Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wes Streeting and Ian Lavery

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)]

1. What steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of burnout of NHS staff.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

May I associate Labour Members with your condolences, Mr Speaker?

I am hugely grateful to NHS staff for the shift that they have put in through what remains a challenging winter. It is because of them that waiting lists are going down and ambulance handover times are 14 minutes quicker this winter than last winter, and during periods of industrial action this winter, NHS providers kept approximately 95% of elective activity running. We have got to ensure that we invest not just in our service but in our staff, and we are working actively with health unions to achieve that goal.

[Ian Lavery]

Will the Minister join me in thanking the fantastic employees of Northumbria NHS foundation trust for their continued dedication and commitment, from the top surgeon to the ancillary workers? We know that the NHS is held together by their efforts, but that comes at a severe personal cost to many individuals. A recent YouGov poll showed that 73% of our heroes—the heroes of the NHS—reported suffering from burnout: that is severe exhaustion. Will the Minister tell the House what measures he is taking to ensure that those who put their own wellbeing on the line to protect the health of the nation receive the support and care that they so richly deserve?

[Wes Streeting]

I am hugely grateful to my hon. Friend for his question and he is rightly proud of his local trust. It is absolutely right that we cannot expect the NHS to rely simply on the goodwill of staff going above and beyond the call of duty to meet the needs of patients. That is why the Government are committed to publishing a new workforce plan, to create the workforce that is ready to deliver the transformed service set out in our 10-year health plan. We are already working with health unions, both on issues around pay, as people would expect, and the conditions that people are working in, recognising, as my hon. Friend rightly does, that this is not just about doctors, important though they are, but about the entire NHS workforce that is delivering the improvements with this Government that the country is crying out for so desperately.

NHS Dentistry

Debate between Wes Streeting and Ian Lavery

Tuesday 9th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I totally agree with my hon. Friend. Prevention is better than cure. It is a truism, and it is also the foundation pillar of what would be Labour’s 10-year plan for reform and modernisation of our national health service. A part of that plan is before the House today, and Government Members will have to explain to their constituents, only months, if not weeks away from a general election, why they are refusing to support it.

The Government’s amendment to the motion promises that the dental recovery plan is coming soon, but it was due last summer; now, they cannot put a date on when the plan will arrive, when it will be implemented or even say what it is. Conservative Ministers have taken a look at the state of NHS dentistry, at the millions of people across the country who cannot get an appointment to see a dentist and at children in their own constituencies whose teeth are rotting, and their conclusion is: what is the rush? Let me tell them why they should get their skates on.

A 17-year-old boy in Plymouth had to undergo emergency surgery on an abscess in his mouth last year. He spent two months trying to book an NHS dentist—he said that he was on hold for about three hours per day. According to figures on the NHS website, no dentists are taking on new NHS patients in the Plymouth, Moor View constituency. It was left too late, and when he finally got the healthcare he needed, he required emergency surgery, which has left him scarred for life.

In Worthing West, Labour’s candidate Dr Beccy Cooper told me of an 82-year-old great-grandfather on pension credit who told her that he will not be going back to an NHS dentist before he dies. He tried to get an NHS dentist in Worthing, but no one will take him on the NHS to receive low-cost treatment. Dr Beccy Cooper also tells me that residents who cannot get a dentist are being told to look for one in Hampshire, more than 60 miles away from where they live.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

On that important point, a couple who moved into new housing in my constituency tried to get an NHS dentist for over a year without any success whatsoever. They have got two options: they either go private or use their previous dentist, who is 20 miles away. That is wholly unacceptable. Will my hon. Friend simply explain how Labour’s plan will eradicate this unacceptable issue?

[Wes Streeting]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We will have: 700,000 appointments, making a difference straightaway; supervised toothbrushing for three to five-year-olds to reduce future demand on NHS services; and reform of the NHS dentistry contract so that we can rebuild an NHS dentistry service worthy of the name. That change cannot come soon enough.