Hospitals

Stella Creasy Excerpts
Wednesday 23rd April 2025

(2 months, 2 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
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Stephen Kinnock Portrait Stephen Kinnock
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My hon. Friend is a strong campaigner for his constituents. He is right that that development will be a game changer. It will be important that we keep people’s feet to the fire to deliver on what has been promised. I guarantee that he will have my full support and that of the entire ministerial team.

With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will now address the Liberal Democrat motion, beginning with its point about the cannibalising of NHS capital budgets to keep day-to-day services running. I am delighted to confirm from this Dispatch Box that this Government have drawn a line under that appalling practice, to which the Conservative party was utterly addicted. The Treasury now has new fiscal rules to prevent that from happening again; capital spending is safe in our hands.

Secondly, on reversing the so-called programme that we inherited on 4 July, I hope I have made it clear that that whole sorry mess was a work of fiction. It is not a question of reversing anything, as the Liberal Democrats say in their motion, because there was nothing to reverse. Instead, we have gone back to the drawing board, and systematically designed and built a completely new programme and a completely new approach.

Stella Creasy Portrait Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
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As somebody who had to put up with what I think was seven photo opportunities by previous Conservative Ministers—including one who is sat on the Opposition Front Benches now—proclaiming that they were rebuilding Whipps Cross hospital with money that did not exist, it is clear that what needs reversing is the Conservatives’ chutzpah in saying that somehow they are the ones championing change on reforming PFI. Some of us spent years trying to persuade Ministers that we could reform the disgraceful spending on PFI—particularly private finance 2—schemes brought in by the previous Conservative Administration. Under those schemes, some trusts were spending £2 billion a year on repayments—more than they were spending on drugs. That is one way in which we could get some money for the new hospitals, so does my hon. Friend agree that it is this Government, rather than the Opposition, who understand good public finances?

Women’s Health

Stella Creasy Excerpts
Thursday 27th February 2025

(4 months, 2 weeks ago)

Westminster Hall
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Stella Creasy Portrait Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
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It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq, and to hear so many brilliantly powerful speeches. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Helena Dollimore) for securing the debate. I am pleased to see the Minister and the shadow Minister, but I want to say in my speech why they should not be here. A Treasury Minister and their shadow should respond to this debate, because poor women’s health is costing this country billions of pounds.

We have all talked about the stats. It is not just about lady issues or even to do with ladies’ bodies—it is how women are thought about. A fifth of women report that they were called “dramatic” when they sought help for their mental health, and 27% of those who spoke up were told that their issues could be hormonal. We understand that, but even when we are not awake we are losing this battle. A 2022 study of trauma patients found that women were half as likely as men to be given tranexamic acid, which reduces the risk of death from excessive bleeding by up to 30%—literally a life-and-death division.

Women have longer life expectancy, but we spend more of our lives in ill health. As we have said, even when we go to the doctor’s, we are not believed. It is also about provision. After all, abortion is healthcare, but it is not a given that anyone can access it in this country. Nor is it a given that anyone can access sexual health services, because they are not a requirement of general practice, even in 2025.

We do have to talk about lady parts and lady issues, but I want to make this more about wonga than wombs, because we are losing billions of pounds to our economy every single year by failing to support women’s health. Absenteeism due to severe period pain, heavy periods, endometriosis, fibroids and ovarian cysts is estimated to cost the UK economy nearly £11 billion per annum. Women have lost 14 million working days a year to the menopause. Painful periods cost an estimated £531 million in sick days. One in four women consider leaving their job due to their menopause experience; one in 10 do. If we changed that, it would generate £1.5 billion a year for the economy.

But this problem is not being talked about in terms of an economic loss. Two in five women said that their professional life has been negatively affected by the gender health gap, because they have missed out on important meetings, promotions or pay rises, but the same proportion said that they would never be able to mention it to a manager. That has to change.

We also have to recognise that experience is not equal. We know about the brilliant Five X More campaign on maternity services and the shocking experiences that women have. It is not just in maternity services where we see women from the global majority experiencing negativity. Women from those communities are twice as, and in some cases three times more, likely to experience long-term conditions that can negatively affect working, whether that is chronic pain, anxiety, hypertension, osteoarthritis, diabetes or morbid obesity.

Changing the record and making this an economic issue could change the lives of millions in this country—and help our GDP, which helps the lads as well. Every £1 of additional public investment in obstetrics and gynaecology services is estimated to deliver a return on investment of £11. In other words, every extra pound gets us 10 times more than that. The gender pensions gap currently stands at 35% because women are living longer. If we sorted out their health, they could work and we could get something back for our economy. Minister, please help us to make the case to your Treasury colleagues to get the money we need to get this country moving via the women.

