Mental Health Conditions, Autism and ADHD
Wes Streeting Excerpts(1 day, 12 hours ago)
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The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
I am announcing today the launch of an independent review into the prevalence of, and support for, mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism.
Over the past decade there has been progress in reducing stigma and an increase in public awareness of mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, and the importance of psychological wellbeing. Yet the prevalence of common mental health conditions for adults has increased to one in five, and many people who are autistic or have ADHD are struggling to access the right support. This Government have already taken significant steps to stabilise and improve NHS services, but there is much more to do.
I am deeply concerned that many adults, young people and children with mental health conditions, ADHD and autism have been let down by services and are not receiving tailored, personalised or timely support and treatment.
That is why I am announcing this independent review to understand the rises in prevalence and demand on services to ensure that people receive the right support, at the right time and in the right place.
The review will look to understand the similarities and differences between mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, regarding prevalence, prevention and treatment, the current challenges facing clinical services, and the extent to which diagnosis, medicalisation and treatment improves outcomes for individuals. This will include exploring the evidence around clinical practice and the risks and benefits of medicalisation. The review will also look at different models of support and pathways, within and beyond the NHS, that promote prevention and early intervention, supplementing clinical support.
I have asked Professor Peter Fonagy to chair this review with the support of two vice chairs, Professor Sir Simon Wessely and Professor Gillian Baird. They each have specific expertise on mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions and extensive clinical and academic experience.
The review will appoint an advisory working group, which involves a multidisciplinary group of leading academics, clinicians, epidemiological experts, charities and people with lived experience, to directly shape the recommendations and scrutinise the evidence.
I have asked the chairs to provide a short report within six months setting out conclusions and recommendations for responding to the rising need, both within Government and across the health system and wider public services.
The terms of reference will be published on gov.uk.
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Budget Resolutions
Wes Streeting Excerpts(3 days, 12 hours ago)
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Wes Streeting
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have to confess a sin. Earlier today, in the debate on the Budget, I referenced the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) and did not notify him in advance. This was particularly egregious because I was not very nice about him. With that in mind, and out of respect for the customs and conventions of this House, I would like to apologise to the hon. Member and put this note on the record. I have, of course, written to him in similar terms.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I am grateful to the right hon. Member for giving me advance notice of his putting this point on the record. I am not sure that it is a sin, or whether he will be absolved of it, but it has been noted.
Cass Review Implementation
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The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
I am today updating the House on the Government’s efforts to provide better outcomes for children and young people with gender incongruence, in line with the recommendations of the Cass review.
Children’s healthcare must always be led by evidence, and medicines prescribed to young people should be proven to be safe and effective.
The Cass review was clear that there is not enough evidence about the long-term effects of using puberty-suppressing hormones to treat gender incongruence to know whether they are safe or beneficial. It is a scandal that medicine was given to vulnerable young children without proof that it was safe or effective, and outside the rigorous safeguards of a clinical trial.
The review recommended that a clinical trial be commissioned within a full programme of research, which is being taken forward. This is the safest and most effective way of building an evidence base and charting a course through this challenging issue, where there are understandable concerns around safety, efficacy and consent. The Commission on Human Medicines —a statutory, expert body made up of clinicians and academics that provides independent advice to Ministers on the safety, efficacy and quality of medicines—considered information on the proposed trial and made recommendations, which have been adopted
On Saturday, following the receipt of full ethical approvals from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the Health Research Authority, King’s College London launched two new studies funded by NHS England to provide better evidence for how the NHS can support and treat young people with gender incongruence.
This includes the pathways trial—a carefully designed, randomised controlled clinical trial of puberty suppressing hormones for gender incongruence. This trial will involve young people being treated in NHS children and young people’s gender services with a formal diagnosis of gender incongruence. It will measure the impacts of these hormones on their cognitive, physical, social and emotional wellbeing. For their own wellbeing, there are strict eligibility criteria in place, including clinical review and parental consent. Young people will undergo comprehensive physical and mental health checks before and during the study, and will continue to receive psychosocial and other non-medical care while participating. If a young person meets the eligibility criteria, they will then be offered the opportunity to participate in the trial. The study team are now working to open sites for recruitment.
The trial has received comprehensive scientific, ethical and regulatory approval from the MHRA and from the Health Research Authority, including review by an independent research ethics committee. It follows the initiation of the observational pathways horizon study, and has been approved alongside the pathways connect study. The health and wellbeing of the children involved will always be our primary consideration.
NHS England has significantly increased both capacity and investment since April last year, with the opening of three new children and young people’s gender services in London, the north-west and the south-west. I am pleased to say a fourth service will open in the new year, with the ambition of service provision in every region of England by 2026-27.
Last year, NHS England reformed the referral pathway in these services. A referral can only be made by an NHS-commissioned, secondary care level paediatric service or a children and young people’s mental health service. This will ensure that healthcare professionals with the relevant expertise conduct the assessment and help to determine any co-existing mental health or other health needs of these children and their onward care.
I am determined to improve the quality of, and access to, care for all trans people. The full implementation of the Cass review will deliver material improvements in the wellbeing, safety and dignity of trans people of all ages. I will continue to work to help trans people to live freely, equally, and with the dignity that everyone in our country deserves.
