Oral Answers to Questions

Theo Clarke Excerpts

Tuesday 5th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

I thank the hon. Lady for her work in this regard, and I absolutely acknowledge the issues that women are experiencing with this highly invasive procedure at what is often an extremely distressing time in their lives. We are waiting for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to update its guidelines on best practice in hysteroscopies. Following consultation last year that is under peer review, and is due to published soon. However, as the hon. Lady knows, I am clear that it should not be the responsibility of women in those very distressing circumstances to ask for pain relief. Clinicians must assume that a woman wants it, and discuss that with her before the procedure.

[Theo Clarke (Stafford) (Con)]

I welcome the Government’s recent refresh of the women’s health strategy and the addition to it of birth trauma. However, I am currently chairing a national inquiry into birth trauma, and we are hearing from mothers throughout the United Kingdom about some of the severe mental health conditions that they are facing, including postpartum psychosis. I have been particularly concerned to hear about the risk of suicide among new mothers. What action are the Government taking to address this?

[Victoria Atkins]

Let me put on record my admiration for my hon. Friend’s action in sharing her own experiences in order to improve healthcare for women across the country. She will know of yesterday’s important announcement about suicide prevention, elements of which addressed exactly the concerns that she has rightly raised. Thanks to her hard work, we have also announced that within eight weeks or so of giving birth mums will be asked by GPs whether they are okay, and we hope very much that that will open up the conversation with women who may be struggling.

Oral Answers to Questions

Theo Clarke Excerpts

Tuesday 5th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Maria Caulfield]

The hon. Lady has touched on three inquiries. The Ockenden inquiry covered the period from 2000 to 2019, the Kirkup review covered the period from 2009 to 2020 and the Morecambe Bay inquiry covered the period from 2004 to 2013, so the Labour Government were also responsible for parts of all those periods.

We are introducing radical changes. We are increasing the number of midwives, which is up 14% since 2010, and the number of midwifery training places has increased by 3,650. We have introduced the maternity disparities taskforce to improve outcomes for those women who face the poorest outcomes, and have also introduced a maternity support programme for those trusts that do badly in CQC inspections—32 trusts are going through that improvement programme right now. Those are some of the things we are doing to improve maternity services.

[Theo Clarke (Stafford) (Con)]

As chair of the all-party parliamentary group for birth trauma, I recently commissioned a survey of mums across the UK via Mumsnet on this issue. I was shocked to discover that one in five mothers was not being offered a six-week GP check post-birth. That means that many women with physical injuries or mental health problems are unfortunately not being diagnosed or offered support, which is very troubling. Will my hon. Friend include birth trauma in the future update to the women’s health strategy, and ensure that all mums receive a post-birth six-week check-up with their GP? That check-up must include both the physical and mental health of the mum, not just focus on the baby.

[Maria Caulfield]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s work in this place. She will be pleased to know that we are rolling out perinatal pelvic health services in every part of England, which should be in place by the end of March next year. In addition, we are rolling out obstetric anal sphincter injury bundles, which my hon. Friend raised in her debate on birth trauma; those have the potential to reduce the number of tears by 20%. She is absolutely right to be driving this issue forward. It will be covered in the women’s health strategy, but we are not waiting for the second year: we are already making progress in this place.

Oral Answers to Questions

Theo Clarke Excerpts

Tuesday 17th October 2023 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Theo Clarke (Stafford) (Con)]

1. What steps his Department is taking to train more NHS staff.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Steve Barclay)]

The NHS long-term workforce plan sets out a path to double the number of medical school training places, increase GP training by 50% and double the number of adult nursing training places.

[Theo Clarke]

What steps are the Government taking to increase the recruitment of midwives, given the closure of Stafford County Hospital’s freestanding midwifery birthing unit due to shortages, and how is the Secretary of State going to ensure that all midwives are trained to deal with birth injuries to reduce risk?

[Steve Barclay]

My hon. Friend raises an important point, and I know she has secured a debate in the House this week to further explore these issues. She will be aware that there has been a 13% increase in the number of midwifery programme place starters since two years ago. That is alongside the £165 million added to the maternity budget since 2021 and the key increase in midwifery places in the long-term workforce plan.