New Hospital Programme Review

Stella Creasy Excerpts
Monday 20th January 2025

(5 months, 3 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
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Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
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We recognise the challenge of RAAC in the Queen Elizabeth hospital in King’s Lynn, and took that approach from the outset. I can confirm that the programme will start construction in 2027-28. It is due to complete in 2032-33 but will be prioritised for expedition as a RAAC scheme. If we can go faster, we will. Today I am setting out a credible timetable. If we are able to under-promise and over-deliver, I will be delighted, but I reassure the hon. Gentleman that we are going as far and as fast as we can, given the safety challenges. If he is not happy with the pace, he should reflect on the fact that one of the local MPs was a former Prime Minister. She had the chance to get on with it. I hope I do not get a legal letter, but she did not deliver, did she?

Stella Creasy Portrait Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
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For nearly 25 years, I have been part of campaigns to either save or rebuild Whipps Cross hospital. For the last 10 years, I have stood shoulder to shoulder with the Secretary of State, so I know—let me put this on the record for him, because he cannot say it—his pain and frustration that we are now talking about eight years to restart the building works that have already started at Whipps Cross, and which will finally deliver the new hospital that we need and a thousand new homes in our community. It is devastating to us all, but we can see from the list that some hospitals have moved between the different waves. Given that, and given the examples of funding sources that can be put together, will he organise an urgent meeting—we know about his conflict of interest—for all MPs whose constituents use Whipps Cross, to look at the criteria and possible new sources of funding? I know that he will agree that we owe it to our constituents not to give up fighting for the hospital that our community so desperately needs.

Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
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As my hon. Friend says, I must declare an interest, as Whipps Cross hospital and Barts health NHS trust serve my constituents. I would be delighted to lead a delegation with her to lobby the Minister of State for health, my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol South (Karin Smyth), who has to take decisions on schemes that affect my constituency. It would be nice to be on the other side of exchanges for the first time in a while. Let me reassure the constituents of my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy), and my own, that pre-construction work on Whipps Cross hospital is due to begin in 2029 to 2031, with construction beginning in 2032 to 2034. My constituents know me well enough to know that if we could go faster, we would do so. On alternative investment vehicles and means of raising additional capital investment—not to mention learning from some of the less successful initiatives of the past—I would be delighted to work with Treasury colleagues and Government Members on how we can get more capital investment, but for reasons that she will well understand, we need to tread carefully on that point.

Health and Adult Social Care Reform

Stella Creasy Excerpts
Monday 6th January 2025

(6 months, 1 week ago)

Commons Chamber
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Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
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I am very grateful for that question for two reasons. First, it gives me the chance once again to say that the first part of the Casey commission will be reporting next year, so we can set out a whole range of further actions that will be needed throughout this Parliament. We have taken a great number of actions already in the first six months and I dare say there will be more to follow in the next 12 months. I must say it is very encouraging that one thing we are hearing from across the House on the Casey commission overall is to go faster. I think that shows genuine cross-party appetite on this issue and that is a really good place to start.

Stella Creasy Portrait Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
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I welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment to tackling the backlog of appointments—all our constituents would benefit from that—and his honest recognition that there is a risk, because there are not two separate workforces. Unless we have sensible safeguards, we could end up paying the same NHS doctors more to do operations in the private sector. The Secretary of State for Education set a cap on the profits that can be made in the children’s care sector. Is the Secretary of State considering a similar cap to protect the NHS and ensure value for money in his work with the independent sector in the NHS?

Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
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I am grateful for that question. I am not sure that the level of exploitation in either independent healthcare or adult social care mirrors what we have seen, disgracefully, in children’s social care, but we keep a sharp eye on that. I remind my hon. Friend of the commitments we made in opposition around tackling the excesses and the worst kind of behaviour of some private equity-owned care homes that are leeching money out of the system. We will not tolerate that. We will act to regulate further. I hope that provides Members across the House with the assurance that we are taking both a principled and a pragmatic approach to the constructive and positive relationship we want to build with the independent sector, as we rebuild our national health service and build a national care service we can be proud of.

Puberty-suppressing Hormones

Stella Creasy Excerpts
Wednesday 11th December 2024

(7 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
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As I say, any young person in Great Britain and Northern Ireland who had a valid prescription for these medicines in the six months prior to 3 June and 27 August respectively can seek continuation of their prescription from a UK-registered clinician. More broadly, it is my intention to ensure we start bringing down those waiting lists, to make sure that children and young people and their families receive access to the wide range of support, information, advice and guidance that they need in order to navigate their pathway and to make sure they feel safe, respected and included in discussions about their own healthcare.

Stella Creasy Portrait Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
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The Health Secretary is right when he says that young trans men and young trans women in this country need us all to do better on their behalf, particularly in the debate and how we move forward—there must be more light, not heat. He is also right when he says that time is of the essence. I think we all share his concern that all medicines must be regulated properly and that we should all understand, for every patient group, the risks and benefits of any medication. However, can he give us more clarity, and give those who will be listening to this statement in fear a sense of where this is going? He has talked about an indefinite ban until 2027—not a rolling ban, but an indefinite ban—and he has talked about recruiting participants to a study that might begin its recruitment in 2025, but he has not said when the review will begin or when we will get the data that he feels is missing and that Dr Cass identified as needing to be provided so that we can move the debate forward. If time is of the essence and puberty is the matter, we need to give these young people a route map forward.

Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
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I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question. We are trying to proceed at pace with the clinical trial. I share the urgency that she brings to her question. I have had to temper my own urgency with the need to make sure that the clinical trial that is established is as robust and ethically sound as, if not more robust and ethically sound than, any other clinical trial. The worst thing I could do at this stage, especially when the NIHR and NHS England are working at pace to establish a trial, would be to interfere politically in what must be an independent approach.

The planned pathway study, which includes the clinical trial component to build the evidence of the relative benefits and harms of puberty-suppressing hormones, is in the final stages of the commissioning process, subject to a robust ethical approval process. The study remains on track to commence recruitment in the spring, and I will issue further updates in early 2025 to keep my hon. Friend, the House, and young people and their families informed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stella Creasy Excerpts
Tuesday 15th October 2024

(8 months, 4 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
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Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
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The hon. Gentleman asks what representations I am making to retain the funding. If only that were the case. The funding was not there. The Conservative party went into the general election with a programme timetable that was a work of fiction and a claim to have a funded programme that was simply not true. What we arrived to find was a timetable that was a load of rubbish and a £22 billion hole in the public finances that the party hid from the country because it did not want to confront the hard truths. This Government are facing the facts and answering the challenges.

Stella Creasy Portrait Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
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I am probably the only MP in this current Chamber who has recently used Whipps Cross hospital, which also serves my community in Walthamstow, because I had both my children there, so I know at first hand how desperately it needs redevelopment and how poor the facilities are that the amazing staff are having to use. Does my right hon. Friend agree that finally getting this project moving under a Labour Government will also deliver thousands of much-needed homes in our local community? It is a win-win situation, which is why it is such a travesty that, for years, Conservative Ministers came and took photos, but we never saw any diggers or spades in the ground. Does he agree that Labour can change that?

Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is about not just the necessary hospital projects, but the growth that will come through construction, getting these projects up and running and, of course, the role that the NHS plays as an economic anchor institution in communities, as some of these projects will necessarily unlock new housing sites and a local transport infrastructure. We are mindful of all of that. The most important thing is that we come forward with a timetable that is credible and a programme that is funded, and that is exactly what we will do.

NHS: Independent Investigation

Stella Creasy Excerpts
Thursday 12th September 2024

(10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
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I have never denied, nor have the Welsh Government, that our health and social care systems are in crisis across the United Kingdom, and that waiting times and patient outcomes are not where they should be. [Interruption.] The Conservatives do not wish to acknowledge the truth, and even now, without a shred of humility or acceptance of the responsibility of their record in government, they carp from the sidelines. They will not admit or accept that different parts of the United Kingdom have different strengths and weaknesses.

Regardless of the fact that there is a Scottish National party Government in Scotland or a unique arrangement in Northern Ireland, as well my friends in the Welsh Government, I am proud that in my first weekend as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, I made it my business to phone my counterparts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. I made it clear that we will always work constructively, whatever our parties and however hard we will fight each other at the ballot box. Rather than pointing fingers at other parts of the United Kingdom, as the Conservatives did when they were in government, this Government are determined, just as the last Labour Government were, to create a rising tide that lifts all ships. I look forward to working with every devolved Administration to improve health and care outcomes across the whole of our United Kingdom.

Stella Creasy Portrait Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
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The Secretary of State is right that the future of our NHS lies in reform, and not waiting until people get sick before we intervene to keep them well, but we cannot do that without money. He says we cannot waste money that is not there, but we are wasting money that is there on the contracts we have with the private sector. He knows I feel strongly about this issue. Millions of pounds are being paid to private equity-backed funds to run sexual health centres in the NHS—the iCare clinics. Billions of pounds are being lost to the legal loan sharks of our NHS—the private finance initiative companies—and some trusts are spending more on PFI payments than on drugs. As part of the process, will he commit to an urgent review of the way in which the NHS has worked with the private sector, because reform must also include restructuring our debt?

Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
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My hon. Friend has done a lot of work in this area and I would be delighted to meet her. Let me give the Conservative party a lesson in humility. However proud I am of the last Labour Government—and I am incredibly proud of what they did to our health estate, the investment they brought in, through a range of different types of private financing, and the impact that had; I can see the benefits in my own constituency— I have never shied away from what we did not get right. At the same time as celebrating what we got right in government, we must reflect on what we did not get right and genuinely learn those lessons, which is what we did in opposition. It took us too long to get back into government—we will learn from that for the future—but it has been really interesting to listen to Conservative Members over the past nine weeks. They have not learned anything, they have not got the message and they are not going to change.