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Transforming the Health Service
Wes Streeting Excerpts(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
I am today updating the House on the Government’s plans to reform the health system in England, in line with our commitment to deliver a more accountable, productive and patient-focused national health service.
The Government intend to abolish NHS England by March 2027, subject to the will of Parliament. And as we have set out, the role of integrated care boards is also changing. ICBs now have a clear purpose as strategic commissioners, tasked with building a neighbourhood health service focused on preventing illness.
We are doing this to deliver a more streamlined, efficient and strategic centre. The size of the centre has more than doubled since 2010. The 2012 reorganisation of the NHS led to worse care for patients, at soaring costs, leaving taxpayers paying more but getting less. That is why the Government’s ambition remains to reduce staff numbers by up to 50% across the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and ICBs. These reductions will be made by March 2028.
Patients will experience better care as we end duplication and slash bureaucracy across the NHS, with around 18,000 posts abolished and more than £1 billion per annum saved by the end of the Parliament. These reforms will also give more power and autonomy to local leaders and systems—stripping away red tape and bureaucracy, and providing more freedom to better deliver health services for their local communities. Today’s announcement comes ahead of next week’s Budget, which will focus on cutting waiting lists, cutting the national debt and cutting the cost of living, and driving more productive and efficient use of taxpayers’ money by rooting out waste in public services.
As set out in our 10-year health plan, we are revitalising the foundation trust model that drove previous improvements in performance, but with the shift from treatment to prevention at its heart. And as our next step in delivering this commitment, I can today update Parliament that eight high-performing trusts will be assessed by NHS England to become the first advanced foundation trusts, based on their record of delivering quality care, strong finances and effective partnerships with staff and local services:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/advanced-foundation-trusts/
Further waves will follow over the coming years, driving up standards in every community.
This new designation will reward excellence with greater freedom for providers and clinicians to make decisions locally—from how services are organised to how money is spent—so that care can be designed around what works best for local people, not dictated from Whitehall.
On top of this, the best foundation trusts—those embracing the three shifts and demonstrating the strongest partnerships—will also be given the opportunity to hold integrated health organisation contracts. As an IHO, they will hold the whole health budget for a local population, alongside responsibility for improving health outcomes.
From the first wave of advanced foundation trusts, two will go forward as candidates for first wave IHO designation. We will work with these designates to further develop the IHO model, and over time we expect IHOs to become the norm.
All of this adds up to a very different kind of NHS. It marks a fundamental shift: from command and control to collaboration and confidence. It will not happen overnight, but with our investment and modernisation, this Government will rebuild our NHS so that it is there for you when you need it once again.
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Points of Order
Wes Streeting Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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Mr Speaker
We all remember Oliver Colvile very fondly. He really was a good MP and a nice kind of guy to meet. I knew Oliver way before he came to this House. We are all saddened to hear the news.
Wes Streeting
Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. On behalf of the Government and Labour Members, I associate myself fully with the remarks of the shadow Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Daventry (Stuart Andrew). Oliver Colvile was a decent man and a wonderful public servant—we all share that view. I am sure that my hon. Friends on the Labour Benches will absolutely follow his example when it comes to following the Whip.
Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)
Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. Oliver Colvile was loved by Members from across this House. As it will soon be the 175th anniversary dinner of the Lords and Commons cricket team, it is worth remembering one of the most famous wickets ever taken, when Oliver Colvile bowled and took that wicket in India, on live television, watched by tens of millions. I had never seen a triumph like it. He will be much missed. He was always loved and respected in this House.
Oral Answers to Questions
Wes Streeting Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
This Government have invested an extra £26 billion in the NHS, delivered 5 million more appointments in our first year and cut waiting lists by more than 200,000. We are also tackling the NHS postcode lottery. Patients should not have to wait longer for worse care because of where they live. Our new NHS league tables shine a light on the poorest performers so they receive the extra support and accountability needed to turn them around. The best leaders are being sent into the most challenged trusts to turn them around, failing managers will have their pay docked and persistent failure will lead to restrictions on boards, as we saw in Leeds this week. We will not tolerate failure.
Shaun Davies
In Telford and wider Shropshire, we know that the NHS has an absolute mountain to climb after years of underperformance. We have begun that journey with falling waiting times, increased Government investment and plans for Telford’s first ever cancer treatment unit. Will the Secretary of State ensure that trusts that show signs of improvement are backed to catch up with the rest and continue their improvements, particularly with investment in technology, research and infrastructure?
Wes Streeting
Absolutely. My hon. Friend deserves real credit for championing Telford and Shropshire and helping to get the trust the investment it needs. He is right that local services have not been good enough for a number of years. We will not turn a blind eye to that failure; we will do something about it. There is a long way to go, but we have already delivered an extra 94,000 appointments and cut waiting lists by over 14,000 at his local trust since the general election—so a lot done, but lots more to do.
Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)
I see the Health Secretary is having a bust-up with the Chancellor over who pays his £1.3 billion redundancy bill for breaking up NHS England. Will he guarantee that, once he has resolved his differences with the Chancellor, not a single penny will be taken from delivering frontline health and social care services or from underperforming NHS trusts to pay for making staff redundant?
Wes Streeting
The hon. Gentleman should not believe everything he reads in the newspapers. I make no apology for trying to cut unnecessary bureaucracy in large national organisations to redeploy savings to frontline services. His Government really should have taken a leaf out of our book.
Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
The Secretary of State need look no further than Homerton university hospital in Hackney for good performance: it has managed to increase productivity by over 11%. What is he doing to support great leaders who deliver great progress and to make sure that they have the funding they need to continue with that?
Wes Streeting
I was delighted to meet my hon. Friend only recently to hear about the really impressive productivity gains being made at her local trust. I am keen to learn more. We need to incentivise and reward leaders for that kind of outstanding performance and we also need to get some of that best practice to some of our poorest performing trusts.
Freddie van Mierlo (Henley and Thame) (LD)
Oxford university hospitals trust is one of just three trusts that do not provide givinostat for Duchenne through the early access programme. Last week, I attended a roundtable at which one of my constituents, Alex, advocated on behalf of his son, Ben, who is not getting the treatment. We discussed lessons learned from the early access programme. Will the Secretary of State meet me, Duchenne UK and the all-party parliamentary group on access to medicines and medical devices so that we can share those lessons with him?
Wes Streeting
I have had the privilege of meeting some of the campaigners, and particularly the young people affected by that cruel condition, and I understand the hon. Gentleman’s frustrations. I know that the medication is being put through the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence process, and I hope that that will deliver a positive outcome. I would be delighted to keep him apprised of progress.
Mr Speaker
Can I just suggest to Members that their supplementary question should relate to the tabled question? That would be helpful. I call the shadow Minister.
Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)
With reports of over £1 billion in costs for integrated care board redundancies and the chief executive officer of NHS England warning that services could have to move to plan B, could the Secretary of State set out what plan B is?
Wes Streeting
We are absolutely committed to delivering the transformation that we have outlined, and we are working with ICB leaders and NHS leaders to do that in a timely way. Those savings will deliver better value for money and enable us to redeploy resources to the frontline where they belong.
Dr Evans
I thank the Secretary of State for his answer, but waiting lists have risen for three successive months now, doctors are on strike, GPs are in formal dispute with the Government, and the ICBs are cutting 50% of their staff and do not have £1 billion to pay for it, all while the NHS 10-year plan has been published but with no delivery chapter. When will the Secretary of State come to the House with the delivery plan for the NHS 10-year plan?
Wes Streeting
Not only have the Conservatives failed to get in the news, but they have clearly not been reading it either. There have been no doctors strikes in the NHS since before the summer, and we have sat down with resident doctors and their new leadership to try to avert future strike action. The hon. Gentleman is right to point out that the action taken by the previous committee—unnecessary and irresponsible as it was—has impacted on waiting lists in the last few months, as have higher levels of demand than anticipated. I say that by way of explanation, by the way, not by way of excuse. I am determined to make sure that we hit our target, as outlined in the Government’s plan for change, and I think he will find that in the coming months we will be back on track and well on course to achieving something that the Conservatives failed to do when they had the chance.
Samantha Niblett (South Derbyshire) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
I am deeply concerned by the state of maternity care that we inherited in the NHS. That is why I have asked Baroness Amos to chair an independent investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services. Families deserve truth and justice, there must be accountability for failings, and services must improve. I am committing to doing whatever it takes to provide patients and babies with safe, comfortable and dignified care.
I should also inform the House that this week I have announced an inquiry into failings at the Leeds teaching hospital trust. I am working with the families affected to agree on a chair and terms of reference, and I will keep the House updated on next steps.
Samantha Niblett
Pregnancy can be a worrying time for any expectant parent, and knowing they can access their GP to see a person face to face is hugely important. That was denied to my constituent, Hayley Johnson, who sadly went on to lose her baby, Evelyn, when she was delivered in an emergency at 26 weeks and six days due to a huge misdiagnosis given over the phone. With regard to maternity support specifically, what is the Minister doing to ensure that excellent maternity care is delivered in local communities so that that never happens to another family, and that when the very worst does happen and parents are suffering the loss of a baby, the support also extends to bereavement counselling?
Wes Streeting
I thank my hon. Friend for the work she is doing to campaign for better support in this space and for raising these tragic cases, not just today but in her powerful contribution to last week’s debate. She is right to say that GPs are critical for supporting women during pregnancy, providing compassionate physical and mental health care and signposting relevant services, which is why continuity is important. I am happy to report to her that, in terms of mental health and bereavement support, a record number of women accessed a specialist community perinatal mental health service or maternal mental health service in the 12 months to July 2025, but clearly there is much more to do. We have announced a £36.5 million package for bespoke perinatal mental health and parent infant relationship support as part of the continuation of the family hubs and Start for Life programme, but as we heard in last week’s debate, although a lot has been done, there is so much more to do.
Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)
Safe maternity care depends on adequate staffing, and we on these Benches have been calling for better recruitment and retention of staff in women’s health services for a long time now. Can the Secretary of State outline what specific measures the Government are taking to address the shortage of midwives and specialist neonatal nurses across England?
