"My constituent Michael Wade was wrongly refused surgery for a life-threatening condition. What in the mandate improves patients’ rights, or will they have to continue to have to rely on MPs and campaigning local newspapers?..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"Thank you very much, Mr Streeter, for presiding over my debate.
In 2008, in response to a consultation, the Department of Health concluded that for some individuals on low incomes and unable to access a fixed line, the use of NHS 084 telephone numbers constituted a significant proportion of their …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"If my hon. Friend can wait, I will try to give way later. A number of Members want to intervene.
The GPs argue that they have entered into contracts that give them enhanced telephony solutions, and that they cannot get out of them. That is the kind of thing that …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"If the Minister does not mind, a number of Members want to intervene, and he will have an opportunity to respond in a moment.
The people affected are disproportionately the more deprived members of our community. It is no longer the case that people who use mobile phones are among …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"The GPs will deny that there is any profit and will say that they provide an enhanced service for which the customers pay. But if there is profit in the partnership at the end of the year, it returns to the doctor, so potentially there is a profit, and that …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"That is a good idea. If the Minister communicates with GPs again, he should do so in the strongest of terms, because it is clear that well over 10%—the estimated figure is 13%—of GPs have totally ignored the Department of Health to date. They are determined to continue not to …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"The 03 number would give people an opportunity to use the system for no enhanced charge, and the GP should, if they are not prepared to migrate to an 03 number, provide a landline alternative. Since I first raised this issue, most of the people who have contacted me have …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"We can do that only if the Department of Health is determined, right up to ministerial level, to enforce the contract. The terms of the contract are clear, as I hope the Minister will say when he responds. No one should pay enhanced charges to access their GP...." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"The Minister is nodding. Let us hope that he says that and that, for heaven’s sake, we do not have non-Government and that, having made a decision, they make sure that it is complied with across the board. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response...." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"Although I welcome a lot of what the Minister has said, I am not at all sure that we can afford to leave this problem to the individual. There is deference towards doctors and people are loth to offend or upset their doctor. The Department and the local PCT must …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech