Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Will Quince and Matt Vickers(1 year, 1 month ago)
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Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)
Will Quince
We will always work with my hon. Friend and the trust on capital improvements where needed, but I am pleased to note that the trust has been allocated significant investment from national programmes in recent years, which my hon. Friend fought hard for, including £32.2 million from our community diagnostic centres programme, which will provide vital testing to local residents close to home, and £3 million from our A&E upgrade programme. We will of course continue to work closely with colleagues in the NHS and the local trust to continue delivering for the people of Stockton.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Will Quince and Matt Vickers(1 year, 4 months ago)
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Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care (Will Quince)
That is hugely frustrating, because I know how hard my hon. Friend campaigned for the Stockton community diagnostic centre and that he recognises the urgency of increasing diagnostic capacity locally. Delivery plans have to be agreed at a local level, so I urge Stockton council to work with him to meet the ambitious timeline and get Stockton CDC open as soon as possible.
Hospital Provision: Tees Valley
Debate between Will Quince and Matt Vickers(1 year, 8 months ago)
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Will Quince
I absolutely guarantee and assure my hon. Friend that I will get that meeting with Lord Markham arranged as soon as is practically possible, but certainly in the next few days.
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving me the opportunity to highlight how the Government are prioritising capital spend in our NHS in order to transform and improve healthcare outcomes for people and put healthcare financing on a sustainable footing. She understandably and rightly focused on the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, her local trust, and of course the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton, which serves many of her constituents. I will, of course, turn to that, but before I do I will briefly reference our capital funding plans more broadly, because the context is important.
We have already provided record sums to upgrade NHS buildings and facilities so that trusts up and down the country can continue to provide the best possible quality of care. Currently, the Department’s capital budget is set to reach upwards of £36 billion for 2022-23 through to 2024-25—a record capital settlement—and we are using that level of investment to address current care delays.
My hon. Friend made a strong case for why new hospitals are important. As important as they are, the broader health economy is, of course, about far more than that. It is about surgical hubs; it is about community diagnostic centres such as the one in Stockton, as she rightly pointed out; it is about ambulance hubs, and it is about discharge lounges. It is about all those value-adding capital projects too. As part of our urgent and emergency care recovery plans, the 5,000 extra beds that are being added to existing NHS hospitals ahead of next winter are also hugely important.
As I said, new hospitals are, of course, important, and we are aware of the need for further investment in the NHS estate. We are investing an extra £1.7 billion to 2025 for more than 70 hospital upgrades. As my hon. Friend alluded to, the Government have committed to building 40 new hospitals, backed by an initial £3.7 billion for the first four years of the new hospital programme.
Matt Vickers
We are incredibly grateful for the £40 million invested recently in the North Tees and James Cook hospitals, and for Stockton’s new diagnostic hospital and mental health crisis hub, but the incredible, committed, dedicated, grade-A workforce at North Tees deserve grade-A facilities. Will the Minister ensure that North Tees’s bid to rebuild and upgrade the hospital is given the fullest attention?
Will Quince
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I know from his persistence in campaigning for the community diagnostic centre that his continued persistence in campaigning for a new hospital and upgrades will not have been missed by the relevant Minister, Lord Markham. I will come on to talk about the new hospital programme and the selection of the next eight hospitals.
As I said, the Government are committed to building 40 hospitals, backed by an initial £3.7 billion. Two schemes are already complete and five are currently under construction. The programme is delivering facilities that are at the very cutting edge of modern technology. Critically, it is engaging with clinical staff to ensure that we provide a better working environment for them. We know that enables increased efficiency; importantly, it also promotes staff wellbeing and improves retention.