Wes Streeting
We need to make sure that there is better staffing and that we have the right people in the right place. I should just caution the House, though, because in recent years there has been an increase in staffing but not a corresponding increase in the quality of care, so we have to make sure we are looking at this issue in a nuanced way. It is about having the right staff in the right place at the right time to deliver safe maternity and perinatal services, and that is exactly what we will do.
Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
Our maternity wards are in a state of crisis, with death and injury rising at an alarming rate. Sadly, this issue is not confined to Shropshire, and there has been a steady drumbeat of maternity scandals, with review after review finding consistent failings across the NHS. Can the Secretary of State explain to me and the many mothers I have met who have faced tragedy and unacceptable trauma why the Government are cutting national service development funding—ringfenced funding to improve maternity care—by more than 95% and why the immediate and essential actions from the Ockenden review into the failings at Shrewsbury and Telford hospital trust, which were to be implemented nationwide, are still not in place more than three years later?
Wes Streeting
We really are not; what we have done is devolve funding and responsibility to local level, which we think is the right thing to do. If I may say so, it is quite irresponsible to suggest that maternity funding and funding for services has been cut in the way that the hon. Lady describes. I think it causes unnecessary concern. We are taking into account the recommendations made by Donna Ockenden, as well as a wide range of other reviews and inquiries, as part of Baroness Amos’s rapid investigation, because I, like the hon. Member, want to see rapid improvement in maternity services across the country.
Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole) (Ind)
Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
I am concerned that the disruption caused by an uncosted, unplanned simultaneous reorganisation of NHS England and the ICBs is affecting patient care. Before the summer, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended that the RSV vaccine should be given to those over 80 and those in adult care homes. In July, I asked the Secretary of State to confirm that this vaccine will be available in time for the winter season, and he said,
“I can certainly reassure the shadow Minister on this.”—[Official Report, 22 July 2025; Vol. 771, c. 677.]
The winter vaccine programme started three weeks ago. Why has he not delivered on his promise?
Karin Smyth
As my right hon. Friend has just said, we have delivered on that commitment. The hon. Member talks about the reorganisation being a distraction. If her party had focused taxpayers’ money on patient services rather than ballooning bureaucracy, with costs increasing both among providers and through ICBs, we would not have inherited the mess that we did, and would be able to roll out programmes more effectively. We have committed to doing that.
Michelle Welsh (Sherwood Forest) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
We strengthened the NHS front door with £1.2 billion for general practice, the biggest cash increase in over a decade. We promised to recruit an extra 1,000 GPs in our first year—we recruited 2,000. Patients are now able to request appointments online, which is a huge step towards delivering our manifesto commitment to end the 8 am scramble.
Olly Glover
Great Western Park has added 3,000 homes to Didcot, in my Oxfordshire constituency, and Valley Park, which is under construction, will add 4,000 more. However, the new GP surgery promised in 2008 remains a barren patch of land and existing facilities cannot cope. The integrated care board is supportive, but progress has stalled due to NHS England’s involvement. Does the Secretary of State agree with me that integrated care boards should have the authority to direct primary care funding, and will he meet me to help to unblock the new GP surgery my constituents desperately need?
Wes Streeting
Let me come back to the hon. Gentleman after I have found out what has gone wrong in this case. As he points out, ICBs are responsible for commissioning, planning, securing and monitoring GP services within their health system, through delegated responsibility from NHS England, and capital is allocated to ICBs on a basis that takes account of annual population growth. I can understand his frustration and that of his constituents, so let me find out what has gone wrong and come back to him.
Michelle Welsh
After 14 years of a Conservative Government, poor access to GPs is something that we have come to know well in certain areas of my constituency of Sherwood Forest. In Hucknall, demand for GP appointments is overwhelming to the point that one practice has had to close its online system. Promises of a super-healthcare system were made by the previous Government but never delivered. Meanwhile, local Ashfield independent politicians have disgracefully used this as a political football. Does the Secretary of State agree with me that there has been far too much talk and not enough action, and that it is now time that both the integrated care board and Ashfield district council deliver on this?
Wes Streeting
It is of no surprise to me that my hon. Friend raises yet another example of Conservative broken promises, and the hot air that comes from independents, who have all the luxury of being commentators but none of the responsibility of ever having to deliver anything. I would be happy to meet her to look into what has gone wrong here. This has gone on for far too many years, and I can well understand her frustrations.
Gurinder Singh Josan (Smethwick) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
Since I last answered questions in this House, the Government have announced: half a billion pounds for a fair pay agreement for care workers; NHS Online, the first ever online-only hospital trust; and £80 million for children’s hospices. We have announced an independent inquiry into maternity services in Leeds, introduced Jess’s rule, implemented online requests for GP appointments, opened the 100th community diagnostic centre, made the chickenpox vaccine available on the NHS, and published NHS league tables—a lot done; a lot more to do.
Gurinder Singh Josan
We promised 2 million more appointments, and we have delivered 5 million, along with 2,000 extra GPs, 6,500 more mental health workers, 7,000 more doctors, and 13,000 more nurses and midwives. The cancer diagnosis standard has been met, GP satisfaction is up and waiting lists are down. The brand-new Midland Metropolitan University hospital has opened in my constituency. Does the Secretary of State agree that this is the difference that a Labour Government make, and that we are only just getting started?
