NHS Risk Register

Siobhain McDonagh Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Siobhain McDonagh (Mitcham and Morden) (Lab)]

I wish to share with the House a cautionary tale and to suggest that the publication of the risk register might be in the best interests of all hon. Members and all parties, because it will allow us to stand back and look at the consequences of the changes.

The London experience—certainly the south London experience—is that the changes will lead to a wholesale closure of general hospitals in urban settings because they confuse the roles of providers and commissioners of services. I am in a fortunate position. After 13 years of argument, one of the last acts of the previous Labour Government was to agree to spend £219 million on the rebuilding of St Helier hospital. Thankfully, the current Government agreed those plans—it was one of only three capital programmes of its size in the country.

St George’s hospital in Tooting, which is known to many, was to merge with St Helier to make St Helier large enough to become a foundation hospital. After those years of argument, the programme was going well until St George’s hospital looked at the GP commissioning plans in my area, which suggested that they would reduce services at St Helier hospital by £40 million over the next five years. St George’s, the only hospital interested in merging with St Helier, backed away immediately, because it knew it could not make the figures stack up.

We now have a £219 million capital programme for a hospital that, as it stands, is completely unviable. I should not be admitting that to the Government because they might think that they do not want to spend that money. I want them to spend it, but I want them to spend it on a viable hospital, because the demand and the need are there.

I can understand why GPs, who are private practitioners, want to provide more services. My argument is in favour of the consumer—the patient. Patients might not want to get up every morning to try and make a GP appointment and not get in that day. They might not want or be able to take a day out of their working lives or sustain the consequences of doing so to get a GP appointment. They might not want to wait a fortnight for a blood test, as I am doing. They might choose to go to their local hospital for that service. I believe it is the right of NHS patients to make those choices, but they are the choices that we will deny to people if the Health and Social Care Bill is passed, because it imposes a 19th century health model on the 21st century. Our experience in London is that walk-in clinics provide for many, but not for everybody, better services than GPs.

We have heard about the relationship between the patient and the GP. In south-west London, people are grateful to see any doctor when they go to the GP service. That relationship does not exist. I appreciate that the experience of people in market towns outside London might be entirely different, but from a London perspective, the changes will have an enormous impact on patients, including the most disadvantaged patients who live in our capital city. As a consequence, enormous numbers of hospitals in suburban areas will face reductions and closure. MPs of all parties must consider whether that is what they want. It is beginning to happen. On a BBC regional programme recently, the medical director of NHS North West London said, quite openly, “Yes, we will see the closure of many hospitals.” Is that what we want? Are we prepared to support that? Is it in the best interests of our constituents? I do not believe so.