NHS Risk Register

Seema Malhotra Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

Many right hon. and hon. Members have talked about the importance of the NHS and the need to safeguard its future. I am proud of Labour’s record on the NHS, from its creation in 1948 to what happened under the previous Labour Government, when 119 hospitals were built, hospital waiting times were at a record low and satisfaction with the NHS was at a record high.

In the past few days I have received nearly 50 letters from residents in my constituency asking me to vote for the release of the NHS risk register; that is more letters than for any other campaign in my two months as a Member. This is obviously a matter of great importance to my constituents and to the wider public. They believe, as I do, that transparency about the proposed NHS changes is an issue of national importance.

I wish to share with the House some comments from the many letters that I have received. Nick from Hanworth says that he is

“worried that MPs will be voting on the changes to the NHS without knowing the full facts.”

Valarie from Feltham thinks:

“It is vital that MPs have the full facts about the risks to the health service before they have to vote”.

Kiran from Hounslow says that

“as the NHS is such a significant part of our lives, we the public have a right to know what the government is planning and why it is being so secretive.”

My constituents have also written passionately about the NHS, and what it does for them and their families. Alfred writes that

“getting the NHS was one of the greatest things that happened for health in this country...our NHS is the envy of many nations.”

Last night I replied to each constituent telling them that I share their concerns and those of health professionals, staff and patients, and will be voting for the release of the risk register. Under this Government we have already seen 3,500 nursing jobs cut across the country. That, and other measures, have brought about a decline in the performance in the NHS. Since the previous election, 9% more patients are waiting longer than 18 weeks for their treatment, and accident and emergency waiting time figures published last week show that the NHS missed the target of seeing 95% of patients within four hours for the seventh week in a row.

It is interesting that the first question that I asked in Parliament, on 10 January, was on the impact on waiting times of the NHS reorganisation. The Minister replied that I had raised an extremely important point, but he did not answer my question. Taxpayers who fund the NHS deserve detailed answers about what would happen to the health service if the Government’s proposals were implemented. Good change management has always involved the sharing of risks, so that they can be better understood and mitigated. Surely, when the issue at stake is the future of a national institution that this country holds so dear, it is more important than ever that good change practices should be adhered to, and that the transition risk register should be open to scrutiny. The Health Secretary’s refusal to release the risk register prompts the question: what are he and the Government trying to hide?

My constituents deserve better than this. They deserve the shorter waiting lists that they were getting under Labour, not the longer ones that they are now experiencing. They deserve more front-line staff, not fewer. They also deserve openness and clarity from the Government, not the present situation in which the risks to their NHS are being kept secret.