North East Ambulance Service

Debate between Jane Ellison and Nicholas Brown

Wednesday 4th May 2016 Westminster Hall

[Jane Ellison]

I intend to follow up on this debate with my colleague in the Department of Health, Lord Prior of Brampton, who leads on the topic, and I will follow up with the service itself. I will make sure that all points raised by hon. Members are drawn to its attention.

The root causes of the increase in demand often lie outside the hands of the ambulance service. NHS England’s review of urgent and emergency care is taking a system-wide approach to redesigning the way that care is delivered. It is important to look at the provision of ambulance services in that context. We need to ensure that people with life-threatening emergency needs are treated in centres of excellence to reduce risk and maximise their chance of survival and recovery. The first part of that is about relieving the pressure on emergency services.

The response time targets are being considered as part of NHS England’s review to ensure that they incentivise the most clinically appropriate response. My hon. Friend the Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed and the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) talked about having the clinically appropriate response in all contexts. I will ensure that we pick up on those points and draw attention to them. We hope to have advice from NHS England later in the summer on potential changes to ambulance standards in the context of that wider review of urgent and emergency care.

[Mr Nicholas Brown]

Will the Minister give way?

[Jane Ellison]

No, because I have an important point to make at the conclusion. If the right hon. Gentleman will forgive me, there might be another opportunity.

Ambulance services are vital to emergency care and the whole NHS. We all want to be sure that when loved ones suffer heart attacks or are involved in a serious accident, they will not be left waiting, although we have heard about some distressing cases. National targets in response to red, life-threatening calls exist to ensure that that happens, and we all have an interest in ensuring that the ambulance services perform well against them. I will follow up on the points made in the debate.

I draw hon. Members’ attention to the fact that a comprehensive Care Quality Commission inspection was carried out at the NEAS during the week commencing 18 April 2016. CQC’s formal report will be important for all hon. Members and Ministers to read. In the light of the strong feelings expressed in the debate, I think it would be appropriate for hon. Members whose constituencies are served by the NEAS to meet my colleague, the noble Lord Prior of Brampton, who leads on this portfolio, when the report is available to discuss. I hope that that will be helpful for hon. Members. In the context of that report, many of the points made this afternoon can be discussed with Lord Prior. I encourage all hon. Members to engage with the local NHS and to continue to work together to address the challenges in this critical element of our healthcare system.

If the right hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East (Mr Brown) can make his intervention in less than a minute, he may do so now.

[Mr Nicholas Brown]

How does the Minister account for the rise in demand for the service?

[Jane Ellison]

I definitely do not think that that question can be answered in less than a minute. Much of the answer lies in the work that Sir Bruce Keogh is doing as part of the NHS’s wider urgent and emergency care review. It is vital that we get people the right care in the right place at the right time. It is a complex picture, of which ambulance services are just one piece. More will be said when we know more about that review later this year.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the performance of the North East Ambulance Service.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jane Ellison and Nicholas Brown

Tuesday 10th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Jane Ellison]

That is a very good point. This Government and this Secretary of State have championed transparency more generally, because we all believe that it is essential to our ability to build on the success of the health service and maximise its service to patients.

[Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East) (Lab)]

Am I right in understanding that the Minister has just announced a further delay? The key recommendation to the Government on children’s heart surgery, which was made in 2001, was that fewer units should be centres of excellence, because that was in the best interests of patients. Now, 13 years later, none of that has actually happened. Do the Government still accept the premise that fewer units should be centres of excellence, and will the Minister tell us what accounts for the delay?

[Jane Ellison]

I understand the right hon. Gentleman’s frustration, but the review is very important. NHS England has confirmed that it will not be able to consult quite as early as it had wished, but it should be appreciated that this review is more comprehensive than the last one. For example, NHS England has developed a comprehensive set of commissioning standards which have never existed before. For the first time, the whole patient pathway will be covered, from foetal detection through childhood, into adult services and all the way to palliative care—on which one of my hon. Friends led a debate relatively recently—and bereavement.

It is always frustrating when things do not happen according to schedule, but what really matters is getting this right and being as transparent as possible. The level of engagement with stakeholders has been much more satisfactory than before, and we continue to make progress.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jane Ellison and Nicholas Brown

Tuesday 14th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East) (Lab)]

3. How many mesothelioma cases are being treated by the NHS; what strategies have been adopted for treatment and prevention of mesothelioma; and if he will make a statement.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Jane Ellison)]

In 2011, 2,238 people were diagnosed with mesothelioma. NHS England has set out guidance on the diagnosis, treatment, care and support of patients with that serious disease. That will deliver access to high-quality and consistent services across England. Both clinicians and patients are involved in the development of the guidance. UK legislation requires the active management of asbestos in buildings to prevent further exposure.

[Mr Brown]

The number of full-blown mesothelioma cases is expected to peak next year and then decline. The Department of Health is best placed to say whether that is happening. Will the Minister assure the House that the Department is carefully monitoring the situation and is in close contact with the Health and Safety Executive with a view to ensuring that our public protection measures are adequate for the challenge we face?

[Jane Ellison]

The right hon. Gentleman is right to say that it is a very serious situation, and we of course keep a very close eye on it. Higher-risk work with asbestos must be licensed by the HSE, which has recently published an updated approved code of practice, “Managing and Working with Asbestos”. The code provides guidance and practical advice to companies, because we do not want more people being exposed in the way that so many have been in the past.