Covid-19 Update

Theo Clarke Excerpts

Monday 13th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

This is about having a balanced and proportionate response, and that is the approach that the Government have taken. It is about recognising that while these restrictions help to slow the rate of spread, they also have a real impact on people’s lives.

[Theo Clarke (Stafford) (Con)]

I welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement that booster vaccines were to be offered to all adults, and I was grateful for the opportunity to receive mine last week at Stafford’s St George’s Hospital, but to defeat the new covid-19 variant we need to vaccinate as many people as possible, so may I urge the Secretary of State to open a walk-in vaccination centre in Stafford?

[Sajid Javid]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on getting boosted. She may have heard me say earlier that we will be opening many more walk-in and pop-in centres. I have heard her representation and so has the vaccines Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Maggie Throup), and we will certainly try to make that happen.

My hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Steve Brine) asked me earlier about proof of vaccination for children. Let me make it clear that although the proof will take the form of a letter, it can be ordered online. The digital pass access will come later.

Covid-19 Update

Theo Clarke Excerpts

Monday 28th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

The hon. Lady will know that the NHS is one of our greatest public services. In fact, it is one of the greatest public services that any country has, and it is an example to the rest of the world. It is something that we will cherish and continue to support in every possible way.

[Theo Clarke (Stafford) (Con)]

I warmly welcome the return of my right hon. Friend to the Front Bench. Some services such as maternity were temporarily suspended at Stafford’s County Hospital so that those wards could be used to treat covid-19 patients at the height of the pandemic, but does he agree that it is vital that those services are now returned to the hospital as soon as possible?

[Sajid Javid]

That is an important issue for many hon. Members. Services, in this case maternity services, were understandably, I think it is fair to say, suspended to deal with the pandemic. As we return to normal, it is important that those services, on which local people rely, begin to return to normal as well. If it is helpful for my hon. Friend, I can certainly set up a meeting for her with my hon. Friend Minister for Health so that she can discuss that in more detail.

Local Contact Tracing

Theo Clarke Excerpts

Wednesday 14th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Navendu Mishra (Stockport) (Lab)]

We are at a crossroads in this crisis and the Government, rather than knowing which way to turn, are instead caught in the headlights. This Government have had seven months to get their test and trace system in place, but, tragically for the almost 50,000 people who have lost their lives already since this pandemic started, it has failed. There can be no excuse when our European partners have had an effective system in place since May.

This is a deeply worrying period for my Stockport constituents, given that Greater Manchester and the north-west are witnessing some of the highest infection rates in the country, and we are now in the Government’s tier 2 category. Indeed, in the borough of Stockport alone, there are now more than 4,000 cases of coronavirus, and it is being reported that the Government will today convene a gold command meeting where Greater Manchester may be moved into tier 3—the highest category.

Despite this, the Government are offering little beyond lockdown measures to stop the spread of this deadly disease. The Mayor of Greater Manchester has been calling for proper funding for test and trace for months, and only today the leaders of all 10 councils in Greater Manchester and the Mayor, Andy Burnham, released a statement in response to the new restrictions. In it, they call for testing

“to enable targeting of known or emerging points of transmission.”

They also raise valid concerns about this Government’s attempt to bounce Greater Manchester into the higher risk tier 3 category.

[Theo Clarke (Stafford) (Con)]

To pick up the hon. Member’s point about specific venues and contact tracing, in my constituency, pubs and restaurants have been successfully using track and trace now for several months. Venues such as Candid Beer, the Bird in Hand and the Market Vaults are already using contact tracing very well. Does he not agree with me that contact tracing is actually playing a vital role in helping keep our hospitality industry open for business?

[Navendu Mishra]

I understand the points the hon. Lady is making, but I think contact tracing in Greater Manchester and places with very high rates of infection has not worked as well as it should have. I am pleased to hear that in her constituency it is working well, but I think the Government need to come forward with a proper package to support jobs in the hospitality sector if they are going to force regions like the Liverpool city region or Greater Manchester into tier 3.

The Government are dangling the carrot of local control of test and trace. However, this should be on offer for all areas, and is more likely to be effective in areas that are in tier 1 and tier 2. If this Government pursue their current strategy, they will leave large parts of the north of England trapped in tier 3 for much of the winter. Given that cases are forecast to rise sharply as this Government lose control and refuse to provide the substantial economic support that tier 3 areas will need, I fully support the call by a number of local authority leaders in Greater Manchester for a national circuit break. This would also create the conditions for a reset of the test and trace service into a more locally controlled option, which will hopefully drive cases down to a lower level and be more likely to succeed.

