, it is certainly something we would want to pursue here.