"The hon. Gentleman is bringing a new perspective to the debate and he has made me think about the commitments made on AIDS and HIV. We need only think how ambitious the world was in tackling HIV at a time when many of us thought that it was an irresolvable …..." Hazel Blears - View Speech
"I appreciate that the debate is about the G8, but does my hon. Friend share my concern that the integrated transformation fund, the £3.8 billion that is supposed to relieve some of those pressures, brings together resources that are already being spent by local government and the NHS, so it …..." Hazel Blears - View Speech
"The Secretary of State is right to highlight the need for fundamental culture change, but it is still the case that some of the most vulnerable people in our hospitals today—those with dementia—stay longer and are more likely to be readmitted and more of them die. My local hospital, Salford …..." Hazel Blears - View Speech
"The NHS, with its massive purchasing power, can make a real difference to local areas through jobs and through supply chains. Some hospital trusts are enthusiastically implementing the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, including Barts and King’s. Will the Minister ensure that his new procurement strategy recognises the importance …..." Hazel Blears - View Speech
"Last week, the all-party parliamentary group on dementia published its report, “Dementia does not discriminate”, which deals particularly with the impact of dementia on people from black and minority ethnic communities. There are now 25,000 people from those communities living with dementia—far more than we expected—yet they often receive their …..." Hazel Blears - View Speech
"The Alzheimer’s Society has said today that capping care costs is a step in the right direction, but a £75,000 cap is so high that it will help only the few. The Secretary of State knows that there are 800,000 people in this country living with dementia now, and his …..." Hazel Blears - View Speech
"I am grateful for your guidance, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Burstow). In my capacity as vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on dementia—the right hon. Gentleman elevated me in his speech; our group is incredibly well …..." Hazel Blears - View Speech
"The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. In fact, the recent all-party group inquiry into diagnosis revealed exactly that situation, which is a real concern. Many GPs are uncomfortable about making a diagnosis of dementia. They sometimes feel that such a diagnosis is pointless if the necessary drug treatments or wraparound …..." Hazel Blears - View Speech
"Yes, there was. The all-party group had an interesting presentation from the Scottish Health Department. Diagnosis rates in Scotland are very high indeed, and we learned that the highly organised, managed and focused system there was driving up diagnosis. It is driven, to some extent, from the centre, and I …..." Hazel Blears - View Speech
"My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are at the beginning of the kind of innovative care that she talks about. One thing we need to do is to get more young people and more young clinicians involved in this area, because that is how we will see innovation coming …..." Hazel Blears - View Speech