The only way to defeat the virus is for national and local government to work hand in hand, upskill the local test and trace system, delegate sufficient powers and provide the financial support that is so desperately required after 10 years of austerity and having stumped up millions during the first phase of this pandemic. But instead of addressing the failures of a privatised and centralised contact tracing model, this Government choose to keep pouring hundreds of millions of pounds into the likes of Serco to lead the effort on tracking and tracing. This is despite the recent poll by Survation revealing that 74% of the public wanted to see local public health teams, rather than profit-making companies, leading on this. Our European partners have had systems in place since May, yet almost six months later this Government are rushing to hand the nearest contract to big business with no track record of delivery or success.

It is clear is that we cannot have more of the same from this Government such as the shambles of being informed by a Health Minister that a new testing centre was being opened for my constituents on a University of Greenwich campus 240 miles away in Kent. I have already made it clear to the House that I am willing to accept that the letter was an error, but it further exposes the Government’s complete mishandling of this crisis. In the absence of any effective form of test and trace, frontline staff, including all workers in hospitals, schools and local authorities, must be provided with access to adequate personal protective equipment.

Covid-19

Theo Clarke Excerpts

Tuesday 1st September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, absolutely. Our approach is to ensure that the support that is given, including with the vaccine if and when that comes, goes to those who are clinically most at risk. That is the answer to ensuring that disabled people get the support that they need. People who are disabled for different reasons have different needs. We must be cognisant of that and not try to treat all disabled people with different disabilities the same. Instead, we should support people according to their needs and that is at the heart of the approach that I take.

[Theo Clarke (Stafford) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that the recent coronavirus outbreak from the Crown and Anchor pub in Stone in Staffordshire next to my constituency demonstrates how vital it is that we all—including businesses—follow the track and trace guidance that has been put in place, so that we can reopen our economy safely and control this virus?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, absolutely. Everybody has a role to play. Businesses have a role to play especially, including with contact tracing, so that people can safely go to the pub and know that if there is a problem they can be contacted. We all have that part to play.

NHS Funding Bill

Theo Clarke Excerpts

Legislative Grand Committee & 3rd reading: House of Commons & Legislative Grand Committee: House of Commons & Programme motion: House of Commons & 3rd reading & Programme motion
Tuesday 4th February 2020 Commons Chamber

I turn to new clause 5 and the concerns that the Bill enshrines the NHS budget in cash terms—a point that the shadow Minister has reasonably put to me and to the Secretary of State on previous occasions. Like Government departmental settlements, the NHS budget is set in cash terms. This is essential to deliver certainty and predictability. However, responding to changes or fluctuations in expected inflation rates is part of the normal course of business, and would be addressed and scrutinised as necessary through fiscal events such as Budgets. We do not need to legislate for that separately. Furthermore, the House should remember that what we are proposing is a floor, not a ceiling. We are retaining the flexibility for an increase in funding in a range of scenarios. Nothing in the Bill prevents that at any future point.

[Theo Clarke (Stafford) (Con)]

This Bill is about funding, but buildings and services are key to delivering on our national health service priorities, so may I highlight the importance of the A&E at the County Hospital in Stafford and ensuring that we are supporting NHS services in my constituency?

[Edward Argar]

My hon. Friend is a sound and vocal champion for her constituents in Stafford. I am sure that she will continue to champion their cause, and I am happy to meet her to discuss the specific issue she raised.

I turn to amendment 3, in respect of capital-to-revenue transfers. Clause 1(2) ensures that the funding specified in the Bill can only be used for NHSE revenue spending, meaning that day-to-day spending for the NHS is protected. As we have highlighted in the House previously, the Government have made a range of capital commitments to the NHS, including the commitment to 40 new hospitals. Nevertheless, going to the point in the amendment itself, we have been clear that the transfers from capital revenue should have only been seen as short-term measures that were rightly being phased out, and we are doing so. My right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Jeremy Hunt), the former Secretary of State, did, however, set out why a degree of flexibility is required, and we would not believe that a blanket ban set in legislation was the right approach.