Contributions
1,318 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Hospice FundingThat is possibly one of the cheekiest questions I have ever heard asked here, and I am obviously going to have to say yes. Frankly, rather him than me, but good luck to my hon.…19 Dec 2024HANSARD Hospice FundingI thank the hon. Lady for her questions and for welcoming the announcement. She will know that, in the past 14 years, the sector has been neglected, like the rest of the NHS and…19 Dec 2024HANSARD Hospice FundingTo govern is, indeed, to choose. The Conservative party chose neither this sector nor any other health sector and it refused to govern. Within five months, we have not only…19 Dec 2024HANSARD Hospice FundingI am grateful to the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson) for asking that important question. This Government want a society where every person receives…19 Dec 2024HANSARD Hospice FundingI welcome my hon. Friend’s comments, and I am very pleased to thank Compton Care hospice for all its work. He is right to highlight that the care is 365 days a year, around the…19 Dec 2024HANSARD Hospice FundingMy hon. Friend makes an important point about the need for more people to be treated at home. That is absolutely the direction of travel that we want to see. This money will help,…19 Dec 2024HANSARD Winter PreparednessMy hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight those shocking levels of bed occupancy. As I said earlier, running consistently at that high level of occupancy is something we…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Winter PreparednessI am working very closely with the UK Health Security Agency to make sure that, week on week, we are aware of the movement of different diseases and viruses through the system,…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Winter PreparednessAs I said in my statement, we have begun plans to stabilise the workforce and the employment Bill is going through the House, so I do not agree with the hon. Lady on that point.…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Winter PreparednessMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. Many tragedies happen over the Christmas period—my own father died on 23 December. Those staff members go above and beyond to help people at…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Winter PreparednessWe recognise all the costs to GPs, as contractors, and to many other parts of the system, as we have said many times in the House. We also recognise the improvements that we have…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Winter PreparednessThe hon. Gentleman is wholly wrong to say that winter crises happen under every Government in every year. They happened, and became a fact of the NHS, under his party’s…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Winter PreparednessI commend my hon. Friend for, as a new MP, getting to grips in detail with what is happening in her local system and challenging that system, while also giving us those examples…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Winter PreparednessI thank the right hon. Lady for her question. We have discussed this issue a number of times in this place. We absolutely understand the impact of cold and heat on the system and…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Winter PreparednessMy hon. Friend makes an excellent point. We need to get back to normal and we need to recognise that there are different things happening to the system at different times of the…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Winter PreparednessI am very pleased to reiterate that safety is the watchword for winter, as it is all year round, and to stress that that is why NHS England wrote about it today. I commend my hon.…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Winter PreparednessI refer back to what I said in my statement about how we are supporting the system. We absolutely understand the importance of primary care, and of using 111 to make sure that…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Winter PreparednessMy hon. Friend’s comments reinforce how much pressure, we understand, is front facing. A&E is demonstrative of the overall pressure in the system, not just at discharge but, as…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Winter PreparednessAs I said earlier, different systems have different issues. Funding has been allocated in advance to the NHS so that it understands which systems require funding, and that has now…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Winter PreparednessHopefully, we will make announcements on the Royal Berkshire hospital and others as soon as possible in the new year, as I know that this issue is of great concern to all hon.…18 Dec 2024