Wes Streeting
Why stop there? We have 15,000 more home adaptations for disabled people through the disabled facilities grant and 135,000 more suspected cancer patients receiving a diagnosis on time. We have more than 200,000 cases off the waiting list, £500 million for the first ever fair pay agreement for care workers and the biggest uplift in carer’s allowance for a generation. The Tories did not do it, and Reform would undo it. That is the difference that a Labour Government make.
Stuart Andrew (Daventry) (Con)
First, it is great to be in this new role. I genuinely want to be part of a constructive Opposition, but equally I want to do my role in holding this Government to account. I note the lack of detail in the Secretary of State’s answers on reorganisation, so can I ask the basics again? How many people will be made redundant, what will it cost and who is paying?
Wes Streeting
I welcome the shadow Secretary of State to his place. It is good to hear from the Conservative Front Benchers; I had almost forgotten they existed. The Conservatives created a complex web of bureaucracy. It is a bit rich to complain we are not abolishing their creation quickly enough. We have had a number of expressions of interest in voluntary redundancy across my Department, NHS England and the integrated care boards, and we are working through that as we speak.
Stuart Andrew
Again, the Secretary of State cannot answer. His answers are too vague. He is very good at making promises, but the facts are that he is presiding over a reorganisation that has stalled, creating uncertainty for staff. Waiting lists are up 50,000 in the past three months, hospices are in crisis because of national insurance contribution rises, and we have had strikes again—despite big pay rises—with the threat of more. If the Secretary of State wants the leadership in the future, perhaps he should show leadership in the NHS now, and tell us not just the plans, but when he will give the details and how he will deliver on his promises to patients.
Wes Streeting
Waiting lists are lower now than when Labour took office, and that is in stark contrast with the record of the Government in which the shadow Secretary of State served; waiting lists increased every single year they were in charge. This is the first year in 15 that waiting lists have fallen. That is the difference that a Labour Government make. We are only just getting started. As for leadership changes, we all know why they are calling the Leader of the Opposition “Kemi-Kaze”.
Naushabah Khan (Gillingham and Rainham) (Lab)
Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
Every year we come here to discuss the winter crisis in the NHS, but this summer saw record waits at accident and emergency, with more than 74,000 12-hour trolley waits in June and July. That used to be unheard of. With winter looming and the potential for the A&E permacrisis to be even worse this year, what package of emergency measures is the Secretary of State putting in place to ensure that patients are not left to suffer on trolleys or worse in our hospital corridors this winter?
Wes Streeting
The hon. Lady is absolutely right to point out that the NHS is already running hot ahead of winter. We brought forward our winter planning for this year to get ahead. We are making sure that all NHS trusts and systems have developed plans that have been tested regionally. The flu vaccination programme is well under way, the autumn covid-19 vaccination began on 1 October, and we are driving improvements in urgent and emergency care. This will be a challenging winter—we are not complacent about that—but we are getting the system ready for it.
Markus Campbell-Savours (Penrith and Solway) (Lab)
Sojan Joseph (Ashford) (Lab)
Wes Streeting
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing this matter to the House’s attention. It is appalling for coffee shops to be commandeered as spaces for the care of patients, and we will not accept it. I am happy to look at the case that my hon. Friend has mentioned. We will also be publishing figures on corridor care so that we can hold the system to account, and the public can hold us to account, to improve the situation that we inherited.
Ian Sollom (St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire) (LD)
Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)
Wes Streeting
The hon. Gentleman draws to our attention the appalling state that the NHS was left in by the previous Government. We are working at pace to introduce EPRs across the system. I am sure that Ministers would be happy to look at the case at his local hospital to clean up the mess that the Conservative party left behind.
Dame Siobhain McDonagh (Mitcham and Morden) (Lab)
In the Secretary of State’s list of what has happened since his last oral questions, he failed to mention the appointment of our hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed) as a Minister. He is particularly looking at life sciences. Without life sciences and drug trials, we will not see an improvement in outcomes for rare cancers. Can the Secretary of State make a statement on what will be done about rare cancers?
Wes Streeting
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to welcome my hon. Friend the Minister to his place. I will be honest: in effect, he has been a Minister since we came into government. We very much welcome the work that he has been putting in.
We are determined to do more on rare cancers, working with my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh). All the work that she is doing, particularly on rare brain cancers, is much appreciated.
Rebecca Paul (Reigate) (Con)
Most young people referred to gender identity services are same-sex attracted, neurodiverse and/or traumatised. Looked-after children are also over-represented in this cohort. Is the Secretary of State really comfortable with children being given puberty blockers, which essentially chemically neuter them, for the purposes of the PATHWAYS clinical trial?
Wes Streeting
Within days of taking office, I upheld the judgment made by my predecessor. We need to tread carefully and be sensitive in this space. We need to take an evidence-based approach to trans healthcare in our country, and that is the approach that this Government will take.
Sarah Smith (Hyndburn) (Lab)
As you may be aware, Mr Speaker, Reform-led Lancashire county council has opened a consultation on the future of care homes across Lancashire, including the proposal to close Woodlands care home in my constituency of Hyndburn. Will the Minister join me in urging Lancashire county council not to take forward these proposals, to protect much-valued local services, and to keep care close to the community and to the amazing staff who support our residents in Woodlands care home?
