Contributions
1,637 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryMy hon. Friend knows exactly what she is talking about. Of course, there is no one better in this House to make the point about the waste of public money. That is the outrageous…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryI notice that the hon. Gentleman has played the old trick of selecting figures from a specific set of years, but nothing he has said contradicts the facts that I have outlined. In…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryThis is the thing that the First Minister of Scotland does not want to acknowledge, but for all her noise, bluff and bluster she knows full well that a Labour Government here in…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryEven in the context of the pressures that we see right across primary care—I think every GP practice would acknowledge they face challenges—the case my hon. Friend has just…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryIt is rubbish, but it is his record. Why is it that so many people are accessing NHS services because of a failure to invest in social care, where staff can be recruited and…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryIt is certainly true that I am saving the best until last in my speech, but the hon. Gentleman may have missed the point I have made repeatedly, which is that the NHS—an…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryI wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend; it is the trend with this Government to seek division, sow division, pass the buck, devolve the blame and not take responsibility for…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryI am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for that intervention. I will conclude my speech by talking about what a Labour Government will do, but let me answer his direct point…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryThe hon. Lady makes a powerful point. How is it that the NHS can be one of the largest employers in the world—it employs 1.2 million people—but does not have a workforce plan and…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryI will give way first to my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson), then to my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryI beg to move, That this House notes that primary care is in crisis, with people across the country struggling to access GP services and dental treatment; believes that everyone…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryMy hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight that problem. If the front door of the NHS in primary care is jammed, people end up presenting in A&E. As I shall outline in my…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryThe hon. Gentleman is right to describe the state of dentistry and I will be getting my teeth into that issue very shortly. [Hon. Members: “Groan!”] It had to happen at some…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryPerhaps the hon. Lady could tell us why they want to run away from their record of 12 years.21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryI am very, very grateful to the hon. Lady for that intervention. Our party has been clear: we did not want to see the strikes go ahead. We believe the strikes could have been…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryI will give way in just a moment. The problems in general practice are storing up problems for the rest of the NHS; as we have heard, people are presenting in accident and…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryLet me first say in response to the final point the hon. Lady made that there is absolutely no excuse for abusing NHS staff whatsoever. Most people in this country do not blame…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryI wholeheartedly agree with the hon. Gentleman’s point about the importance of looking at primary care as a whole and the really powerful and valuable contribution that community…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryI wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend. This is the problem: they overpromise and underdeliver. If they will not hear it from me, Mr Speaker, let us remind ourselves of what…21 Jun 2022HANSARDAccess to GP Services and NHS DentistryMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. Some places, such as Somerset, are dentistry deserts because the remaining NHS dentists are not taking on new patients.21 Jun 2022