🌿 Oral Answers to Questions

• Community Hospitals:
  • Secretary of State Wes Streeting announced plans to transform the NHS into a neighbourhood health service, focusing on shifting care from major hospitals to community settings.
  • This includes a £889 million boost for GP funding to recruit 1,000 more GPs, 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments, and a £100 million funding increase for adult and children’s hospices.
  • Lloyd Hatton, MP for South Dorset, stressed the need to restore clinics in community hospitals in his area, with poor transport links making it harder for locals to access care. He specifically campaigned for the restoration of a chemotherapy clinic at Wareham community hospital.
  • Sir Oliver Dowden, a Conservative MP, highlighted the need for community care facilities in Borehamwood, following the lack of funding for Watford general hospital’s refurbishment.
  • Labour MP Rachael Maskell raised concerns about end-of-life care, advocating for investment in virtual wards and district nursing to enable home care.
  • There were discussions about new community-based facilities, such as a diagnostic centre in Stockport and a surgical centre in Northwich, which aim to reduce pressure on major hospitals.
  • MPs like Julia Lopez requested funding to remodel the accident and emergency at Queen’s hospital in Romford, following the opening of a new NHS hub in Hornchurch.
• NHS Dental Services:
  • The government aims to rebuild dentistry, highlighted by the allocation of 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments per year and a supervised toothbrushing scheme for young children.
  • Concerns were raised across the UK about the difficulty in accessing NHS dental services, with some constituents forced to travel long distances or resort to private care due to a lack of NHS dentists.
  • Plans to reform the dental contract were mentioned to improve NHS dentistry in the long term.
  • The ‘golden hello’ scheme was introduced to attract dentists to underserved areas, with targeted investments and partnerships to enhance oral health care, particularly for children in deprived areas.
• Women’s Health Services:
  • The government is committed to enhancing women’s health outcomes through initiatives like AI trials for early breast cancer detection and tackling gynaecology waiting lists.
  • Issues related to fibroid treatments, which disproportionately affect black women, were discussed, with ongoing research being funded to address this disparity.
  • MPs called for the implementation of recommendations from the Shrewsbury and Telford Ockenden review to improve maternity services nationally, following serious failings in some areas.
• Sex and Gender Data:
  • An independent review by Professor Alice Sullivan into data and statistics on sex and gender was discussed, leading to concerns about the accuracy of patient records and the implications for healthcare provision.
  • The Secretary of State committed to acting on the report’s findings, including suspending NHS number changes for under-18s to protect children.
• Cancer Care:
  • Efforts to improve cancer care in the west of England and nationally were emphasized, including achieving a manifesto pledge for 2 million extra appointments and investing in new diagnostic centres and radiotherapy machines.
  • The importance of early detection and awareness, especially during Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Awareness Month, was highlighted.
• Nursing Career Progression:
  • The government aims to address inequalities in nursing career progression through discussions with the NHS Staff Council and implementing a consistent model for career advancement.
• NHS Waiting Lists:
  • The government has managed to reduce NHS waiting lists by over 190,000 since taking office, with plans to cut wait times from 18 months to 18 weeks by the end of the parliament.
  • Additional focus was placed on addressing waiting times for mental health treatments to achieve parity with physical health services.
• Community Pharmacy:
  • The government is implementing the hub and spoke model for community pharmacies, with secondary legislation expected to be laid soon.
  • Concerns were raised about the financial stability of pharmacies, with calls for stabilization of the sector through the pharmacy contract negotiations.
• Mental Health Act and Family Support:
  • The government aims to support families of patients detained under the Mental Health Act through the Mental Health Bill, which will strengthen family involvement in care and treatment plans.
• Special Educational and Disability Needs:
  • Efforts are being made to ensure that the NHS meets the needs of children with SEND, with integrated care boards required to have an executive lead to focus on these services.
• Topical Issues:
  • The abolition of NHS England was discussed, aiming to streamline decision-making and improve patient care and value for money.
  • Other topics covered included social care funding, the urgency to improve palliative care, and the need for better mental health services and suicide prevention efforts for young people.

The session displayed a moderate level of disagreement, primarily focused on the state of healthcare services and the policies of the previous government versus the current one. The disagreements were professional and focused on policy outcomes rather than personal attacks, thus not escalating to a high level of contention. Here are the key points of disagreement and their contexts:

1. Community Hospitals and NHS Funding: There is a subtle disagreement regarding the state of community hospitals and the impact of previous government policies. Lloyd Hatton (South Dorset) criticized the previous Conservative Government for ‘hollowing out’ community hospitals, while Wes Streeting responded by outlining Labour’s plans for revitalizing community health services. This disagreement is more about contrasting policy approaches rather than direct confrontation.

   Example: - Lloyd Hatton: ‘Sadly, the previous Conservative Government hollowed out those community hospitals…’ - Wes Streeting: ‘We promised in opposition to transform the NHS into a neighbourhood health service, and we have hit the ground running. ‘

2. NHS Dental Services: There was a significant disagreement over the state of NHS dental services, with Labour members criticizing the previous Conservative government for the current challenges. The disagreement was evident when Labour MPs like Rosie Wrighting highlighted the difficulties in accessing dental care, attributing these to 14 years of Conservative failure. Stephen Kinnock responded by affirming Labour’s efforts to address these issues.

   Example: - Rosie Wrighting: ‘In Kettering, we know the scale of the challenge facing NHS dentistry after 14 years of Tory failure.’ - Stephen Kinnock: ‘My hon. Friend is absolutely right. After 14 years of Tory neglect and incompetence, far too many people are still struggling to find an NHS appointment.’

3. NHS England and Reorganization: A minor disagreement occurred over the government’s decision to abolish NHS England and the implications for healthcare delivery. Edward Argar (Conservative) expressed a need for clarity on the costs and benefits of this reorganization, suggesting caution and concern about its impact. Wes Streeting responded by emphasizing the necessity and effectiveness of these changes.

   Example: - Edward Argar: ‘Can the Secretary of State confirm what the quantum of those reorganisation costs will be and the date by which they will have been recouped?’ - Wes Streeting: ‘Given the scale of the job reductions and savings that we are seeking to make, the total quantum will be determined once the final shape of the organization is determined.’

4. Community Pharmacy: There was some disagreement over the government’s handling of community pharmacy finances and potential industrial action. Dr. Luke Evans (Conservative) raised concerns about the National Pharmacy Association’s advice to reduce services due to financial pressures and requested contingency plans from the government. Stephen Kinnock criticized this as premature action and emphasized the government’s ongoing negotiations.

   Example: - Dr. Luke Evans: ‘The National Pharmacy Association…is advising all its 6,000 pharmacy members to reduce services and hours…What contingency plans does the Department have to ensure that we keep patients safe?’ - Stephen Kinnock: ‘On the NPA, it has taken us a while to clean up the utter mess that we inherited in community pharmacy…The Government are taking industrial relations into the 21st century.’

Overall, the disagreements were moderate in intensity, mostly constructive, and focused on policy critique and improvement rather than personal or aggressive confrontations, which justifies a rating of 2.