Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Simon Burns and Fiona Mactaggart

Thursday 28th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Burns]

Yes, I would like to give some assurance to the hon. Lady. When franchises come up for the next stage of the process, we want to ensure that all passenger requirements, as well as the ability of companies to provide a first-class service to passengers, are considered fully.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

The problem is that ever since the merger of Thames trains with First Great Western to form that franchise, the interests of commuters using the Great Western line have not sufficiently been addressed. We have the most crowded trains. In Slough, the service is slower than it used to be and there are fewer fast trains. What can the Minister do in the next two and a half years to improve the service for commuters on this line?

[Mr Burns]

I can tell the hon. Lady that we are certainly looking at that and will continue do so, although I do not imagine that she was making those points in this House when the franchise was put together by her Government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Simon Burns and Fiona Mactaggart

Tuesday 26th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Burns]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I am certainly aware of the King’s Fund publication. The report was cited as a key source of evidence in the consultation document, “Liberating the NHS”. The Department of Health welcomes this significant contribution to the evidence base, which will inform how we implement the choice commitments set out in the White Paper, “Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS”.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

When I was first elected, I regularly received letters from constituents who were concerned about how long they had to wait for treatment. During the years of the Labour Government, those letters went away, but they are coming back again. What I know from my constituents is that their main choice is not to have to wait. Is that a choice that this Government are going to offer them or will waiting times increase?

[Mr Burns]

The choice this Government will offer them will make sure that they get the finest quality health care, where they can exercise their choice of which hospital to go to, which consultant to see, which GP to see, without having to wait unduly for that treatment.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Simon Burns and Fiona Mactaggart

Tuesday 25th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Burns]

Under these reforms, by concentrating on raising quality and outcomes, we will give improved quality health care for patients. What I can guarantee is that under these reforms, when implemented, people will not only get improved quality treatment but will see times based on clinical decisions rather than being distorted by political processes.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

14. What recent discussions he has had with primary care trusts on their policies on halting elective treatments in cases where such treatment has been demonstrated to be effective.

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr Simon Burns)]

Strategic health authorities have recently been reminded of the statutory commissioning responsibilities of their primary care trusts in this area, and the need to base commissioning decisions on clinical evidence and discussions with local GP commissioners, secondary care clinicians and providers.

[Fiona Mactaggart]

What is the Minister’s response to the trusts that have been saving money by halting procedures such as hip and knee replacements, hernias and hysterectomies, which have proved to be clinically effective? My constituent, John Deas, has just lost the care of the nurse practitioner who has managed his prostate cancer over some years and has been referred to a GP who will not see him. As the president of the Royal College of Surgeons said that the immediate need to

“save money by going for the soft targets of elective surgery will leave a lot of people with unpleasant symptoms and build up future health problems. Medically that makes no sense.”

Does it make any sense governmentally?

[Mr Burns]

I am sorry to hear about the example that the hon. Lady mentioned; if she would like to write to me with the details, I would be more than happy to look into it. PCTs have a continuing responsibility to provide clinical treatment for their patients. Obviously, once the PCTs cease to exist, that will happen through the GP consortia and the national commissioning board. There is also a legal right in the NHS constitution for patients to be treated when they need to be.