Ockenden Report

Debate between Taiwo Owatemi and Sajid Javid

Wednesday 30th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I thank my right hon. Friend for the way in which he has worked with the Department and with my predecessor in representing his constituents throughout this investigation. He referred to “so-called normal birth” in his question, and he was right to do so: the only normal birth is a safe birth, which is what the NHS should be working towards, but that did not happen in this trust. The report has made that absolutely clear. Just as important are its recommendations, including some for my right hon. Friend’s local NHS trust. I can reassure him—partly as a result of my conversation earlier today with the current chief executive—that all the recommendations in the interim report have been implemented by his local trust, and all those in this report have been accepted.

[Taiwo Owatemi (Coventry North West) (Lab)]

Let me start by paying tribute to all the families affected, and thanking Donna Ockenden and her team for their recommendations.

More midwives are leaving the profession than are joining it. We cannot run equally safe services in all NHS trusts without appropriate staffing levels. I therefore hope that the Secretary of State will be able to give further details of what the Government are doing to ensure that there are safe staffing levels in all trusts to provide care for pregnant women.

[Sajid Javid]

The hon. Lady is right to talk about the importance of having the right workforce, and certainly more midwives. I can tell her than last year there were 30,185 acceptances for nursing and midwifery courses, the highest number in a decade. Recruitment is being supported by some of the extra funding that I have talked about today. The Government have established grants enabling students to take courses, and, where appropriate, are also focusing on international recruitment.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Taiwo Owatemi and Sajid Javid

Tuesday 13th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I am pleased to tell my hon. Friend that, now that we have begun the process of opening up, more work is being done between my Department and the Department for Transport on international travel. The announcements made by my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary last week will certainly help and be welcomed by the sector and travellers. On GP access, now that we have started to open up, working together with GPs we can see better direct access, and especially face-to-face access.

[Taiwo Owatemi (Coventry North West) (Lab)]

What steps he is taking to develop the role of pharmacies in primary care provision.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sajid Javid]

I think we would all agree in this House that GP practices have done a magnificent job in responding to the pandemic, and I want to take this opportunity to thank all GPs and their staff for the work that they have done and that they continue to do. My hon. Friend is right to raise the issue of face-to-face access. We can all understand why it changed during the pandemic, but as we open up, we can start to provide more of this, particularly for older people. Over the coming weeks and months, that will be a priority for my Department.

[Taiwo Owatemi (Coventry North West) (Lab)]

Cancer Research UK estimates that, compared with pre-pandemic levels, nearly 45,000 fewer patients started cancer treatment in the UK in April 2020 to March 2021. It believes that this stems from there being less diagnosis during the pandemic. In England alone, 10,500 of those missing cases were breast cancer cases. What steps are the Government taking to reach out to those at risk of cancer who have not been diagnosed due to limited NHS access over the past 18 months?

[Sajid Javid]

As I said in response to an earlier question, this is a huge priority for the Government and, again, I am pleased that the hon. Lady has raised the issue. It is an issue for her constituents and for constituents throughout the country. She referred to the research by Cancer Research UK. I am afraid that it is right: there are thousands of people who did not come forward. We can understand why, so let me say this again as it is so important: for anyone concerned, please do come forward. We have provided additional funding—more than £1 billion—for more diagnostics and we will continue to provide additional support.