Francis Report: Update and Response Debate
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Andrew Stephenson
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Francis Report: Update and Response
Andrew Stephenson Excerpts(9 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Hunt
I can say that we are consulting on making a big change that would mean they would have someone independent in their organisations to whom they could talk and raise their concerns. They could say, “I want to say this, but no one is listening to me”. That is what Sir Robert Francis calls “freedom to speak up” guardians, whom he wants in every organisation. It is what Helene Donnelly is championing in her work. That is the way forward to address those concerns.
Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust was placed in special measures, following the Keogh review, in July 2013, and it successfully exited that regime in July 2014. The trust has employed an additional 201 nurses and nursing support staff and 26 more doctors since June 2013, taking the total increase since May 2010 to 391 additional nurses and 40 additional doctors. In January 2014, the Royal College of Midwives named the maternity services unit the maternity service of the year. Will my right hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to the dedicated staff at East Lancashire hospitals for working with the new tougher regime and turning my local hospital trust around?
Mr Hunt
I absolutely will. This is a great example, and I would like to thank my hon. Friend for the interest he has shown in this issue. For one hospital to have 390 more nurses over four years is remarkable. It may interest my hon. Friend to know that those numbers do not include agency staff, so if the hospitals have any such staff, they will be counted on top of those figures. This is a dramatic turnaround for the quality of patient care, which we all welcome. That just shows that if we get the incentives right from the centre, trusts do want to do the right thing. We did not instruct the trust to employ a single extra nurse; rather, we set up a new inspection regime and special measures regime, and what my hon. Friend said shows it has worked.