Contributions
2,308 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPatient ChoiceMy right hon. Friend raises a very good point. As he knows, there is interaction between what is and is not on the balance sheet. His point particularly relates to the roll-out of…25 May 2023HANSARDPatient ChoiceAs the record shows, numbers have been increasing. There are 37,000 more doctors and 52,000 more nurses within primary care than in 2010. We have already reached our manifesto…25 May 2023HANSARDPatient ChoiceI am very happy to join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to Jane Ingham, who, as he says, is retiring after 10 years in that post. She has a long history of working to improve the…25 May 2023HANSARDPatient ChoiceI can confirm that, from October, we will roll this out to those who have been waiting more than 40 weeks, and we will look to bring down that threshold over time. We will focus…25 May 2023HANSARDPatient ChoiceWe are talking about the wider workforce. The hon. Lady mentions private capacity. This patient choice will enable people to make much better use of the independent sector and to…25 May 2023HANSARDPatient ChoiceYes, I can. Part of this is allowing patients to choose according to a number of factors. Some may have had treatment previously and want to go back to a particular consultant-led…25 May 2023HANSARDPatient ChoiceAs I touched on in my statement, the choice is there now; it is available right now, but only about 10% of patients exercise it. There is massive variation in the system now, with…25 May 2023HANSARD New HospitalsOpposition Members have asked for the update and called for the programme, but they do not want to hear about it when the announcement is being made. Turning to the hospitals in…25 May 2023HANSARDPatient ChoiceMy hon. Friend, as ever, makes a shrewd point. Yes, the referral centres are part of this system. The key focus is on the initial GP referral and how we facilitate that with…25 May 2023HANSARDPatient ChoiceNot since the famous 1p on income tax from the Lib Dems, which was to be spent on every issue going past like a passing bus, have we heard of money being spent in as many…25 May 2023HANSARDPatient ChoiceMay I begin by joining colleagues from across the House in paying tribute to the former hon. Member for Redditch? I entered the House at the same time as her. She was a much-loved…25 May 2023HANSARD New HospitalsIt is like a two-for-one offer. With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on the new hospital programme. As we celebrate 75 years of the NHS this summer, we…25 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareWith permission, I would like to make a statement on the primary care recovery plan. For most of us, general practice is our front door to the NHS. In the last six months, over…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareI have touched on the numbers a few times, but let me give the hon. Gentleman the precise figures. There are 335 more pharmacists than there were in 2010, so it is simply not the…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareFirst, I commend my hon. Friend because this is an issue that she has championed and she has been right to do so. These are degree-qualified clinical roles, so it is sensible that…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareThe hon. Member is right to recognise the importance of access to medical records. It is a key part of the functionality that we are delivering through the NHS app. He is correct…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareMy hon. Friend has raised this issue previously, and he is quite right to champion it—I know that it is hugely important to his constituents. I hope the ICB will take heed of the…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareI have recognised throughout that demand has increased. Primary care is treating 10% more patients than before the pandemic, with around 1 million appointments a day. There is…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareWe plan to change planning guidance this year to address that specific issue. I have visited my hon. Friend’s constituency, and we resolved one of the issues in relation to the…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareAs I said in my statement, we have 4,000 doctors training in primary care, compared with 2,600 in 2014. We are also looking at how we can better retain the GPs we have. That is…09 May 2023