Oral Answers to Questions

Karl McCartney Excerpts

Tuesday 26th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)]

9. What recent discussions he has had with officials in his Department on the forthcoming NHS investigation into mortality indicators.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Dr Daniel Poulter)]

Ministers have discussed the terms of reference for the review of hospitals that have been highlighted as outliers for the last two consecutive years using nationally published mortality indicators. The terms of reference were published by Professor Sir Bruce Keogh on Friday 15 February.

[Karl MᶜCartney]

Just over a year ago, I asked the previous Secretary of State a question about gagging orders and the specific case of Mr Gary Walker, the former chief executive of United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust. In the light of the recent news that our local health trust is now being investigated amid concerns over patient safety, what assurances can the Minister give the House that such Stalinist gagging orders, which have cost the taxpayer £15 million in the past few years, will be outlawed as soon as possible, to ensure that, under this Government, it will not take 81 requests to ensure that patient safety is paramount?

[Dr Poulter]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the fact that all staff in the NHS should feel able to speak up and raise concerns about patient safety, so that the organisations for which they work can take up their concerns and investigate them. He will be aware that the people who raise such concerns are protected under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.

Newark Hospital

Karl McCartney Excerpts

Monday 7th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Patrick Mercer]

As my hon. Friend knows, I live right on the edge of my constituency and almost inside his, and my family and I unquestionably depend on Newark hospital—and, of course, on the East Midlands ambulance service—just as much as those in many parts of the Sherwood constituency.

[Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)]

Might it help the Minister if my hon. Friend told him where the nearest major road and rail routes to Newark are, and where the nearest A and E unit is?

[Patrick Mercer]

The answer to that question is, of course, Lincoln, but it is by no means true that all the serious cases in Newark go there. I shall say more about that shortly.

Let me continue my brief history. Last autumn, Monitor delivered a devastating report on the private finance initiative and on Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which includes King’s Mill and Newark hospitals, drawing attention to serious financial problems. It pointed out that Newark hospital was underutilised by 55% at times, that it was closed for admissions after 6 pm, and that many members of the board had resigned as a result. There is no doubt that good has come of that, but on top of all those difficulties, East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust has decided to close Newark ambulance station. I shall say more about that shortly as well.

Where does the problem lie at the moment? First, let me nail a couple of misapprehensions. I am sure that the Minister will not be surprised by my raising them. First, in certain malicious quarters in the town, rumours—more than rumours—have been stoked that the hospital will close. I do not believe that it will close; I see no reason for that to happen. Indeed, Chris Mellor, the new acting chief executive of Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, has made it clear that if the hospital does close, it will be a liability for the next 28 years no matter what, because there can be no withdrawal from the PFI in which Newark hospital is engaged with King’s Mill. Secondly, we still hear forlorn and ill-informed voices talking about the reopening of an A and E unit. No one who understands the problem could think for a minute that Newark will have an A and E unit. That really is not the issue at hand, and, given that the subject will no doubt arise during our continuing conversations, I want to reassure the Minister that, in my opinion at least, it will not happen.

Since the new team has taken over—and I appreciate that it is only a temporary team—some refreshing views have been expressed following the hammer blows of last autumn’s Monitor report. For instance, Eric Morton, who is running the administration of the hospital, albeit temporarily, has responded to a request from me and others for Newark’s minor injuries unit to receive further resources, so that it can at least provide level 2 critical care and become a sort of MIU-plus or A and E-minus—the terms are confusing—and we can be seen as comparable with smaller towns and, indeed, towns of similar size, such as Worksop and Grantham. I have suggested that if a clinical case can be made, there is no reason why such a system should not be introduced at Newark—why, in other words, our services should not be improved.

The GPs with whom I have had some interesting friction over the last couple of weeks—constructive friction, I hope; I say that with the greatest respect to those GPs—have a rather different view. They think that the system would be extremely difficult to implement. I do not know; I cannot judge. I am not a doctor, a clinician or a medical man of any sort. I should greatly appreciate it if the Minister gave me his unequivocal but detached view on exactly how realistic the proposal is, bearing in mind all that I have said about the increasing size of the town, the fact that there seem to be no plans to increase the size of the hospital in line with that, and the fact that it sits on major routes, both rail and road, which are always susceptible to the mass casualties which we see frequently during the year.

Oral Answers to Questions

Karl McCartney Excerpts

Tuesday 21st February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful for the hon. Lady’s question, and I am glad to say that I had a useful meeting with Mark Goldring of Mencap. I have read his report and, in response to what the hon. Lady has said, I would be glad to write to her and put a copy in the Library.

[Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)]

T8. Is my right hon. Friend as concerned as I am that the employment tribunal of the former United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust chief executive Gary Walker ended in secrecy? Does he agree that the NHS should stop using public money to impose gagging orders to suppress information that is not only in the public interest, but that impacts on patient safety?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend will know that it is the policy of the NHS not to use compensation agreements in order to suppress information that is in the public interest, and I will certainly write to him about the case that he raises.