Wes Streeting
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question and the inequalities to which he draws our attention. We will look at that report carefully. I am awaiting the recommendation of the UK National Screening Committee. We will look carefully at that, and I will report to the House on our decision.
Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)
The secure supply of medical radioisotopes is critical for the treatment and diagnosis of many conditions. Is this the Department’s responsibility, and does it support the Welsh Government’s Project Arthur scheme at the nuclear licenced site in Trawsfynydd in my constituency?
James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)
Greater transparency about NHS data should be used to drive improvements, so what assessment has the Health Secretary made of the impact on the Queen Elizabeth hospital in King’s Lynn of being forced to make savings of £18 million this year? What impact will that have on the need to reduce waiting times for A&E and cancer treatment, as identified in the league table that he published?
Wes Streeting
We are putting £26 billion more into the NHS this year, which is investment that was opposed by the Conservative party.
Juliet Campbell (Broxtowe) (Lab)
As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on dyslexia—an issue on which I have campaigned for many years—I remain alarmed at the high number of dyslexic people who still need to use mental health services. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can better serve dyslexic people in Broxtowe and across the UK, and will he consider measures to prevent more dyslexic people from needing mental health services?
Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)
My constituents’ baby, Bran Tunnicliffe, sadly died last year. His parents shared their experience with me, and described the wait for a coroner’s report as a lottery that depends on which hospital, pathologist and coroner is involved. I know that there is a shortage of pathologists in the UK. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss my constituents’ experience?
Wes Streeting
I am so sorry to hear that having experienced such unimaginable heartbreak, the family then had to go through that additional trauma. I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend and look at what we can do together with our friends at the Ministry of Justice to improve the experience for families in that awful situation.
Wes Streeting
I can absolutely give the hon. Gentleman that commitment. I work very well with my counterparts across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, regardless of party affiliations. I think he makes a very sensible suggestion.
Health and Care System: Tackling Antisemitism and Racism
Wes Streeting Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
Today I am updating the House on urgent action to tackle antisemitism and racism across the NHS.
The NHS is a universal service which demands the highest standards of care and respect for all patients, regardless of their background. It is unacceptable that many people, including those in the Jewish community, do not currently feel safe working in or using the NHS.
The vast majority of doctors, nurses and healthcare workers embody the very best of our country. But recent cases have exposed something deeply troubling.
That is why we are taking immediate action.
I have commissioned Lord Mann, the Government’s adviser on antisemitism, to conduct a rapid review into how healthcare regulators can better tackle racism. As well as addressing the real challenges of antisemitism, I also expect Lord Mann’s recommendations to improve the NHS’s ability to tackle all forms of racism in its ranks.
At the same time, all 1.5 million NHS staff will be required to complete updated mandatory antisemitism and anti-racism training, with existing equality, diversity and human rights programmes being expanded.
We are also asking NHS England and all Department of Health and Social Care arm’s length bodies to explicitly adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism to ensure consistency across the health system. NHS trusts and integrated care boards are being strongly encouraged to follow suit. The Government are also reviewing the recommendations of the independent working group on Islamophobia.
NHS England is reviewing the uniform and workwear guidance last updated in 2020, in light of recent successful approaches rolled out at University College London Hospitals NHS foundation trust and Manchester University NHS foundation trust. NHS England will engage stake- holders on its proposals and issue new guidance shortly. The principles of this guidance will be that religious freedom of expression will be protected, patients feel safe and respected at all times, and that staff political views do not impact on patients’ care or comfort.
Together, these actions will help us build a health and care system where everyone feels safe to work and be treated.
[HCWS971]
Primary Care Clinicians: Jess’s Rule
Wes Streeting Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
On 23 September, this Government announced the introduction of Jess’s rule—“three strikes and we rethink”—in England. Under this new rule, we are asking GPs and other clinical staff working in primary care to reflect, review and rethink when a patient comes in for the third time with the same symptom or concern.
Re-evaluation may be particularly important if the condition remains unexpectedly unresolved, the symptoms are worsening, or there is still no confirmed diagnosis. Listening carefully to the patient’s symptoms and concerns, and recognising that they are an expert in their own body, remains crucial.
This call for change follows the tragic death of Jess Brady in December 2020. Jess was just 27 when she died of stage 4 adenocarcinoma. In the five months leading up to her death, she had 20 appointments with her GP practice. Tragically, her cancer remained undiagnosed until she was admitted to hospital, by which time it was too late. Her story, and the tireless efforts of her parents Andrea and Simon Brady, prompted an important and necessary reflection on how we can better support clinical teams in identifying serious conditions earlier, especially in younger adults, whose symptoms may not always align with typical diagnostic expectations. Her story should never be forgotten.
This initiative is jointly led by the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, and is supported by the Royal College of General Practitioners, reflecting a united commitment to improving early diagnosis and patient safety across the healthcare system.
At its heart, Jess’s rule provides clear, structured guidance that sharpens and reinforces the intuition which so often saves lives. It is there to back those instincts with a prompt for timely, proactive action when something does not feel right. By reviewing patient records and questioning initial assumptions, we hope to ensure that fewer serious conditions are missed, especially among young adults who may not fit typical diagnostic patterns.
