Health and Social Care: Winter Update

Sureena Brackenridge Excerpts

Wednesday 15th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for raising those concerns on the Floor of the House. Thanks to the decisions that the Chancellor took in the Budget, the Department has an additional £26 billion available for investment in our health and social care services, including estates. I cannot promise to fix the backlog that has built up over the past 14 years in a single budget year, but I can confirm that we will publish our mandate for NHS England and, following that, planning guidance and financial allocations, very shortly.

[Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

Under the Tories’ watch, our NHS became in danger of normalising failure, with patients treated in corridors, horrendous A&E waits and hospitals at risk of being gridlocked as they struggle to discharge patients. Will the Secretary of State continue to be up front and open about the challenges, and ensure that the NHS recovers year on year under his watch?

[Wes Streeting]

When I was sitting on the Opposition Benches at the tail end of the last Parliament, I saw my predecessor at this Dispatch Box telling us all the wonderful things that she thought the Government were doing and achieving. It was like hearing about a completely different national health service and social care system in another country. I arrived in July and was honest on day one that the NHS is broken but not beaten, and that these are crises of historic proportions that we will never sweep under the carpet, nor will we hide problems to spare political blushes. In the coming months and years, I will continue to be honest about where we have not yet fixed problems, and clear about the action that we are taking to get the NHS back on its feet and fit for the future and to build a national care service worthy of the name.

Hospice and Palliative Care

Sureena Brackenridge Excerpts

Monday 13th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

The crisis in funding, and the postcode lottery and health inequalities faced by many families, particularly in accessing hospice and palliative care, weighed heavily on my decision to vote as I did in the debate on the assisted dying Bill. That is why I am sincerely grateful to the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler) for securing this very important debate.

I was profoundly moved by the extraordinary work of our local hospice, Compton Care, when I recently visited its new hub in the Scotlands, Low Hill, just before Christmas. I was deeply moved by the work that its people do to support families who turn to them at their darkest time. I saw outstanding medical care provided by specialist medical teams and counsellors, but also the wraparound support that they provide—everything from creative therapies and grief counselling to bespoke support for bereaved children. There were also those quiet, crucial moments when the specialist staff knew just what to say, just when things were so difficult for families —moments that are unimaginable to navigate.

That is why the Government’s extra £100 million for hospices across the country and their extra £26 million for children’s hospice services are essential. It is the biggest investment in a generation, a clear sign of this Government’s commitment to everyone having access to high-quality end of life care. It will result in hospices such as Compton Care reaching more people, especially in communities that have long felt the brunt of deepening health inequalities. It will provide much welcome support for families across Wolverhampton and Willenhall, and ensure that no one faces the end of life without the care, comfort and compassion that they deserve. I welcome the Government’s investment boost in hospice and palliative care, but I will continue to advocate for equity in care.

[Mr Angus MacDonald (Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire) (LD)]

May I intervene?

[Mrs Brackenridge]

I have nearly finished, thank you. I will never lose sight of constituents’ fundamental right to dignity and care, which matters right until the very end.