Oral Answers to Questions

Karl McCartney Excerpts

Tuesday 10th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

This is important, as the hon. Lady says. All the way through we have wanted to be absolutely clear that any woman who is worried should be able to go to her general practitioner. The NHS is there to support any women in their clinical needs, whatever their circumstances. I have made it clear that I expect private providers to match the NHS support through information and access to specialist advice, imaging and investigation, as necessary, and through the removal of implants if it is decided that that is necessary. If private providers will not do that, let me be clear, as I will explain further tomorrow, that the NHS remains available to support women in their clinical needs.

[Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)]

T5. Does my hon. Friend the Minister believe that the Government’s aim of stopping people smoking is in any way helped by the chairman of the all-party group on smoking and health, the hon. Member for Bristol West (Stephen Williams), using a private letter that I sent to him, and copied to the Minister, to castigate me and make untrue allegations in my local newspaper last Thursday?

Oral Answers to Questions

Karl McCartney Excerpts

Tuesday 18th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Paul Burstow]

My hon. Friend has written to me about this matter on behalf of a constituent. The responsibility sits in three places: first, providers have a responsibility to provide clear information to people receiving services from them about who is providing that service; secondly, commissioners have a responsibility for how they contract for those services; and thirdly the Care Quality Commission has a responsibility to regulate those services. Undoubtedly, however, I would be more than happy to look further at the points he makes.

[Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)]

11. What assessment he has of the provision of ventilation machines and related equipment for patients with muscle-wasting diseases who experience respiratory difficulties; and if he will make a statement.

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Paul Burstow)]

Local health bodies have responsibility for ensuring that adequate provision of health services is made available to those living with neuromuscular conditions. All specialised commissioning groups have now completed their reviews of neuromuscular services, which are a priority in the annual work plans of each of the specialised commissioning groups in 2011-12.

[Karl MᶜCartney]

I thank the Minister for that answer, but will he also outline the steps being taken to ensure that there is adequate knowledge about neuromuscular conditions among general practitioners and health professionals in Lincoln, so that referrals to the specialist respiratory service in Nottingham can be provided as appropriate?

[Paul Burstow]

My hon. Friend is right to raise the issue of ensuring sufficient awareness of the pathways that exist for people to gain access to those services. I understand that the east midlands specialised commissioning group has recently carried out a review of non-invasive ventilation services. I shall ask the group to write to him in more detail.

Oral Answers to Questions

Karl McCartney Excerpts

Tuesday 12th July 2011 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)]

1. What arrangements are in place to ensure increased funding for the NHS during the comprehensive spending review period.

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

We will increase NHS funding in real terms in each year of this Parliament. Compared to the level of expenditure in the national health service in the last financial year, the resources available to the NHS will increase by £12.5 billion by the end of the spending review period. The budget available for the NHS in the financial year 2011-12 is 3.9% higher than spend in the previous year, 2010-11.

[Karl MᶜCartney]

Can my right hon. Friend give me any examples of how the increased funding this Government have promised here in England is, unlike what is happening in Wales, delivering better care for our NHS services?

[Mr Lansley]

Yes, I can indeed do that. We are committed to real-terms increases in the NHS budget in England. According to an analysis by the King’s Fund, the Welsh Assembly Government—a Labour-led Welsh Government —are going to reduce the NHS budget by 8.3% in real terms by 2013-14 in comparison with 2010-11. That might be one reason why it is already the case that in Wales, 26.4% of patients in April 2011 waited more than 18 weeks for treatment.

Oral Answers to Questions

Karl McCartney Excerpts

Tuesday 7th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Paul Burstow]

Yes, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will update its guidance on eating disorders later this year. The plans already set out in the Health and Social Care Bill mean that eating disorders will be subject to specialised commissioning in future by the NHS Commissioning Board. We believe that, because of the consolidated expertise in matching needs, this will help to drive up standards and enhance quality and consistency across the country. In the hon. Gentleman’s own patch, the assessment service run by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is certainly an impressive one.

[Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

My responsibility is to lead the NHS in delivering improved health outcomes in England, to lead a public health service that improves the health of the nation and reduces health inequalities, and to lead the reform of adult social care, which supports and protects vulnerable people.

[Karl MᶜCartney]

I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. Will my right hon. Friend reassure me, and my Lincoln constituents, that whatever the outcome of the Government’s consultation, our NHS still requires some measure of reform—and that if a provider is qualified to deliver NHS standards at NHS costs, and if patients, with the support of their doctor, want to be treated there, this Government should do nothing to stand in their way, regardless of any political posturing by our flip-flopping coalition partners? [Hon. Members: “ Ooh!”] And further to—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I apologise for having to interrupt the hon. Gentleman, but topical questions must not be statements or essays; they must be very brief questions. I think we have got the thrust of his question, and we are grateful to him.