We know that the practice of “three strikes and rethink” is commonplace. Every day, clinicians across the country are doing an extraordinary job, making complex decisions under immense pressure, often with limited time and information. Jess’s rule is designed to support them in this challenging work, offering a prompt for reflection and reinforcing the instincts they already rely on every day.
I want to pay tribute to Jess’s parents, Andrea and Simon. They have shown extraordinary courage and determination in the face of unimaginable loss. They have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of Jess’s story, and to ensure that what happened to Jess drives lasting change in how we think, how we listen, and how we act in primary care.
I would like to recognise the work of Dr Claire Fuller, Dr Kiren Collison and the entire team at NHS England. Jess’s story is included in the “Primary Care Patient Safety Strategy”, published in 2024, which highlight the importance of re-evaluation when a diagnosis remains unclear. Dr Fuller’s leadership has been instrumental in developing and embedding Jess’s rule.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the support of the Royal College of General Practitioners in taking this work forward. Under the leadership of Professor Kamila Hawthorne, the RCGP has partnered with Jess’s family’s charity, the CEDAR Trust, to develop an online resource to support GPs in earlier cancer detection. This resource is available to all healthcare professionals registered on the RCGP’s learning platform.
Jess’s rule is more than a clinical process, It is a vital step toward ensuring that patient concerns are taken seriously, that patterns are reviewed carefully, and that every opportunity is used to identify serious conditions as early as possible. We owe that to Jess. And we owe it to every patient who places their trust in our health system when they seek help.
[HCWS961]
Baby Loss
Wes Streeting Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
I thank all right hon. and hon. Members who have taken part in this extremely powerful debate. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae), the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Sir Jeremy Hunt) and my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh) for securing the debate, and the Backbench Business Committee for granting it.
Before I get into the substance of the debate, since this is Baby Loss Awareness Week, I want to put on record my thanks to the all-party parliamentary groups on baby loss, on maternity and on patient safety for their work in raising awareness; and charities such as Tommy’s, Sands, the Miscarriage Association and Bliss, which give bereaved families a voice and incredible support, and which deserve special recognition. I am extremely grateful to Members from across the House who have named local charities, run by those—often with lived experience—who play such a crucial role in improving services, so that others do not have to experience the torture that they have experienced.
It is such organisations that drove the adoption of baby loss certificates, introduced by the last Government and expanded by this one. I, too, thank Tim Loughton for his work, and my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson) for her leadership in this space. Not everyone will choose to have a certificate, but the option is now there for all parents who have experienced losing a pregnancy to have that loss recognised officially. I know that this has meant so much to those who have taken up that option, and to those who are providing the service, particularly staff in the NHS Business Services Authority, who have shared with Ministers their pride—many of them having that experience of loss themselves—of being part of the solution. I am of course delighted that the Government in Wales have also taken up this option.
Given the time available, there is simply no way of doing justice to the contributions that we have heard from Members across the House and the stories that they have shared with us. However, if there is one thing I have learned in my time as Secretary of State working on these issues it is that words will not do any justice to these families. What people want to see is action, and what they need to experience is justice.
I really do want to say a heartfelt thank you to Members across the House who have had the courage to share their personal stories. In particular, my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen, by talking about his daughter Mallorie, has given a voice to many fathers and partners who too often feel airbrushed from the conversation and absent from consideration. I think it is very poignant that he opened the debate for us this evening.
This is no exaggeration, but my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Michael Payne) talked about the leadership of my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest, and it is truly extraordinary that, in the aftermath of such an awful bereavement with the loss of her father, she was back to work in a matter of days, so that she could be there with families in Nottingham to support them in their ongoing campaign for justice.
Of course, my hon. Friends the Members for Sheffield Hallam (Olivia Blake) and for Clapham and Brixton Hill (Bell Ribeiro-Addy) and the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean) all shared their stories, because others who have spoken previously had the courage to share their own experience. I pay particular tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South. I have certainly never forgotten her speech about Lucy, and she really has blazed a trail for others to follow.
I can honestly say that, in the last year, the most difficult meetings have been those with victims of the NHS. I think we should pause for a moment just to reflect on how outrageous that sentence is—victims of the national health service. They are people who, in their moments of greatest vulnerability, placed themselves and their lives and the lives of their unborn children in the hands of others, but who instead of finding themselves supported and cared for, found themselves victims. It is truly shocking.
I have heard dozens of stories, each unique, each told with heartbreaking clarity and each with a common theme: that what should have been a moment of joy became a terrifying ordeal. I have had complete strangers describe to me, a Government Minister, their experience of injuries endured in childbirth. Women have had to share with me, a total stranger, what it has done to their sex lives and what it has done to their continence. I have had fathers share with me for the first time their attempts at suicide, and the impact that their loss and grief has had on their mental health. We also heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Adam Thompson) of the harm done to young people, in this case young Ryan, who was with us in the Gallery today. I have seen photographs of parents’ children. I have seen the ashes of their children in the tiniest boxes. I have seen more courage than I could ever imagine mustering if I had to walk a day in their shoes.
Each time they have met me—each time they have met anyone—they have had to relive the trauma inflicted on them by the state. Perhaps what is most shocking of all is that if there is another theme that ties these families together, it is the fact that they have had to battle time and again for truth, for justice, for answers, for accountability and for change, so that other families do not have to experience what they are going through.
I cannot thank enough the Members on both sides of the House who have placed on record not just the stories, but the names of the children we have lost, so that they can stand on the record there for all time, a stain on the history of our national health service, but also a galvanising call to action. I hope there is some small comfort for families who have been with us in the Chamber this evening to hear the debate, or who have watched online, to know that Parliament is listening, that we are learning, and that, crucially, we are acting.
Many Members have remarked on my personal responsibility and the responsibility that weighs heavily on my shoulders to get this right. We have been joined by some of the Nottingham families this evening. When I have met them, they have arranged themselves around a horseshoe table in date order, with those whose experience goes back furthest sat to my left, and those most recently sat to my right. I go back to Nottingham regularly and honestly dread the prospect of going to another meeting with another family arriving on my right-hand side at that end of the table with another story to tell, but one that has happened on my watch.
We know how serious these situations and challenges are. We have an implicit message from the system that tells women not to have a miscarriage at the weekend. We have women who are classed as having a normal birth still leaving traumatised and scarred. We still use terms such as “normal” to describe a particular type of birth for ideological reasons. All these things need to change.
We heard from my hon. Friends the Members for Clapham and Brixton Hill, for North West Leicestershire (Amanda Hack) and for Wolverhampton North East (Mrs Brackenridge) the shockingly wide race and class inequalities. We should not kid ourselves that these are statistical anomalies or just institutional failures, because I have heard time and again direct first-hand experiences of overt racism: black women told that it was assumed that that they would be “a strong black woman” and so would not need so much pain relief; and examples of Asian mothers described as divas. Perhaps most shockingly of all, taking a step back and looking at the overall picture, we have had the normalisation of deaths of women and babies. We have levels of loss and death in this country that are simply not tolerated in others. We have a shocking culture of cover-up and backside covering, as we have heard across the Chamber this evening.
Recognising that I cannot respond to every individual point that has been made in the debate, I will undertake to write to Members across the House with detailed answers to the questions they posed. I want to conclude by making this point, which is about trust. We are setting out the rapid investigation led by Baroness Amos because I need to act urgently on the systemic challenges. I want to acknowledge openly and publicly that not all families are with me on this; many have concerns, and they wonder whether this will be just another review that sits on the shelf. I want to conclude by assuring those families and this House of my personal commitment to ensuring that that is not the case, and not just through leading the taskforce that will implement the recommendations myself, but by giving a promise to this House and to those families, in the spirit set out by my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest, that grief must be the engine of change. The stories I have heard from those families at first hand will be the steel in my spine to deliver the change they need.
Medical Evacuation of Children: Gaza
Wes Streeting Excerpts(3 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
Today I want to update the House on the evacuation of children in urgent need of medical care from Gaza to receive specialist treatment in NHS hospitals across the UK. This was announced by the Prime Minister on 25 July, and a further update was published on gov.uk on 22 August.
No one who has watched the intolerable humanitarian crisis unfolding nightly on our TV screens can fail to be distressed by the devastating consequences for the people of Gaza. They are exhausted, scared and hungry. And they are dying. As of now, there are also no fully functioning health facilities and the few that remain open are operating under the most extreme and dangerous conditions. Water, fuel and medical supplies are all in short supply. Missile strikes are a constant hazard. It is a soul-destroying situation that compels us to act.
That is why a cross-Government taskforce, on the orders of the Prime Minister, are working urgently to get some of the critically ill and injured children medically evacuated from Gaza. We expect the children and their immediate family members to arrive in the UK over the course of the autumn where they will receive first-class care, from first-class medics in surroundings that are safe and welcoming. This is a UK-wide process, and I am grateful to the Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for their willingness to participate.
The UK Government are partnering with the World Health Organisation, which works on the ground and plays a critical role in supporting medical evacuations from Gaza. Participation in the UK Government evacuation is solely through the WHO supported process, and the UK Government cannot consider direct requests for assistance. The WHO will provide a list of potential patients assessed as priority cases by Gazan medical specialists, for an expert NHS clinical leaders team to review. Gazan children needing highly specialist medical care will then be matched with locations where capacity exists within the NHS to treat them.
Mindful that for these gravely weak and vulnerable children this is a potentially hazardous journey, children will only be transferred to the UK where it is clinically safe to do so and in the interests of each individual patient. As such, we will ensure medical assessments are undertaken before they travel.
On arrival in the UK, patients and their immediate family members will be granted access to the NHS, housing and other services for an initial two years. Should these individuals and their families wish to remain in the UK beyond that, they can apply for further permission to stay under existing routes within the immigration rules.
Robust security checks will be undertaken on all individuals who enter the UK as part of this process. Biometrics will be collected as part of the visa application process and prior to the final decision on the terms on which they will be granted entry to the UK.
The Government are working with both the NHS and the relevant local authorities to make sure both the children and their immediate families receive the help and support they need for the duration of their time in the UK. These are the innocent victims caught in the crosshairs of a bloody and brutal conflict. The least we in Britain can do is play our part and do our utmost to help them.
I expect to provide a further update to the House when the first cohort of children have arrived in the UK.
[HCWS899]